I Had Issues! My Thirteenth Comic Book Haiku

The last comic book haiku for the website-that-won't-be-named-directly was also the last thing I ever did for them. The fact that it was number thirteen should have been some kind of warning sign. So I've finally wrapped this archive series up. I might do an epilogue next week, but I won't make a big deal of it. I appreciate everyone reading, and I hope you check out my Medium articles for more comics work. Originally published October 10, 2013.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Optic Nerve #13

I have one more week before this chapter of my archive is wrapped up. I may include a postscript later, but next week is it. It clearly was getting harder and harder for me to focus on this work. I can see it in the typos and errors in the original drafts. I clearly had to stop, but I'm glad one of the last reviews I did for the site is an "indie." Originally published  October 9, 2013. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

Now that I'm almost done posting these reviews, I feel less proud of these "By-The-Numbers" reviews. They served their purpose, but they're like CinemaSins without ever hearing a "ding." Still, it was fun to write them at the time. That's how I was able to get this out before my time was done at the site. I just don't see myself ever doing another one. I'll still tackle the Identity Crisis mini-series someday, just not as a By-The-Numbers. Hope you liked them for what they were. Originally published October 3, 2013. Edited for clarity. Additional note: Number 4. had twice the number of links, but I choose not to link some of that work this time around.

I Had Issues! My Old Take on "Batfleck"

I had a rare moment of fun with this. At this point of my time with the comics website, I gave less and less of a flying f---. The site looked less and less like a source for clever comics discourse and more like a cosplay fetishist haven. My original title for this piece was "Obligatory Ben Affleck Post: A Tired And Weary Topic." The redundancy in the title speaks much of my feelings towards certain people's mindsets at the time.

I had zero investment in the DC Cinematic Universe, and it turns out that might have been down to good instincts. The original post got around a bit, even getting featured at a now-defunct Italian website. I have wanted to double down on my commitment to write intelligent essays, but I would love the time and venue to write goofy pieces like this too. One can dream. Originally September 13, 2013. Edited to protect the guilty.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Phase 7 #017

Looks like my archive project will be done by February. This is the last of the small press mini-comics reviews I did for the site before I left. I would have felt bad if I had left never coveing Alec Longstreth, a cartoonist I had discovered the previous decade when he was just getting into his Basewood story. If I'm lucky, I'll review more of his work in the future. Originally published April 1, 2013. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Clone #1-4

Kind of a bland entry, as I ended up not being as committed to Clone as I thought I was. Ah, well. There will be other fun entries before I wrap this archive up. Originally published Mardh 27, 2013. Slightly edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Twelfth Comic Book Haiku

We're almost at the end. Just a few more reviews and cheap shots left. It's nice to archive this stuff, but it will be nicer to finish. Originally published March 26, 2013.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of New 52's Action Comics #18

Only a few more reviews to go after this one, then I'm done with this feature. This one marked the end of an era, even if I did try to persist for a little while longer. This (and many other things behind the scenes) took the wind out of my sails when it came to contributing to the website. At least I got to close a book on a series I followed since I started the gig. Originally published March 21, 2013. Edited for clarity with extra art added.

I Had Issues! My Eleventh Comic Book Haiku

So thankful it's something easy this week before the holiday week. This is where I was either hitting my stride or hitting a wall. You be the judge. Originally published December 27, 2012.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Evan Dorkin's House of Fun

Wow. When I wrote this I was in "deep" mode, thinking about one of the now insane number of school shootings this decade. Remember when you could keep count of them all? There are more than a few words about that, linking them to Evan Dorkin's little comic. I wish his Eltingville  Club collection came out while I was still working on the site. I feel I could write at least  a thousand words about  how those toxic fanboy characters are both the last word in pre-Marvel Movie fandom and the harbingers of the horrific fan movements of today. Another time, hopefully. Originally published December 27. Edited for clarity, but the heavy-handedness remains.

I Had Issues! My Tenth Comic Book Haiku

Another haiku covering up for the lack of an in-depth review. Though I prefer his All-Star Superman, I enjoyed much of Grant Morrison's run on the New 52 version of Action Comics. And hey, if you're fretting about how to make Superman relevant, just go with his Super Obama from this run. Hell, you already have Michael B. Jordan interested!

