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Grim Furry Tales: Seeds Review
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Grim Crew Written and Created by Martin Brandt II Artists: Jason Stephens, Eric Boswell, Chase Bowman, Martinho Duarte Abreu, Bob Smeets, Roberto Macedo Alves, Matthew Pinchback, Carl Jeffers, Paul Petyo, Timothy Kepple, Martin Brandt II, Jim, Amanda Faye, Matthew Pinchback, Kit White, Candy Hart It’s surprising how strong an idea of a book’s content you…
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Crazy Machines Complete PC Review
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Crazy Machines Complete provides an excellent package of puzzles and design tools, but its insane difficulty level is likely to make all but the most precocious gamer feel like a dunce.
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New Mutants vol 3 #1 Comic Book Review
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Writer: Zeb Wells Pencils: Diogenes Neves Inks: Cam Smith, Ed Tadeo Colours: John Rauch Having fully excavated the nineties, Marvel is now digging deeper in the hope of replicating the success of the recent X-Force reboot. The New Mutants, a title perhaps most famous introducing both the character Cable and the polarising talents of Rob…
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The Flash: Rebirth #2 Comic Book Review
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DC Comics Writer: Geoff Jones Art: Ethan Van Sciver Colours: Alex Sinclair As someone who dips in and out of the DC Universe while keeping one foot firmly in Marvel territory, it continues to amaze me how DC make no effort whatsoever to open up their new titles to the uninitiated. By bringing back Barry…
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Batman: Detective Comics #853 Review
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Story: Neil Gaiman Art: Andy Kubert Inks: Scott Williams Colours: Alex Sinclair Trust Neil Gaiman to write a story like ‘Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?’ Whereas Gaiman’s most recent mainstream superhero work such as 1602 and Eternals has been pretty conventional business, this tale was far closer to his more ambiguous work from Vertigo.…
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Amazing Spider-man #593 Comic Review
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Marvel Writer: Mark Waid Pencils: Mike McKone Inks: Lanning and Kessel Colours: Jeromy Cox Though last issue’s final page almost cost me both my eyesight and my sanity, I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of ‘24/7’. But one week later and the premise has already swung into a brick wall. Spider-man continues to work around…
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Velvet Assassin PC Review
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Though it will frequently test your patience, Violette Summer’s revenge quest offers a haunting yet surprisingly plausible depiction of war. If Velvet Assassin had been made 10 years ago, its protagonist would likely have been a male, gravel-voiced, 80s throwback of an action hero. Today, game developers have wised up to the true potential of…
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Batman: Battle for the Cowl – The Underground #1 Review
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DC Writer: Chris Yost Art: Pablo Raimondi Colours: Brian Reber The Battle for the Cowl one shots have been a mixed bag, with only the excellent Arkham Asylum adding anything significant to Gotham City and its demented denizens. The Underground is equally interesting, if a little unfocussed. With the revived Black Mask now calling the…
Shelf Abuse
Storytelling, comic books and self-publishing
To better focus my efforts, Bothersome Books, my wee publishing imprint and home to my novel and short stories, has merged with Shelf Abuse. Expect several new releases this year.
Shelf Abuse: Sporadically Singing the Unsung Since 2006
Welcome to Shelf Abuse, the blog of British writer, web/graphic designer and occasional illustrator Carl Doherty.
What started out in 2006 as a blog about comics, gradually leaning more towards self-published and creator-owned works, has slowly transitioned into a home for my own self-published efforts, and a place to share my opinions on art, literature, cinema, storytelling, publishing, design, animal rights, depression… and yes, still comics. You’ll also find the occasional guest article amidst my mercifully brief rants.
Current Site Status
Due to an increasingly dense schedule, I’m no longer officially accepting review submissions. Hopefully this will eventually change, but not looking likely any time soon.
However, my love for indie comics hasn’t diminished in the slightest. Please do feel free to follow me on social media, add me to your mailing list or inform me of your new book. I can’t always reply, but I always appreciate hearing about new books.