Starting her comics career as a colorist, Marie Severin was largely responsible for the distinctive color palette of EC Comics, where her brother Johnny Severin also worked. She later worked in the Marvel Bullpen, drawing just about everything, including many well loved staff caricatures. She turned 80 this year; here are a few of her Marvel covers from the 60s and 70s.
posted by interrobang on Nov 30, 2009 - 18 comments

The now-defunct Bang Barstal tells the story of a man and his baseball bat after everything went wrong at once.
posted by Pope Guilty on Aug 28, 2009 - 7 comments

The Adventures Of A Would Be Arms Dealer (PDF) is an eight-page comic illustrating how an illegal arms deal works in practice. Via.
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Jul 28, 2009 - 16 comments

600 Costumes from the 2009 Comic-Con
posted by ColdChef on Jul 28, 2009 - 150 comments

Man Not Superman based on a story by Jonathan Goldstein about a mortal man dealing with the pressures of dating Lois Lane. Found on Post-it Note Stories: Stories illustrated on little yellow Post-It Notes in beautiful black Sharpie. (via).
posted by ND¢ on Jul 22, 2009 - 61 comments

Metafilter's own COBRA! has been producing a great comic about a rock band for quite awhile; and now it's been released as a book! Get to know the Awesome Boys in Nowhere Band.
posted by interrobang on Jun 23, 2009 - 11 comments

Ecocomics: Where Graphic Art Meets Dismal Science. With such entries as "Superman, New Krypton, and Labor Unions" and "The Construction Industry in Comics."
posted by dersins on May 28, 2009 - 26 comments

Infinite Monkey Comics! Create a three-panel comic from twitter posts and flickr images, based on the keyword of your choosing.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on May 2, 2009 - 54 comments

Huzzah!, a new round robin/exquisite corpse style comic from the creators of Who Killed Round Robin. See the story so far here. (Via the blog of D'Israeli)
posted by Artw on Feb 13, 2009 - 3 comments

Comic book lettering has some grammatical and aesthetic traditions that are quite unique. What follows is a list that every letterer eventually commits to his/her own mental reference file.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Feb 3, 2009 - 36 comments

Have you ever wondered how Samus got all her powers? I mean, really, how does a simple back-planet girl learn to use this mysterious Chozo technology?
posted by cthuljew on Jan 18, 2009 - 21 comments

5 Card Nancy A neo-Dada game invented by Scott McCloud, in the tradition of the Exquisite Corpse. It works by emphasizing the tendency to draw connections between juxtaposed frames, to impose meaning where none exists. Play the solitaire version here.
posted by klangklangston on Dec 2, 2008 - 32 comments

Richard Thompson (no, not that one) is the writer and artist behind Cul-de-Sac, a delightful comic chronicling the lives of Alice and Petey Otterloop. [more inside]
posted by god hates math on Oct 22, 2008 - 14 comments

The Joker is Batman's main nemesis. Why him? Why not some other villain?
posted by painquale on Aug 14, 2008 - 118 comments

J.R. Williams is a prolific comics artist with a distinctive visual style 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. He is fond of fanciful takes on pop culture icons like Quisp and Yogi Bear, as well as more ribald characterizations like Polly Purebred and Jane Jetson (NSFW) More recently he has branched out into abstraction, which might be characterized as psychedelic pictographs.
posted by Tube on Jul 5, 2008 - 4 comments

The Hole in the Wall [via mefi projects] is our own interrobang's surrealistic cat story now being serialized at Top Shelf Comics as part of their new Webcomics section, and it's definitely something special - pen & ink & watercolor adventures of two cats exploring a mysterious and dangerous underground landscape. More comics like this will be posted there depending on the popularity of this one, so if you love art, great comics, or cats, you will want to check it out. This was a part of interrobang's Year in Comics project, so if you fall in love with the Hole in the Wall kittehs (you will!), go have look at his other stuff, as well.
posted by taz on May 23, 2008 - 30 comments

Back in 1983, before crossovers and limited edition covers ruined the industry, Marvel had a really great idea for a special month of comics. [more inside]
posted by GavinR on Feb 23, 2008 - 30 comments

"I would be remiss if I did not mention one of Liefeld’s more brilliant creations, Forearm! His power is that he has FOUR ARMS." The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings.
posted by beaucoupkevin on Nov 30, 2007 - 102 comments

Gunnerkrigg Court is a lovely and strange webcomic by Tom Siddell. While its scenario bears a passing resemblance to Harry Potter (magic school, main character with a strange destiny, etc.), there's something quite different going on here. Chapter One, for instance, deals with how to get an anthropomorphic shadow back to its forest home, using only a box of discarded robot parts and a young girl's initiative. And that's just the beginning. Need a more trustworthy endorsement than mine? Neil Gaiman likes it.
posted by Lentrohamsanin on Oct 12, 2007 - 19 comments

As Image Comics prepares to resurrect Golden Age comics under the rubric of public domain, it may be worth revisiting heroes of yore, like Stardust (by Hank Fletcher), Fantomah and Titan. Even more can be found through the Pure Excitement reprint webzine, (unfortunately burdened with clumsy navigation— modify the final segment for all 36 issues).

