Ethan Van Sciver has long been regarded as the de facto head of the independent comics creation movement dubbed Comicsgate.

Another year has come and gone, and it's time to look back once more to determine what the prior year brought us that was good. Critical Blast will be taking votes now through the end of January 2023 for you, our readers.

Mike Baron's Private American has been fighting an uphill battle since the project first launched to be crowdfunded.

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

Two of the most seminal figures in comic book culture are inarguably -- and yet, very arguably -- Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Individually, each made their contributions to the pop culture medium, but together they forged the stuff of legends.

For the past handful of years there have been two major players in the arena of crowdfunding projects: Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But over the past few weeks, the San Francisco based Indiegogo has gone eerily silent while its platform has been exhibiting nasty behavior.

A few months ago, YouTube influencer Eric D. July, better known by his channel handle Young Rippa, announced his intention to launch his own Rippaverse line of comics- starting with a premiere title ISOM #1.

Veteran comic book writer Mike Baron (Nexus, Punisher, The Flash) is no stranger to pushback when it comes to his creator-owned comics.

image: John Byrne

The X-Men are one of Stan Lee’s and Jack Kirby’s most popular creations. Created as a metaphor for the civil rights movement of the 60s, a lot of the greatest X-Men stories deal with discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and fear of the other.

Marvel Comics has emasculated their fan-favorite vigilante, taking away the Punisher’s guns and replacing his skull emblem to make him kinder and gentler for modern readers, but fans of writer Mike Baron’s acclaimed five year run on the street-level sentinel can revisit his no-nonsense, gritty take on vigilante just