Check out the “DC Comics in the 80s – A Magic Moment” panel from JewCE 2024. DC Comics in the 1980s was a magic place, with some of the most significant comics in the company’s long history, a movie that changed the path of super hero films, and more. Listen to some of the team that made the magic happen.
The panel features moderator Paul Levitz, Cheryl Rubin, Lillian Laserson, and Barbara Slate.
To go along with the Jewish Comics Experience exhibition, JewCE held a convention with numerous panels highlighting the history of comics and it connection to Jewish culture and history. Taking place in November, the convention has now released all of the panels for streaming and to watch on demand.
Will Eisner was a ground-breaking comics creator in the 1940s with THE SPIRIT, and then again in the 1970s with his powerful A CONTRACT WITH GOD serving as the breakthrough modern graphic novel inspiring a generation of writers and artists. It was the first of a series of graphic novels he created focusing on life in the Jewish immigrant communities of New York in the early 20th Century. His name lives on in the Eisner Hall of Fame and Eisner Awards, the most prestigious honors in the field. More importantly, his creative influence continues to be felt through his proteges, students and readers. Join Paul Levitz (author of WILL EISNER: CHAMPION OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL and Eisner Hall of Fame inductee for his long career as a comics writer, editor, publisher and educator) and former Eisner assistant Jules Feiffer (Pulitzer, Oscar, Obie and Eisner Hall of Fame inductee) for a discussion of Eisner and his continuing relevance.
It’s a holiday here at GP HQ but we’ve still got a busy day ahead! We’ve got lots coming at you starting with some comic news and reviews from around the web you might have missed.
Kotaku – Big Oil’s Using Fortnite, TikTok, And Twitch In Effort To Convince Kids Fossil Fuels Are Cool – Grumble. Grumble.
ICv2 – ICv2 Interview Transcript: Paul Levitz of DC Comics, Part 1 – Read all three parts. Well worth it.
Reviews
CBR – Avengers Annual 2023
CBR – Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Red Hood #1
The Beat – Shy
CBR – Transformers #1
Avengers: War Across Time #4
(W) Paul Levitz (A) Alan Davis
The king of the dwarfs has Mjolnir and the Lava Men are ready to erupt from beneath the earth! While the Avengers are all that stand between Earth and a fiery doom, Kang is picking the perfect moment to strike again.
Avengers: War Across Time #3
(W) Paul Levitz (A/CA) Alan Davis
Rated T
In Shops: Mar 15, 2023
SRP: $3.99
The king of the dwarfs has Mjolnir, the Lava Men are ready to erupt, and while the Avengers are all that stand between Earth and a fiery doom, Kang is picking the perfect moment to strike again.
Avengers: War Across Time #2
(W) Paul Levitz (A/CA) Alan Davis
Rated T+
In Shops: Feb 08, 2023
SRP: $3.99
Thor! Iron Man! Captain America! Giant-Man & the Wasp! The original Avengers invade the Baxter Building and break the barriers between worlds! Will Willie Lumpkin unleash a dangerous menace? Can Thor lose Mjolnir? Will Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz and legendary X-artist Alan Davis successfully channel the classic heroes’ adventures? Come check it out!
Avengers: War Across Time #1
(W) Paul Levitz (A/CA) Alan Davis
Rated T
In Shops: Jan 11, 2023
SRP: $5.99
Thor! Iron Man! Captain America! Giant-Man & the Wasp! The classic Avengers against the Hulk on the streets of New York! It’s the beginning of a showdown with Kang the Conqueror that will span the centuries! Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz makes his Marvel debut (unless you count a letter in AMAZING ADVENTURES #5) teamed with acclaimed artist Alan Davis!
In recent years, Marvel has had a run of “retro” stories. These new tales take place in continuity spinning out of runs of the past. Some have worked and added a lot and some have stumbled in their execution. Avengers: War Across Time #1 is a take on that retro tale spinning out of Kang the Conqueror’s attack and machinations in Avengers #11 from back in 1964. And the result is rather entertaining.
Writer Paul Levitz does an amazing job at balancing classic and more modern comics resulting in an issue that has some great pacing, good laughs, and a lot of what made those original comics so entertaining. There’s a somewhat absurd aspect to them that can get the reader frustrated but its those moments that make it all stand out. Strange speeches in battle, too many coincidences, and civilians that are always in the way make for a packed issue.
Avengers: War Across Time #1 has Kang again attempting to take over this period’s Earth to fuel his forces and to do that he must stop the Avengers. He uses a robotic Hulk to attack them, upping his plan from the classic Avengers story this spins out of. Yes, a lot of the comic is a drawn out fight, but it’s down in a way that plays off the classic visuals and moments. Aunt May wishes her nephew Peter was there to protect here with a wink and a nod. Peter himself misses Bettie Brant and the Avengers as he approaches a newspaper stand. It’s small moments, but it’s moments that make the comic feel like it’s part of the larger world of the time.
Alan Davis art is solid adding to the feel of the story. With color by Rachelle Rosenberg and lettering by Cory Petit, the comic’s style looks like it could have been of the time. The character designs, the panel layouts, the composition of the images capture what I think of when I think of those early Avengers adventures. The art team eschews a modern update which would take the reader out of the concept of the series.
Avengers: War Across Time #1 is a fun comic. I generally am not a fan of these types of stories by Levitz’s writing style and the art by the team sucked me in. It balances old with new in a way that appealed to me as a reader. With Kang having such a focus this year, this could be a series to keep an eye on, as you never know what its impact across the Marvel timeline might be.
Story: Paul Levitz Art: Alan Davis
Color: Rachelle Rosenberg Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 8.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Avengers: War Across Time #1
(W) Paul Levitz (A/CA) Alan Davis
Rated T
In Shops: Jan 11, 2023
SRP: $5.99
Thor! Iron Man! Captain America! Giant-Man & the Wasp! The classic Avengers against the Hulk on the streets of New York! It’s the beginning of a showdown with Kang the Conqueror that will span the centuries! Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz makes his Marvel debut (unless you count a letter in AMAZING ADVENTURES #5) teamed with acclaimed artist Alan Davis!
This January, journey back to the early days of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with two of comics’ mightiest creators in Avengers: War Across Time! Joined by fellow superstar Alan Davis, Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz, known for his storied career at DC Comics, writes his first-ever Marvel Comics story in this five-issue limited series! Set during Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck’s original groundbreaking run of Avengers, this extraordinary saga will be a love letter to Avengers history just in time for the team’s 60th anniversary! Avengers: War Across Time will see the original Avengers at their very best as they battle an onslaught of powerful and strange new threats that strike at the very heart of the team. At the center of it all will be Kang the Conqueror, reaching back from the furthest reaches of time to destroy the Avengers legacy!
THOR! IRON MAN! CAPTAIN AMERICA! GIANT-MAN & THE WASP! It’s the classic Avengers against the Hulk on the streets of New York, and the beginning of a showdown with Kang the Conqueror that will span the centuries!
Join Marvel Comics as it kicks off the Avengers 60th Anniversary in style when Avengers: War Across Time arrives in January! And stay tuned in the weeks ahead to learn about the other ways Marvel will be celebrating the Avengers’ milestone year throughout 2023!
