Comic Books Archives - Rampant Discourse

Black Panther: from B-list comic to AAA-movie

February 21, 2018

The Black Panther of comics, real identity T’Challa, king of Wakanda, debuted in 1966 and was interesting and popular enough to make a few more guest appearances before getting his own feature work in “Jungle Action.” Earlier issues of Jungle Action starred such notable comic standouts as “Lorna, Queen of the Jungle” and “Tharn, the Magnificent.” Jungle Action became T’Challa’s own after his debut issue there, however, and that was…

Make the DC Universe Compelling Again: Injustice 2 Review

June 15, 2017

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Injustice 2 has been out a couple weeks now, and I’ve finally gotten enough quality time with it to actually write a review. I was a big fan of the first game’s single player story mode and online play, and was feeling some good vibes about this game prior to its release. As far as the story mode goes, Netherrealm Studios (NRS) continues to deliver on making great narrative content…

Book Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 6: Gouge Away

February 21, 2017

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“I have a cunning plan!” The sixth Transmetropolitan collection, like the previous volume, is a mixed bag. The main story, “Gouge Away,” is a strong investigative reporting tale and nicely ties together the Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City and Transmetropolitan, Vol. 4: The New Scum stories. Spider Jerusalem’s talents really get to shine and his articles make a huge impact after the media’s attempt to defang him with popularity. The…

Injustice 2 Trailer Impressions: The DC Universe Actually Gets Interesting

January 26, 2017

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I generally don’t consider myself a fan of the DC Universe at large. That changed a bit when the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us was released in 2013. While it is on the surface playing on the overused trope of “yet another alternate reality story” it does center on a rather interesting premise: what if Superman just totally lost his shit and decided to take over the world? It’s quite…

Book Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 5: Lonely City

January 17, 2017

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“Life sucks, then you die.” The fifth Transmetropolitan collection is a bit of a hodgepodge. This volume certainly is not as strong as the first first four volumes (see my previous reviews for Lust for Life, Year of the Bastard, The New Scum). Without the presidential election the series loses a bit of steam. But digging into these six issues reveals some truly startling insights of the role journalism plays in our…

Book Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 4: The New Scum

December 6, 2016

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“I’m the only one who’s remotely fucking interested. You’re all fucking killing me!” The fourth Transmetropolitan collection continues Spider Jerusalem’s coverage of the presidential election with the six issue story “The New Scum.” We get to see Spider go one-on-one with both The Beast and The Smiler. Spider’s hate and venom for both candidates is in full bloom during these interviews. Some of the strongest dialogue and best food for…

Book Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 3: Year of the Bastard

November 22, 2016

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“Just once, I’d like to get through the day without hating anyone.” The third Transmetropolitan collection kicks off Spider Jerusalem’s coverage of the presidential election with the six issue story “Year of the Bastard.” This is where the series truly takes off and becomes something special, and eerily predictive of the 2016 US presidential election campaign. That remains the tragic magic of this series: how well it can be applied…

Book Review: Transmetropolitan, Vol. 2: Lust for Life

November 8, 2016

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Warren Ellis‘s Transmetropolitan series continues to ramp up in its second volume. While the first volume was focused on a single issue (the transients’ secession from The City) this volume is mostly episodic dives into different areas of The City’s culture. This serves to flesh out the series’ setting before the bigger story lines in subsequent volumes while still being invective and funny as hell. “You learn about a culture…

Steve Dillon, R.I.P.

October 24, 2016

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One of the great comic book artists of our time, Steve Dillon, passed away on Saturday October 22, 2016. Many of Dillon’s fellow comic book creators have reacted to his death. While I don’t measure up to the stature of people like Warren Ellis, Ed Brubaker, and Gail Simone, I can attempt to relate how Steve Dillon’s work affected me personally. His work drew me back to comic books and…