Button Panels

Long time no see. I’m very, very surprised to see that people were reading old posts here while I wasn’t posting. Me? Well, I got busy. The world (mostly) moved on from COVID, and I became, like, an adult and stuff. Mostly. I stayed up to date on comics but just couldn’t bring myself to write about them. Then I eventually fell off comics due to getting back into anime, and then into gunpla. It’s…

For my very, very late return to doing The Monthly Pull, I have a very positive look at some comics that released in May! Seriously, there was some very good stuff this month!

Radiant Red came out last week, and I was really looking forward to it. I loved Satomi in Radiant Black and am always keen for a good Asian character, especially in superhero stories. How does the first issue stack up? My review:

For the first comic review of March, I’m looking at the first issue of Rogue Sun. After being the highlight of Supermassive, I had high hopes for Rogue Sun. Does it deliver?

My review:

Written by Ryan ParrottPencils by AbelColours by Chris O’HalloranLetters by Becca CareyPublished by Image ComicsCover price: $3.99

When it comes to the Massive-Verse, the trend — at least as established in Radiant Black — has been to make “loser” adult protagonists (other than Pink) that tackle more mundane adult problems. But Rogue Sun promised the Massive-Verse’s first teen superhero, which…

February was a good month for comics, with lots of great reads, from new series to continuing ones. There were also some not-so-great issues! Join me as I look at a mostly good month, which was mostly overshadowed by comic news!

Supermassive is a fun read and a solid start to a shared universe. It sets up a lot of interesting things to come, has that low-key sentimentality that defines Radiant Black, while also having some earned traditional superhero energy to it. My review:

Written by Kyle Higgins, Ryan Parrott and Matt GroomPencils by Francesco Manna, Melania Palladino, Simone Ragazzoni, Marcelo Costa, ABEL and Erica D’ursoColours by Igor MontiLetters by Becca CareyProduction Design by Deanna PhelpsPublished by Image ComicsCover price: $5.99 When Radiant Black arrived in 2021, there was some excitement around it. However, only a year later, and it has effectively…

February marks the one year anniversary of The Monthly Pull, and for the 12th entry, I change the format a bit. For February's comics, I look at the end of some miniseries, as well as some of the ol' regulars. Also, more news talk and pointless awards.

I was originally going to write about the new #Spawn spin-off, #TheScorched, in The Monthly Pull. However, I went so in-depth that I just decided to make it a full-on review. It's actually surprisingly good!

Written by Sean Lewis and Todd McFarlaneArt by Stephen Segovia and Paulo SiqueiraColours by Ulises Arreola and Nikos KoutsisLetters by Andworld DesignEdited by Thomas HealyPublished by Image Comics – Todd McFarlane ProductionsCover price: $5.99 USD I’ve been reading a fair amount of Spawn issues of late, mostly because I like the recent action figures. I’ve never been a fan of Todd McFarlane’s…

I decided to write a post about my favourite things from 2021. Yes, it's late. It's not very well-edited. And that is why it's perfect for 2021.

After writing about the best comics of 2021 and scrapping writing about the best individual issues of the year, I’ve decided to just do an informal post about non-comics things from 2021. From TV to movies to toys, whatever it is, so long as I really liked it and it wasn’t a comic, it’ll be on here. This is me putting 2021 to bed, and looking forward to 2022. (more…)

I've been on a bit of a retro comic binge lately, and this stuff is charming and goofy enough that I decided to write about it. First up: the debut of Katar and Shayera Hol, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl!

“Ye Olde Comic” is what I call it when I look at an old comic (or comics) and write about them. It isn’t thoroughly analytical or a review, it’s just one dude born in 1994 giving his opinions on stories that he considers old, with the benefit of hindsight. The comic can be from the 30s to even the 2000s (yes, I consider that old now, because I hate myself); the point is that it is an older comic…

Happy New Year, everyone! 2021 was... a year, but the comics kept it tolerable. Join me as I look back on December's comics, a month of (mostly) really good stuff. Some new series grab my eye as one I love ends, fittingly closing out 2021 with a bang.

And so did 2021 come to a close. It was certainly a big year for me, filled with big steps in my life as well as a very, very crappy 3 months of lockdown. But you know what helped make it a little brighter? The comics. 2021 was great with comics! December in particular saw the continuation of some strong series, and the start of some promising runs. So we can at least take comfort in knowing that…

2021 was a great year for comics, meaning this year's instalment of the VERY prestigious and respected Button Panels Awards Show had some tough decisions. It was really hard to narrow it down, but here are the best comics of 2021. (That I read.)

It’s the end of the year, meaning it’s time for another instalment of the extremely prestigious and respected Button Panels Awards Show! 2021 was a rough year for comics, at least here in Australia. The COVID-19 pandemic hit New South Wales really hard and shut down comic stores for more than a quarter of the year. It’s too bad that life just prevented me from getting more into comics this year,…

In this extremely late edition of Non-Comics Report Card, I look at some TRPGs and streaming shows. The shows are... a mixed bag.

Hey all, back with another Report. Quarter 3 (that’s really what the Term represents, anyway) was filled with… stuff, I guess? I kept my binge of animated series going, because watching cartoons in bed on an iPad is just way too comfy. I also played way too many TRPGs, because a lot of people are in lockdown, and that includes everyone in the main group I play with. After lockdown was extended…

For October, I actually managed to get The Monthly Pull out on time! Comics greeted the end of lockdown with a really solid month of comics, some of which destroyed me emotionally.

The glorious end to lockdown (for the fully vaccinated) here in New South Wales means I actually got to go get my comics in-person again! It was great to catch up at the comic shop and just bring back the weekly ritual that is Nerd Night ™. Namely, we get comics, go eat crappy food, shop for nerdy crap (more window shop, honestly) and play a session of a TRPG (currently, it’s Traveller). We…

Here’s The Monthly Pull for September, even later than usual! Mostly because lockdown ended and I got distracted with actually going outside. Good stuff, though. My heart was ripped apart and put back together by this month’s comics!

Another month of lockdown! And a five-week one at that! I don’t think it needs to be said at this point, but I am not looking at five issues for this. It’s four or nothing, dammit! Lockdown’s end is within sight, and I am just… so eagre to be able to go places again… and get a haircut. My hair has become the crappy scene look I had in late high school again! I actually wrote up all of the…

The Monthly Pull – August 2021

Lockdown continues! As does the testing of my patience when it comes to getting comics! For April, I decided to get my comics shipped to me every two weeks, just to break it up a bit. Which really didn’t help anything, honestly, since the second week of August only had one issue that I was getting. Plus, I think I got even more demotivated somehow (hence the late post). Yeah, this month sucked,…