Hatch, Match & Dispatch – March 2022

It's an ancient Celtic tradition that every February 26th we take a look at the comics that will be celebrating an important anniversary in the coming month...

Hatch, Match & Dispatch – February 2022

February is the shortest month but it's also the hardest to spell. Coincidence? I don't not think so!

Most Popular Posts of 2021!

Looking back on Rusty Staples' most popular posts of 2021!

Hatch, Match & Dispatch – January 2022

We're in the depths of darkest winter, but fear not... "And when the night is cloudy, and the weather outside is frightful, the cold never bothered me anyway." -- Let it Be/Snow/Go

Altered Images: Sub-Mariner

In another reality Stan Lee was a beatnik... Original: Sub-Mariner #1, Marvel Comics Group, May 1968Pencils by John Buscema, inks by Sol Brodsky

Retro Interview: Evan Skolnick, 1995

As long-time readers of this blog might be aware, one of my all-time favourite superhero comics is the first volume of Marvel's New Warriors (Jul 1990 to Sep 1996)... Art by Mark Bagley and Jackson Guice It's a comic that took a bunch of Marvel's discarded characters -- Nova, Firestar, Speedball, Marvel Boy and Namorita …

In-Shallow Profile: Marvel Super Specials

The Marvel Super Specials series was a collection of one-shot comics published from September 1977 to November 1986, most of them featuring adaptations of then-current movies. I have no doubts that the series was inspired by the tremendous success of Marvel's Star Wars specials: their six-issue comic-book adaptation of the movie was repackaged as a …

Oddities: Daniel Rand IS Shang-Chi: Master of Kung-Fu!

Marvel's mysterious martial artist Danny Rand -- AKA The Immortal Iron Fist -- premiered in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974)... The cover was pencilled by Gil Kane and inked by Dick Giordano (with alterations by John Romita). It's a great image and a fantastic way to introduce a new character. Later that same year, this …

Enfari’s Syndrome: Captain Britain

In 1976 an Irish kid living in the suburbs of Dublin was taking a bit of risk buying a comic called Captain Britain. Especially a kid like me: I was very small for my age, couldn't fight, and lacked the physical prowess to out-run a tree... and I possessed a self-defeating tendency to smart-mouth the …

From the Archives: Favourite Comic Series — The New Warriors

(This article was first published on the Enniskillen Comic Fest Facebook page, 18 April 2017 -- reprinted here with a few corrections and tweaks! I've previously listed The New Warriors as one of my favourite superhero series in Desert Island Comics.) Howdy there, Festians! Another week, another Favourite Story! This week's choice comes from none …