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Brightest Day: Birds of Prey #1 Comic Review
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DC, $2.99 Story: Gail Simone Art: Ed Benes Colours: Nei Ruffino With the last Birds of Prey series getting cancelled just over a year ago, you’d be forgiven for thinking that DC’s reboot would take Oracle, Huntress, Black Canary and company in a new direction. But no: essentially, part 1 of ‘Endrun’ is business as…
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Brightest Day #3 Comic Book Review
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DC, $2.99 Story: Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi Pencils: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Joe Prado Inks: Vicente Cifuentes, David Beaty, Mark Irwin Colours: Peter Steigerwald, John Starr, Beth Sotelo It think it’s safe to say that Brightest Day #0’s memorable opening – which for those that didn’t read it, featured a…
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Rubicon Publishing Takes Graphic Novels to the Classroom
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in FeaturesEarlier this year I featured a book called Fool’s Gold, an ambitious collaborative project from the Dearne High College in Rotherham, which aimed to encourage reading and writing in pupils. It’s always heartening to hear of comic books breaking though literary prejudices, and even more so to see comics enlightening children and teens. Contrary to…
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Mike Foxall Has Elvis Turning in His Grave
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in Comic NewsAustralian illustrator, animator, short film maker and punk rocker Mike Foxall has released Issue 1 of The Grave Shakers, a new self-published comic series under his XRay Studios (www.xraystudios.com) label. The 4-part miniseries sees famous rock icons brought back to life by mad scientist Doctor Sponglehoff, who plans to combine his two great passions, “genetic re-animation…
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First Edition Announces First Comic Industry Web Comedy
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in NewsGiven the success of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and The Guild, I’m surprised that there haven’t been more cult web shows created with comic geeks and/or gamers in mind. At least, I’m assuming those shows were successful, as in someone, somewhere eventually profited from them… First Edition is a new web comedy by Sam Weller…
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Zatanna #1 Comic Book Review
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DC, $2.99 Story: Paul Dini Pencils: Stephane Roux Inks: Karl Story Colours: John Kalisz Appealing to the hot-magician-in-fishnets fetishist in us all, Zatanna is a fan favourite who has long deserved a regular series. But she’s also the sort of property that demands a capable writer; for every Neil Gaiman who’s portrayed Zatanna at her…
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iZombie #1 Comic Book Review
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Vertigo, $1.00 Story: Chris Roberson Art: Michael Allred Colours: Laura Allred iZombie is an odd first issue, in that for a title debuting at an alluring $1 it offers little in the way of a hook, or any reason that readers might want to return next month. That isn’t to say that it’s a bad…
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Eisenberg Reunites with Zombieland Director
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in Movie NewsAdventureland star Jesse Eisenberg will reunite with Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer for 30 Minutes or Less, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The action comedy will see Eisenberg and Parks & Recreation’s Aziz Ansari play a hapless pizza delivery boy and a high school history teacher, respectively, who are forced to carry out a bank heist…
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.