Trevor Writes

Kadokawa Shoten / Viz Media 25. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Kadokawa Shoten/Viz Media, 2010-2014, Volumes 12-14) Writer and Illustrator - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Shortly after Hideaki Anno conceived the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime in 1993, he met with comics creator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and together they collaborated on a manga adaptation that was set to premiere shortly before the anime to help boost interest in the television series. While the 26-episode series aired in entirety over just six months, the manga - which retold the same story, more or less - ran for nearly 20 years, not completing its run in Japan until 2013 (with Viz publishing the final volume in 2014). Being a mostly faithful adaptation of the greatest anime series of all time pretty much guarantees the manga to be solid as well, but what makes it so valuable to the Evangelion diehards is the little differences that set the manga's version apart. Sadamoto makes this story his own, consistently evoking different...

Marvel Comics 30. Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 2012-2013, #646-655) Writer - Kathryn Immonen Illustrators - Valerio Schiti, Pepe Larraz Colourist - Jordie Bellaire Letterer - Clayton Cowles The Asgardian flagship title Journey into Mystery , the home of Thor and Loki comics for decades, switched gears towards the end of its long life and centered on Lady Sif, going by the title Journey into Mystery Featuring Sif . This was my introduction into the Asgardian corner of the Marvel universe, having read it before I read a single Thor comic. It immediately attracted me to the universe, and I've been reading all of the Thor/Loki/Sif/Angela comics since. Kathryn Immonen's Sif is an instantly likable protagonist, a good hearted warrior woman who, unlike Thor, doesn't fit in well in Midgard, and feels like an outsider to her surroundings. The comic is as much a straight and forward actioner as it is a meditation on Sif's struggle to understand humans. And speaking of...

Valiant Comics 35. Quantum and Woody (Valiant, 2013-2015, #0-12, Valiant-Sized Quantum and Woody #1, Quantum and Woody Must Die #1-4) Writers - James Asmus, Tim Siedell (Valiant-Sized One Shot) Illustrators - Tom Fowler, Ming Doyle, Kano, Wilfredo Torres, Erica Henderson, Joe Cooper, Pere Perez, Steve Lieber Colourists - Jordie Bellaire, Allen Passalaqua, Wil Quintana, Dave McCaig Letterers - Dave Lanphear Quantum and Woody is something of an anomaly in the Valiant library. Not a part of the original Valiant universe, they weren't created until the late '90s during the reviled era set up after video game company Acclaim bought out Valiant and relaunched the entire universe with game-esque comics that they could use as launching points for actual console games. Christopher Priest and Mark Bright accomplished the impossible by actually making a beloved comic under these dubious conditions, the only Acclaim-era Valiant book anyone talks about with any fondness. Even st...

DC Comics 40. The Multiversity (DC, 2014-2015) Writer - Grant Morrison Illustrators - Ivan Reis ( The Multiversity #1, The Multiversity #2 ), Chris Sprouse ( The Society of Super-Heroes ), Ben Oliver ( The Just ), Frank Quitely ( Pax Americana ), Cameron Stewart ( Thunderworld Adventures ), Paulo Siqueira ( Guidebook ), Marcus To ( Guidebook ), Various Artists ( Guidebook ), Jim Lee (Mastermen) , Doug Mahnke (Ultra Comics) Colourists - Nei Ruffino ( The Multiversity #1 ), Dave McCaig ( The Society of Super-Heroes, ( Guidebook ), Dan Brown ( The Just, The Multiversity #2 ), Nathan Fairbairn ( Pax Americana , Thunderworld Adventures ), Hi-Fi ( Guidebook ), Alex Sinclair (Mastermen) , Jeromy Cox (Mastermen) , David Baron ( Ultra Comics ), Gabe Eltaeb ( Ultra Comics ), Blond ( The Multiversity #2) Letterers - Todd Klein ( The Multiversity #1 , The Multiversity #2 ), Carlos M. Mangual ( The Society of Super-Heroes ), Clem Robbins ( The Just ), Rob Leigh ( Pax Americana , (Maste...

Valiant   45. The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage (Valiant, 2014-2015) Writer - Jen Van Meter Illustrator - Roberto De La Torre Colourist - David Baron Letterer - Dave Lanphear The always reader-friendly Valiant offer up a slightly more challenging story in their five issue miniseries The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage from late 2014. This emotional and spiritual journey penned by Jen Van Meter, follows Dr. Shan Fong (Doctor Mirage), a parapsychologist and supernatural investigator gifted with the ability to speak to the dead. All the dead, except her own late husband, whose recent passing still looms over the grief-stricken Fong. The character previously appeared in several issues of Shadowman but those are not required reading to get into this miniseries, which serves as a solid introduction to her character and backstory. The art seen throughout is a little outside the norm for the Valiant Universe, with frayed sketchwork pencils, with colouring that goes over the lines in...

Four blog entries in and I'm already straying from the Comics in Comics Communion to talk about a movie; talk about my jumping the shark moment. As an avid fan of comics for several years, and an active cinephile for even longer, my relationship with films (and television shows) based on comic books is fractured, to put it lightly. The comic fan in me is delighted by the prospect of seeing the beloved costumed heroes from my books standing tall on the big screen, even more-so when the movies actually adhere to the text and borrow from existing comic storylines. The film goer in me is frustrated by how visually lacking comic book movies tend to be; how they get sabotaged by my least favourite Hollywood directors (Christopher Nolan and Zach Snyder, to name a few); and how directors I like are handcuffed to the overarching house style of the company that employs them. I knew I was never going to get it, but I liked to fantasize what a Joss Whedon's Avengers: Age of Ultron woul...

After two narrative-pushing story arcs, “Love Dares You” (#11-13) finds Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 in a relaxed state that harkens back to the television show's lighter toned Monster-of-the-Week installments. It's a mode that was as pivotal and often used in the TV series as its season-length story arcs and mythology building episodes, but have taken a back seat during the show's canonical comic book revival. One of the challenges faced with adapting a TV series into an ongoing comic format is accommodating to the differences in form. A 22-episode TV series can move between series-arc and episodic adventures smoothly, because of all they can accomplish in a 43-minute episode. A comic season can't juggle the two modes quite as easily. A 22-page comic isn't the story-telling equivalent of an hour-long episode, so a classic episode such as “Pangs” or “Band Candy” cannot be told with the same clarity in just a single issue of a modern comic. I say modern, b...