World Comic Book Review

17th March 2023

Happy 30th Birthday, Spawn

Spawn, a comic book title created by Todd McFarlane and published by Image Comics since 1992, features an American superhero character with an interesting pedigree. Spawn is distinguishable by “a “neural parasite cloak,” a particularly shaped face mask, green eyes and a red “M” on the chest”, as described by a judge in Wisconsin (and … Read more

Happy 80th Birthday, Two-Face

Two-Face is not a very original character. A criminal, half-scarred, with psychotic tendencies? Another madman in the queue of Batman’s long line of adversaries, and not a potent one at that. Two-Face is a remarkably original character. Batman’s enemy Two-Face had his first appearance in Detective Comics #66, August 1942 – two months shy, as … Read more

Happy 70th birthday, Phantom Stranger

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, DC Comics, August 1952 In a genre obsessed with origin stories, the Phantom Stranger is a complete oddity. The American publisher, DC Comics, has offered several alternatives to the character’s history, ranging from an angel who refused to take sides in the war between God and Lucifer, to … Read more

Happy 40th Birthday, Rogue

Creators: Chris Claremont and Michael Golden First appearance: Avengers Annual #10 (1981) (Marvel Comics) Marvel Comics’ mutant Rogue is a long-standing member of the X-Men, and as such, has a convoluted and sometimes contradictory fictional history set in the ongoing soap opera of that superhero team. We do not propose to navigate that particular maze: … Read more