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Deathlok: The Demolisher #1 (of 7) Review
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Marvel Jan 10, $3.99 Story: Charlie Huston Art: Lan Medina Colours: Brian Heberling In comic books, perhaps more than any other storytelling medium, there seems to be a large percentage of new titles that are proficiently written and finely illustrated, but so thoroughly lacking in likeable characters that it’s hard to care how Issue 1…
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Cowboy Ninja Viking #1 Review
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Image Oct 09, $3.50 Story: AJ Lieberman Art: Riley Rossmo Generally it’s pretty easy to summarise a new comic series by its title, and I like to think I’d be forgiven for assuming that Pirate Ninja Viking was a lazy parody of crossover events and genre mish-mashes. Well, I couldn’t have been further form the…
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Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 (of 4) Review
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Marvel Jan 10, $3.99 Story: Paul Cornell Art: Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, John Paul Leon, Matt Milla The upcoming Iron Man sequel has seen renewed interest in Natasha Romanova, and this quality origin story is definitely the way to go about promoting the super-spy to a new generation of comic readers. Paul Cornell, whose recent…
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The Great Ten #1 (of 10) Review
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DC Jan 10, $2.99 Story: Tony Bedard Pencils: Scott McDaniel Inks: Andy Owens Colours: The Hories Of everything to have arisen from 52, the Great Ten (essentially China’s equivalent of the Justice League) were one of the most interesting additions to the DCU. It’s somewhat peculiar that it’s taken several years for DC to give…
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The Ghoul #1 Review
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IDW Nov 09 $3.99 Story: Steve Niles Art: Bernie Wrightson Colours: Tom Smith Try as he may, Steve Niles has never quite outdone 30 Days of Night. That title brought him such attention; party because it was good, but largely because it ran on such a clever and instantly “gettable” premise. Niles latest series for…
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Supergod #1 Review
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Avatar Oct 09, $3.99 Story: Warren Ellis Art: Garrie Gastonny Avatar’s range of gimmick-free comics created by genuinely talented writers has so far produced some pretty decent titles, but Warren Ellis’s Supergod is the first series from the publisher that actually feels like it could be an enduring classic. The third part in a thematic…
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World’s Finest #1 (of 4) – Nightwing
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DC Dec 09, $2.99 Writer: Sterling Gates Pencils: Julian Lopez Inks: Bit Colour: Hi-Fi This new miniseries is an attempt to spotlight the latest generation of DC heroes in a similar fashion to The Brave and the Bold’s team-ups. On the one hand, World’s Finest makes a welcome return to the more traditional, one-off plots…
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Arkham Reborn #1 (of 3) Review
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DC Dec 09, $2.99 Writer: David Hine Art: Jeremy Haun Colours: John Kalisz While the Batman: Battle for the Cowl event pretty much failed to deliver on its every promise, the one pleasant surprise to come from it was David Hine and Jeremy Haun’s Arkham Asylum one-shot. Engrossing and ominous, it oozed with a Lovecraftian…
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.