Other note: I thank the person who commented on the original site who pointed out in the original post "[T]he first post-crisis appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk, it was revealed to be pronounced Mix-yez-pittle-ick," thereby making my haiku one syllable too long. I corrected it. To be fair, I was going by the Superman TAS version, which was pronounced "Mix-Yez-Spit-Lick." A lot of thinking goes into seventeen syllables, no matter how goofy the outcome! Originally published December 10, 2012.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of New 52's Aquaman #7-14

Well, this was a surprise. I knew this review was up next, but I had completely forgotten writing it. So I was surprised when I finally clicked on the link. I was clearly having fun, given ho many graphics I used below. Too many, I'm sure. Hey, nothing wrong with a little fun at the cost of your credibility and perceived level of maturity. Plus, it's nice to know I could still have fun even after the gig had gotten more than a little unpleasant. Originally published December 6, 2012. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Ninth Comic Book Haiku

This haiku was written as a way to stall for time before I wrote a longer review. That eventually came out a month. You'll get to read it next week. Originally published November 15, 2012.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of Happy #1-2

Well, I guess I called it about Happy being made for adaptation. I just didn't think it would be the small screen. Still, this was written before streaming services caught on.  I was heavy on trying to use graphics to write my review for me. That means this review hasn't aged as well in my mind. I did end up enjoying Happy when it was completed, but I'm in no hurry to watch the show. Originally published November 5, 2012. Edited for spelling and clarity.

I Had Issues! My Old Review of The Revival #1-4

Hey, another review I should have posted last week (Day of the Dead post anyone?). This didn't turn out too bad. The review I mean. I did follow The Revival for a while but had to drop it when other life things came up.  I should catch up with it someday. Originally published November 2, 2012. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Review of Crossed: Badlands

A bonus reposting today, as I'll be done archiving my online work well before next Halloween (hopefully by January, or even December). Done in my old "By the Numbers" way of reviewing things when I wanted to write something fast. Originally titled "Crossed Confessions: A By-The-Numbers Review of Crossed: Badlands," this seems to be, by far, my most read article on the old site and one of the most read of all time. If you're a Crossed fanatic, chances are, you've read it before. I haven't seen a lot of critical works on Ennis' series. Maybe that's why it got so much traffic. 

A lot of what I've written here still represents my current views. My one regret is sounding harsh about Jamie Delano (a writer who ended up liking something I was part of years later).  His was the best of the non-Ennis stories I read. I just didn't agree with the approach that David Lapham epitomized. I enjoyed whenever Garth Ennis returned to the series. In fact, I consider Crossed: DOA to be Ennis' quiet reply to the "we were already worse than the Crossed" storylines done almost to death. Originally published November 2, 2012. Edited slightly for clarity and a marginally better layout.

I Had Issues! My Review of Scar's Kitchen

A comic about the devil, just in time for Halloween! My saddest news is that Charles Schneeflock Snow's website no longer exists. His Patreon is still up, go figure. My one regret is not seeing more of his work when it was up. I hope it returns. Originally published October 31, 2012. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Review of Jerel Dye’s From The Clouds

The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo is ten years old. I got this mini comic the time of it's third year of existence. I spent some time at the most recent one this past weekend and hope to report on some findings I got there. Boy the signs of the current political climate were present even in my overly purple prose. I could never have predicted the world today, but I sure felt something. I will reread the comic later today. So can you at Dye's site (link below). Originally published October 29, 2012. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Review of Me and Doctor Dee

I think this is the last of my E.J. Barnes reviews. Reading her comics was always fun. I hope she makes more. Just reading over this review makes me want to cover even more local comics. Originally published October 24, 2012. Edited for clarity.

I Had Issues! My Review of Diabetes Is After Your Dick

It's a small review, but I love Cathy Leamy and it's been too long since I've promoted her work. Plus you can read the minicomic reviewed here on her website. She's made great strides in her medical comics work since this review,which is great. Originally published October 24, 2012. Edited for clarity. Let's face it, I straight up rewrote this to make sense. Yes, even a short post like this needed it. As I've  mentioned before, I wrote way too quickly back in the day.