Paperback in Action

Admittedly, I've never been much of a Thor fan. The 2011 film was a decent watch, but I found the sequel to be a bore. I even tried out Walt Simonson's critically acclaimed Thor comics, and while I appreciated the writing and the artwork, Odinson as a character just couldn't hold my interest. However, when Thor: Ragnarok descended upon Sky Cinema and struck me with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning, that changed. Marvel's Phase Three films ( Civil War onward) have been some of the best superhero flicks ever made, and Ragnarok is no exception. While most entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe attempt to strike a balance between serious action and humour, this third Thor movie is undoubtedly a comedy. The titular hero ends up on the planet Sakaar while his sister Hela invades Asgard, and director Taika Waititi fills this adventure with hilarious moments. The performances of returning characters Thor, Loki, Heimdall, Odin, the Hulk and Bru...

DC's Doom Patrol were created by Arnold Drake in 1963, and recently received more exposure when Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance became the newest writer of the absurdist comic book series. It is almost unanimously agreed, however, that their greatest adventure occurred in the early 1990s, when crazy genius Grant Morrison took the reigns. Teaming up with the marvellous Richard Case and a handful of other talented artists, he crafted one of the best superhero stories ever told. Comprised of DC's most outlandish characters, the Doom Patrol are a team that deal with threats far too bizarre for the more conventional heroes. Prior to Morrison's run, however, this wasn't entirely true. They were still pretty odd, but they largely resembled other teams of outcasts like the X-Men, so the new creative team decided to take the book to higher levels of insanity. Negative Man, who was initially very similar to Marvel's Human Torch, became Rebis, the enlightened fusion ...

The late Steve Ditko was best known for creating Spider-Man with Stan Lee, and arguably shaped the entire world of superheroes when he did. While Clark Kent was the common man, Peter Parker was the common boy, making him a character that generations of new fans could connect with. Ditko's artwork was dynamic and fun, attracting more and more readers who previously wouldn't have given comics a second glance. His work lives on through new creators, and its influence can be felt in films based on his characters, such as the recent Spider-Man: Homecoming . Steve Ditko is also strongly associated with Charlton Comics - he created Captain Atom, the Question and Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. These heroes served as the inspiration for the characters of Alan Moore's  Watchmen , which showed the world that comics can be taken just as seriously as films and television. Ditko had no direct involvement with Watchmen , but it is another example of just how far his influence ...

This year, the first anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's legendary Fullmetal Alchemist manga turns 15 years old. The 2008 remake, Brotherhood , has eclipsed its predecessor in terms of popularity and critical acclaim, but is the 2003 edition still a good show? Each series will not be compared in this review - rather, we'll be evaluating 2003's  Fullmetal Alchemist solely as an adaptation of the source material. As many fans of the franchise are aware, the  Fullmetal Alchemist anime began only months after the manga started. This meant that the production studio, Bones, had little material to work with, so they decided not to follow Arakawa's books panel-to-panel from start to finish. Instead, the anime ended up being a loose adaptation of the first eight volumes, with an original ending. Compared to the manga, the plot is very slow. Many of the major story beats are still there, but there are greater gaps between them, and not everything feels as if it drives ...

It's difficult to discuss Batman #50 without spoiling it. Marking the halfway point of Tom King's Batman run, this extra-sized anniversary issue features the wedding of vigilante Bruce Wayne and cat burglar Selina Kyle, so the main question on everybody's mind prior to reading this comic is whether they'll actually go through with it. You won't find that out in this spoiler-free review, but you'll know if the book is worth your time and money.  Batman proposed to Catwoman on a rooftop over a year ago in issue #24 (contained in Vol. 3: I Am Bane ), but their romance goes back a lot further than that. Issue #50 embraces this long and somewhat self-contradictory history, with Bruce and Selina each recounting their own memory of their first meeting in the form of poetic prose. King has a way with words, and it really shines here. These segments of the story are accompanied by beautiful full-page spreads from critically-acclaimed guest artists, including ...