Of course, a fair number of them do show up on the Stupid Comics page, like Fantomah versus the Weird Gorillas, alongside more modern mockeries of books like Man or Astroman and Superman meets the Quik Bunny.
posted by klangklangston on Jul 25, 2007 - 17 comments

Tim Kreider's editorial cartoons have that sort of vulgarity, puerility, absurdity, topicality, pith, bile, and self-awareness that help me get through the unending despair of reading the news every day. (He also draws great faces.)
posted by klangklangston on Jul 17, 2007 - 49 comments

Perfect Stars is pretty damn beautiful
posted by es_de_bah on Jun 26, 2007 - 15 comments

The Animated Calvin & Hobbes. A fantastic student project. via
posted by graventy on May 17, 2007 - 79 comments

Sad Sack George Baker's subtly subversive WWII strip.
posted by klangklangston on Mar 14, 2007 - 15 comments

The Codpiece [coral cache] - An illustrated review of what is quite possibly one of the worst comic books of all time. (Not safe for anyone.)
posted by loquacious on Mar 10, 2007 - 47 comments

30 years of thrillpower! British weekly comic 2000ad celebrates it's 30th aniversary. Previously discussed here, current Tharg Matt Smith interviewed, special birthday Prog. Splundig vur thrigg!
posted by Artw on Feb 26, 2007 - 20 comments

Breakfast of the Gods: The Last Good Morning. A serialized webcomic featuring the sugary, crunchy stars of your childhood - destroying your childhood dreams one after another. Via Monkeyfilter.
posted by loquacious on Feb 11, 2007 - 33 comments

Comic Strip Artist's Kit Carson Van Osten's tips for cartoonists and animators, scanned huge for easy printout.
posted by klangklangston on Jan 11, 2007 - 13 comments

Colleen Doran, a comics creator that's collaborated with Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, and J Michael Straczynski, blogs about her experiences while publishing her epic A Distant Soil with Starblaze Graphics in the 80s. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
posted by beaucoupkevin on Dec 15, 2006 - 11 comments

Comics creator and Alan Moore collaborator Eddie Campbell is blogging. He joins fellow UK artists Sean Phillips, Chris Weston, Colin Wilson, Frazer Irving, and Dave Taylor in offering glimpses behind the creative process.
posted by beaucoupkevin on Nov 27, 2006 - 10 comments

Look-in was a British TV and comics magazine that featured interviews, crosswords, etc. Of interest to those of us raised raised on 70s and 80s television, there was a wealth of gorgeously-rendered licensed comics material inside. These strips included Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Space: 1999, and Terrahawks. (Via)
posted by beaucoupkevin on Nov 24, 2006 - 18 comments

Roger Corman's Fantastic Four movie had been lambasted by many as the absolute worst in superhero moviedom, at least until Elektra and Catwoman came along. Shelved after production, it's hard for the casually-interested nerd to find without having to deal with bootleg video dealers at cons. Thankfully, somebody put it up on the internet in handy Flash video: Part One | Part Two.
posted by beaucoupkevin on Nov 19, 2006 - 45 comments

Johnny Red was a story appearing in Battle and Battle Action magazine back in the late 70's and early 80's. Telling the story of a young British fighter pilot serving with the Falcons; a Russian squadron in World War II; Johnny Red was remarkable for it's time (in the midst of the Cold War) giving a positive image of Soviet Russian heroism in the fight against Nazi Germany. Scans of almost every issue are contained within - enjoy!
posted by longbaugh on Sep 2, 2006 - 12 comments

Remember the comic book version of the 9/11 Commission Report mentioned earlier this month? Slate have put it online.
posted by cillit bang on Aug 21, 2006 - 50 comments

Make mine Maakies Tony Millionaire (who also does related comic Sock Monkey) has all of his sea-faring katzenjammers online. No direct links (curse you, frames!) but you can browse from here. The later ones are better (especially in the 540 range), but all are fun.
posted by klangklangston on Aug 5, 2006 - 20 comments

Fokke & Sukke are a strange couple of birds. Having dominated the funnies in various Dutch print media for over a decade, their irreverent antics are now available in English, regrettably under the tamer monikers Duck & Birdie (click "previous" for more gags). [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Aug 4, 2006 - 13 comments

