Make Mine Marvel

Hello.
Now that I have your attention, I feel that I can properly introduce myself:
My name is Josh Kopin. I am a sophomore at Bard College, and I like comic books. I like all comic books, even the bad ones, because I have fallen in love with sequential art. Why have I fallen for such a fickle (and often awful) mistress? Why do I let myself pay for comics, most of which will inevitably be crap? Why! Why! Why!

Because comics are the single most accessible artistic medium. Which isn't to say that comics can't be complex, just to say that it is often the only medium that manages to be both acessible and smart at the same time.

With that said, is it also probably the most complex to make: not every creative team, after all, can be Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. There are so many essential and integral pieces that go into the making of a comic that it has become clear to me that a comic is only as good as its weakest link. Comics aren't the movies; one man can carry the show by the sheer force of will and talent: Ed Brubaker could write the best piece of literature since Shakespeare, but if it was drawn by an awful artist (say, yours truly) there is no hope for the piece.

It is this combination of accessibility and complexity that makes comics so damn interesting to review, particularly since the aesthetics of comics are ultimately quite ill-defined. This makes the question of "what makes a good comic" particularly hard to answer. I, for instance, am not sure about how I feel about Jeff Parker's Agents of Atlas ongoing series, but it is ultimately an extremely comic-y comic. It's got bizarre heroes, great action, and a wonderful silver age-y feel- I see why people find it appealing- but ultimately it just sort of bores me. I mean, I should get really excited by a gorilla running around with two machine guns, shooting things with two brains. I just don't, I guess. On the other hand, I find myself really, really liking Parker's Exiles, which, despite the lesser quality of the dialogue, has a manic energy that I really enjoy.

So, with all of that, I introduce myself to you, the fine readers of this new blog: my name is Josh Kopin, and I like comics. For your reading pleasure here at THE LONG AND SHORTBOX OF IT I will be the primary handler of Marvel Comics reviews.

Until next time, True Believers. You can read my pull list for this week Tuesday.