I’ve long been a fan of the summer blockbuster season, a love that has carried over from my latchkey childhood, when I’d scrounge up all of the change I could find between couch cushions just to see whatever loud-obnoxious-thrilling-brainless thing Hollywood had put out. Today movies are of course much more expensive, and you’re going … Continue reading »
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The Rise and Fall of Broseph Stalin
A few days ago I thought I had the perfect idea for a comic: Broseph Stalin. You can imagine how upset I was then to find that not only had Broseph Stalin been done, it’d been done to death. Not only is there a Broseph Stalin meme, there’s also a Broseph Stalin comic. There goes … Continue reading »
When Athletes Become Action Stars
It’s a common practice now for famous athletes to look for work in movies. After all, they need something to do once they retire from sports at the ripe old age of 30. Sometimes athletes will try to make a break into the world of comedy, which almost always ends badly (see Shaq in Kazaam). … Continue reading »
Superhero Comics for Casual Readers
Superhero comics, especially ones that have been around for decades, inevitably have stories more complex than the casual fan realizes. Writers take great pains to create a ripple effect in their work–sometimes a villain will scuffle with Batman in one issue then return punch-drunk to fight Batgirl several issues later. Continuity, when it comes down … Continue reading »
The Hobbit Film Review: An Unexpected Nap
It’s hard to criticize Peter Jackson’s new film The Hobbit without setting up a perfect that’s-what-she-said joke: it’s too long, I fell asleep in the middle, and I couldn’t remember the names of all of the dwarves involved. The first time I viewed The Hobbit, I made a number of mistakes. I saw the opening … Continue reading »
Have A Nerdy Holiday with a Star Wars Christmas Album
Christmas came early for me this year when I happened to google “ridiculous christmas albums” and quickly found “Christmas in the Stars,” a Star Wars themed Christmas album! I pinched myself. Yes, it’s real. It’s not some album a bunch of fanboys cobbled together–although it might be better if it had. Instead, Christmas in the … Continue reading »
Cartoon Pick of the Day: The Simpsons “Gone Abie Gone”
The Simpsons Season 24, episode 4, “Gone Abie Gone.” Comic book fans should be well acquainted by now with secret origins stories. That’s where a chacter’s backstory is revisited, only to introduce an aspect of their life we had no prior knowledge of. Simpsons fans got a taste of this with the recent episode “Gone … Continue reading »
Back to the Next Generation: All New X-Men #1
Comic: All New X-Men issue 1, written by Brian Michael Bendis When we last left Cyclops, he’d gone off the deep end a bit. Years ago, the love of his life, Jean Grey, was possessed by the Phoenix Force and wound up destroying her life and an entire planet in the process. Recently, the Phoenix … Continue reading »
Recommended Reading: Superior by Mark Millar
Teenage superheroes have always had slight handicaps to overcome, usually commonplace ones like shyness around girls, general nervousness, lack of parental support, or poverty. Superior, a seven issue mini-series by Mark Millar, takes the time-honored formula a step further by giving its hero, a pre-teen named Simon Pooni, an incurable, debilitating, tragic handicap: multiple sclerosis. … Continue reading »
Skyfall Movie Review: Brilliant, But Not Bond
I have a distinction to make: Skyfall is a brilliant, beautiful, and breathtaking movie–but it’s not a James Bond film. I mean that as a compliment too. Of course, Skyfall is nominally a Bond movie, with all of the recognizable characters showing up: James, Q, M, Moneypenny, and there’s the mincing, off-kilter, European villain we’ve come to … Continue reading »