An official comic book adaptation of the 9/11 commission report is due to hit bookstores this month. The U.S. Army seeks an Arabic-speaking comic book creator. Meanwhile, an Israeli blogger suspects a Kuwaiti company of misusing Marvel and DC comics. These are just the latest incidents in a long-running history of using comic books for propaganda purposes, ranging from Mussolini and Hitler to Captain America vs. the Nazi-affiliated Red Skull to anticommunist comics for Catholic parochial schools to a phony Black Panther comic book created by COINTELPRO to a comic book of the American invasion of Grenada. However, my favorite site of comic book propaganda tends to focus on more innocuous domestic issues such as bicycle safety, USDA nutrition standards, and fighting crack cocaine. (OK, that last issue isn't so innocuous, but comic book propaganda about health & safety issues still generally blows.)
posted by jonp72 on Aug 4, 2006 - 38 comments

A few songs about comic strips. Here is Edward Meeker performing "Oh Min!" (mp3 link), a song about Sidney Smith's "The Gumps". Barney Google also had a song or two (mp3 links). Little Orphan Annie is probably the most famous (Real Audio), aside from Popeye.
posted by interrobang on Apr 25, 2006 - 12 comments

Kill Bill + Harry Potter = Kill Harry, featuring cameo appearances by Bender the robot, Bruce Campbell, and Zombie Rick James, bitch.
posted by Gator on Feb 20, 2006 - 16 comments

Batman kicks al Qaeda's ass Frank Miller is working on a Batman vs. Al Qaeda comic. At least he's being honest that it's utter propaganda.
posted by jbielby on Feb 15, 2006 - 82 comments

The Center for Cartoon Studies, nestled in the historic village of White River Junction, Vermont, will learn you up good on how to be a comic artist/graphic novelist. They operate under the charter of the National Association of Comics Art Educators; Charles Schulz's widow Jean hooked them up with funding for a library in town. When you apply for admission, don't forget to include that story about you, the snowman, and the robot. A photo tour of the Center and its surroundings can be seen here.
posted by Gator on Feb 13, 2006 - 10 comments

Etaples, 1917 - The first and last mutiny of the British Army. The story was first told in "The Monocled Mutineer" by William Allison & John Farley which was later made into a BBC drama (script written by Alan Bleasdale) broadcast in 1986. This program has never been shown since on British terrestrial TV and even resulted in questions being asked in Parliament about the BBC's left-wing bias. The true facts will be classified until 2017, 100 years after the events. [mi]
posted by longbaugh on Jan 5, 2006 - 10 comments

9/11 in comics, including the black-covered The Amazing Spider-Man #36 in its entirety.
posted by nthdegx on Dec 4, 2005 - 65 comments

Marvel to finance up to ten new films — Marvel Entertainment has received a line of credit to produce new superhero films. The characters in the arrangement are Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack, and Shang-Chi. "These movies are tentpoles for either summer or the holidays," said Marvel chairman and CEO, Avi Arad. Right. Because who wouldn't want to see a film about Hawkeye? Or Ant-Man? I can't wait! (Related: how to make a superhero movie that doesn't suck. My first thought? Have a superhero that doesn't suck.)
posted by jdroth on Sep 7, 2005 - 138 comments

The 50-year career of Al Hartley. Part of Stan Lee's early stable of writers at Timely-Atlas, Hartley's perhaps best remembered as the creator of Spire Christian Comics. The series, which included comic book adaptations of popular Christian narratives such as God's Smuggler [pdf], and original stories like The Gospel Blimp [pdf], and Hansi: The Girl Who Loved The Swastika [pdf], also included 19 titles starring Archie [pdf], Jughead and the gang.
posted by RockyChrysler on Jan 9, 2005 - 6 comments

I avoided these like the plague as a kid , sifting through stacks of old comics at my uncle's antique store. Now I kinda dig the bland-yet-breathless Lichtenstein quality of these old romance comics. Brought to you by the stellar Heck's Kitchen and a spectacular English teacher (mentioned on Kitchen's front page)
posted by chinese_fashion on Dec 7, 2004 - 5 comments

And now, the Everything Old Is New Again Dept. brings you the The Dysfunctional Family Circus Archive. It's been five years since Spinn (a.k.a. Greg Galcik) took down the DFC; but back in the day, the DFC was probably the funniest site on the Web (and might even qualify as the funniest since.) Imitators have sprung up since, of course; and Spinn still runs a similar site, A-1 AAA AmeriCaptions. But somehow it's not quite the same... [Possibly NSFW, if your coworkers can read text on your screen.]
posted by Johnny Assay on Oct 9, 2004 - 3 comments

How they censor Tintin comic books in Iran
posted by hoder on Jul 8, 2004 - 12 comments

Listening to the Universe Weep:
The Stark Beauty of the Buttercup Festival.
posted by kaibutsu on May 31, 2004 - 13 comments

Buy this art! or just spend a lot of time looking.
posted by hypnorich on Jan 8, 2004 - 4 comments