The Book Review: 100%
It's a story of unrequited love and visible internal organs, as Ninth Art revisits the punk sci-fi future of indie hero and modern maestro Paul Pope - and discovers that it's what's inside that counts.
19 June 2006
Top Nine: Wooller's Choice
Ben Wooller, Ninth Art's man in Australia, recalls the nine comics that he treasures the most, including a few tattered issues of X-MEN, STAR WARS and GI JOE, the works of PAUL POPE, and a rare Australian original.
24 April 2006
Comment: Head Space
From completist fanboy to SANDMAN addict, Ben Wooller reflects on the evolution of a compulsion. Plus, he pays a visit to M John Harrison's fantasy city of Virconium, in the early 90s graphic novel THE LUCK IN THE HEAD.
08 August 2005
Comment: Hear The Noise
The online comics community is full of outrageous statements and meltdowns - and that's just the creators. Should they log-off to preserve their reputations? Plus, a look at why DC's Humanoids and 2000AD lines may have failed.
18 April 2005
Comment: Brought To Books
After the WEAPON X and MARY JANE novels came and went with little fanfare, Marvel has announced a new book deal with four different publishers. Except, it all sounds a little familiar. Ben Wooller reads between the lines.
24 January 2005
Comment: Comics, Know Thy Self
Ben Wooller looks at Geoff Klock's attempts to skirt around the term 'post-modern' in his exploration of comics' 'third movement', HOW TO READ SUPERHERO COMICS AND WHY. Plus, why Superman is bad for your social conscience.
06 December 2004
Comment: Film Four
The first images from next year's Fantastic Four movie have been released, and Jessica Alba's Sue Storm is causing a particular stir - especially if you're John Byrne. Ben Wooller weighs in.
27 September 2004
Comment: Kindred Spirits
Comics may not be widely read, but the artform has some friends in high places, including novelist Michael Chabon and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Ben Wooller explores the phenomenon of the comics advocate.
09 August 2004
Comment: Novel Ideas
Picture narratives may predate prose, but novels still get the respect. Ben Wooller looks at the new prose publishing initiatives from Marvel and Dark Horse, and explores the world of Michael Chabon's THE ESCAPIST.
14 June 2004
The Friday Review: Lux And Alby Sign On And Save The Universe
Prepare yourself for something a bit novel, in every sense of the word, as author Martin Millar brings together the characters from three of his novels under the pen of Simon Fraser, in order to save the universe.
19 March 2004
The Friday Review: Mr Punch
Is there anything more disturbing and strange than children's entertainment? Not when it's placed in the hands of Gaiman and McKean. Ninth Art catches a puppet show that might hit rather close to home.
06 February 2004
The Friday Review: Bacchus: Immortality Isn't Forever
Eddie Campbell is best known for FROM HELL and ALEC, but one of his longest running works covers the modern day exploits of an ancient god of wine. Ninth Art heads down to the cellar to rediscover a fine vintage.
09 January 2004
The Friday Review: Brooklyn Dreams
Themes of fatherhood, spirituality, mortality and self-awareness are common in JM DeMatteis's works, but what may seem too strange in MOONSHADOW, too unresolved in SEEKERS, finds humanity and voice through BROOKLYN DREAMS.
14 November 2003
The Friday Review: Pop Gun War
When an angel abandons his wings in a dumpster, it provides one young boy with an opportunity to see his world from a different perspective. Ninth Art takes flight with Farel Dalrymple's exceptional POP GUN WAR.
10 October 2003
The Friday Review: Death: The High Cost Of Living
With the SANDMAN franchise chugging ever onwards, and with writer Neil Gaiman back on the comic racks, Ninth Art looks back to the very first - and arguably best - SANDMAN spin-off.
26 September 2003
Thumbnail: Paul Pope
He's the aspiring Picasso who has become one of comics' hottest and most inventive talents. Ninth Art looks back on the career so far of one of comics' few recognised modern artists, the prodigious Paul Pope.
21 July 2003
The Friday Review: No. 5
A surrealist science fiction fantasy from Japan that draws on some of the best elements of American and European comics art, Taiyo Matsumoto's NO. 5 is more than just a number. Ninth Art joins the chase.
11 July 2003
The Friday Review: Cages
It's a story about creation, and as creations go, it's a real work of art. Ninth Art unlocks master illustrator Dave McKean's weighty magnum opus and enters the CAGES.
11 April 2003
The List: Sci-Fi
From Paul Pope's artpunk extremists to Katsuhiro Otomo's dystopian ultraviolence, science fiction aficionado Ben Wooller offers his view of some of the very best social comment in comics - all with a futurist bent.
17 March 2003
The Friday Review: 30 Days of Night
Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin. Lock all the doors and windows and keep on the light in the hall, as Ninth Art checks out the sleeper horror hit of 2003 that won't let you sleep a wink.
14 March 2003
The Friday Review: Harlequin Valentine
Light the candles, pour the wine, and stick some Al Green on the stereo; Ninth Art gets in the mood for love this Valentine's Day, with Neil Gaiman and John Bolton's modern retelling of a classic theatrical tale.
14 February 2003
The Friday Review: Enigma
Peter Milligan. Duncan Fegredo. Superheroes. Sex. These days, you'd think it was a Marvel title, but this classic series comes from the days when Vertigo wasn't so shy of subversion in spandex. A mystery? A riddle? It's ENIGMA.
24 January 2003
Two Steps Back
The current - and much derided - nostalgia boom isn't the first of its kind in the comics industry. Ben Wooller looks back to the last big craze for reviving old properties, and asks what the important differences are between then and now.
19 July 2002
The Adventures of an Art Slut: A conversation with Ben Templesmith
Ninth Art met with up-and-coming artist Ben Templesmith in his native Perth to discuss how he made the jump from getting his fan art published in SPAWN to becoming the new artist on HELLSPAWN.
11 March 2002
Comic Shop Confidential: Thriving In Isolation
In the first of three essays on comic shop culture, Ben Wooller discusses the troubles facing a comic shop in an isolated corner of the world; Perth, Australia, where the taxes are high and FROM HELL gets impounded by customs.
15 February 2002