Matthew Wilson

A lesbian werewolf goes to war in ‘Cry Havoc’ #1

Cry Havoc opens with a quotation from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Already, the book promises a story both deeply informed by literary tradition and steeped in lore. Even without the high bar set for mythology-based stories, *ahem, WicDiv* this will be an ambitious story to tell.

‘Captain Marvel’ #2, Aliens, and Alien

It says a lot that, more than 30 years later, our sci-fi visual language is still so reliant on Alien’s and Aliens’ legacy. There are probably entire articles–maybe entire books?–to be written about the fact that you still can’t tell a “small crew investigates an abandoned spacecraft” story without consciously or unconsciously evoking those decades-old movies.

‘WicDiv’ #17 is a sexy and sad ending to the latest arc

If it wasn’t obvious before, the “Commercial Suicide” arc of WicDiv is about the personal tragedies of the Pantheon members. If the first half was about misogyny, it seems like the second half is about the personal choices of women. This becomes fairly obvious in the final issue of the arc, which is about Sakhmet.

‘Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl’ #5 brings the series closer to inevitable conclusions

With David taking his bow and using the last of his power from Britannia, Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #5 feels like more of an ending than anything else we’ve seen from the Phonogram series. As Emily and David’s story shifts more into the “present” of 2009-2010, we see the closest they might actually get to growing up. For David, it’s learning how to be a decent human being. For Emily, it’s accepting her death. Morbid as it can be, Team Phonogram creates a story in this issue that gives the characters room to do that without sacrificing who they are at their cores. With the groundwork laid and with Emily running out of time, the finale looks to be a heart-racer and a heart-wrencher.

‘Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl’ #4 is a Precious Little Comic

While it may initially appear irrelevant to the rest of the plot, Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #4 may be one of Gillen, McKelvie, Cowles, and Wilson’s finest hours as a creative team. By using the tropes and tics of a popular and defining work, they manage to tell a story that both plays with the central theme of the arc and the central theme of the work referenced in astoundingly creative ways. It’s fun, electric, and even just a bit precious.

NYCC 2015: Interview with ‘WicDiv’ Colorist Matthew Wilson

At New York Comic Con, I had the opportunity to chat with prolific colorist Matthew Wilson about his colors and process on The Wicked + the Divine and Phonogram, his relationships with various artists as well as get a sneak peek of the upcoming Black Widow series he is working on with writer Mark Waid (Archie) and artist Chris Samnee (Daredevil). Wilson first came to prominence with his colors on Phonogram: Singles Club with frequent collaborators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie and has colored a variety of Marvel books, like Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Wolverine, and Secret Avengers. He recently finished a run on Daredevil with Waid and Samnee and is currently taking a break from the Eisner nominated WicDiv as guest artists draw and color this arc. Matthew Wilson is also the colorist on Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl and Paper Girls from Image Comics and Deadpool vs. Thanos from Marvel as well as the upcoming Mighty Thor and Black Widow from Marvel.

Top 10 Things I’m Looking Forward to at New York Comic Con 2015

This year, I will be attending my first ever New York Comic Con with a press pass from Popoptiq.com. I am very excited and a little nervous about getting the chance to rub shoulders with 150,000+ comics, sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and video game fans. (Sorry if I forgot your specific niche.) This year, New York Comic Con is really bringing their A-game as far as panels, guests, and even afterparty opportunities. This year’s guests range from Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto to the casts and writers of upcoming genre TV shows like Sword of Shannara, Ash vs. the Evil Dead, and Legends of Tomorrow and of course, a stacked comics creator lineup from living legends like Chris Claremont and Brian K. Vaughan and relatively new stars like Batgirl artist Babs Tarr and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Jughead artist Erica Henderson.

‘Phonogram’ #1- The Comic Book as Music Video

With its witty (and wee bit pretentious) conversations about musical trends, smart design and color choices from Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson, and robust character work with Emily Aster, Phonogram #1 reads like if The Smiths weren’t utter drama queens and made another album after Strangeways, Here We Come. (The Smiths are my favorite band so this is a high compliment as far as music metaphors go.)

Best Comics of 2015 (So Far) Part 2

As comic book readership becomes ever more aware of problems within popular media, it’s been harder and harder to find a book that isn’t problematic. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s ongoing independent book,Bitch Planet, is a gem in the slowly improving realm of comic books and geek culture.

‘The Wicked + the Divine’ #10 looks at the dark side of fandom

In The Wicked + the Divine #10, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie explore the fallout of Cassandra becoming the final Pantheon member while also giving readers their first glimpse of Ragnarock, which makes Coachella look like your set at the middle school talent show. Gillen, McKelvie, and colorist Matthew Wilson lay on the tragedy while also looking into the lighter, more wondrous side of godhood. This issue is a big turning point in Laura’s personal arc as she gets to reflect and act upon the fact that she’s left out of the Pantheon, and McKelvie does little things with her facial expressions and character acting to show her feelings towards the various gods and fans. These all happen while Gillen starts to wrap up the first arc’s murder mystery, reflect on the twisted, yet beautiful nature of fandom, and continue to show Baphomet’s turn towards the dark side.

‘The Wicked + the Divine’ #9: surprise guest

So, The Wicked + the Divine is a very strange series. It’s not one that’s easy to review as the series often eye drops information to the reader though off hand bits of dialogue. The story so far follows a pantheon of various deities all whom reincarnate every nine decades in the form of super inspirational icons. In the 21st century, the pantheon find themselves as pop stars bearing blatant parallels to the likes of Daft Punk, Kanye West, and Prince. All of this is perceived (mostly) from the view point of Laura, a super fan whom is out to solve the framing of Lucifer for murder.

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