About Matthew Peterson

If pop culture was a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’s be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now. Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: Scientific Progress Goes *BOINK* Edition

After this week’s Major Spoilers Podcast, I was taken by how much I loved all the adventures of Calvin & Hobbes, to the point where it’s fighting with The Far Side and Bloom County for the top slot of ‘Most Loved Comic Strip Tale Of All Time.’  Then I remember the ‘Penguin Lust’ arc and the long strip of the brick wall outside the White House being dismantled in Doonesbury, or even the point back when Garfield was funny, and I have to go and read those trade paperbacks again, by which point I forget the question, but remember all the lyrics to “I’m A Boinger.”

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) still can’t believe how much of ‘Bloom County’ seemingly escaped the MSP team, asking: What’s the best comic STRIP of all time?

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: Mars Blackmon Memorial Edition

When I was younger, I was always a little bit worried about Batman, leaping and bounding across the rooftops of Gotham City in what seemed to be smooth-soled Monkee boots.  As comic audiences and I aged, Batman eventually graduated to a thicker-soled combat-style boot, while Superman still rocked the Stride-Rite knee socks with the stylish divot-hem.  (The loss of that design element is one of the myriad of problems with Supey’s new nanite battle-armor look, by the way.)  Poor Wonder Woman only recently gave up heels (depending on the artist) but The Thorn has been wearing thigh-high stiletto streetwalker boots since 1972, while Black Canary was forced for YEARS to do martial arts flips and judo throws in corsair boots with a Cuban heel.  It seems that only the Flash, with his specially ridged yellow boots, really considered the practicality and workability of his footwear, and even that has been diminished by a bunch of strange seams in the latest designs.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) would enjoy some nice Chuck Taylors, if they made the things in a 14 Wide, asking: Which superhero has the most awesome footgear?

REVIEW: G.I. Joe – A Real American Hero #190

Or – “Knowing Is Approximately 50% Of Any Given Conflict…”

The original continuity of G.I. Joe was largely the brainchild of Larry Hama, who was originally tasked by Marvel Comics to help put together the action series line, and was the primary writer of the original figure card “dossiers”, one of the things which really differentiated G.I. Joe from that which came before.  A couple of years ago, IDW Publishing picked up that version of the G.I. Joe property from the point their Marvel series had left off, and three years later, Hama’s version is still going strong.  What’s the skinny on America’s daring, highly-trained special missions force 30 years later?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

More After the Jump >>

REVIEW: Legion Of Super-Heroes #20

Or – “The Countdown Has Begun…”

With the announcement on the cancellation of Legion of Super-Heroes, I’m wondering if they’re actually going to take this chance to shatter everything that we love about the 31st Century.  Of course, if the last few issues have been any indication, they planned to do that anyway.  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

 

More After the Jump >>

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: Once Upon A Corset Edition

This weekend’s shift at the store (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon and Gage, Topeka! Ask us about our blah-blah-blah-fishcakes!) consisted mostly of identifying and pricing limited variant covers of various Zenescope titles.  For all the derision heaped on them, I actually enjoyed the Wonderland stories.  Moreover, the last batch of Grimm Fairy Tales that I sold online came back at something like 1000% profit, proving that the demand for the comics is still strong, especially for the rarer cover versions.  Still, I’m always troubled by the combination of sexuality/nudity and swift and blinding violence that so often work in concert in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe, and some truly horrifying juxtapositions of the two.  While I don’t mind displays of eye-candy, and I am fine with people who want a little of the old ultra-violence (although I don’t know that I will ever recover from reading Crossed #1 without preparing myself with a drink or two), my personal preference is to absorb each on its own terms.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) likes peanut butter AND chocolate, but doesn’t want them with brussels sprouts, asking: Are you, as a consumer/reader/viewer, uncomfortable when violence and sexuality are mixed?

RETRO REVIEW: Battle Of The Planets – Jason #1 (July 2003)

Or – “Not Everyone Gets To Be The Red Ranger…”

When it comes to your Japanese five-person super-teams, there are a few rules of thumb.  You get a leader, usually the upstanding hero and/or rookie.  You get a comic-relief character.  You get a girl.  You get yourself big guy.  And, to round out the group, there’s often a mysterious loner, the brooding bad boy outcast, the guy who has an axe to grind, but still quietly respects the other members of his group.  This is a story about the first of those loners…  Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!

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REVIEW: Age Of Ultron #8 (of 10)

Or – “Every Life Makes Ripples…”

Wolverine must have never seen an episode of Doctor Who, because he’d know that you can’t mess with a fixed point in time.  After his world turned to madness, the Canucklehead traveled back in time to murder Henry Pym before he created Ultron, but things are not as simple as all that.  (They never are…)  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

More After the Jump >>

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: More Than Just Excuse To Look At Victoria Edition

It is no secret that I have a profound pseudo-crush on Victoria, the most lovely ex-girlfriend of ultra-douchey Ted Mosby on the sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother.’  My adoration of the character/actress aside, I have always enjoyed the adventures of young Ted finding his way in the world, making mistakes and spouting half-educated psycho-sexual theories on THE ONE and how to find her.  Although the series has literally NO clue about realities of love or married life, I still enjoy watching the characters bumbling around, being funny and awesome in spite of their crippling personality flaws.  That said, the beginning of Season 8 damaged the Ted character beyond repair for me, as the man who supposedly believes in love and honor above all stole another guy’s girl ON THEIR WEDDING DAY.  Yes, Victoria is amazing, and sure, he’s had a lot of jerkass moments before, but after spending 8 years pontificating about finding your true love (as well as getting left at the altar himself), the hypocrisy of Ted’s actions were a solid shark-jumping moment in a series known for it’s potential S-J-Ms.

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) also hasn’t forgiven Iron Man for the entirety of 2006, no matter how good his movies are, asking: What’s the most unforgivable decision made by a fictional character that you otherwise love?

REVIEW: Darth Vader And The Ninth Assassin #2 (of 5)

Or – “I Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing…”

As the Empire dawns, the Dark Lord of the Sith and his nefarious master work to consolidate their absolute power.  We know from Star Wars that it worked, but it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters…  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

More After the Jump >>

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: I’m Going To Remake Critical Hit With A Cast Of Koalas Edition

I admit it: I’m reticent to accept new versions of properties that I’ve enjoyed in the past.  As any fan-child (or, to be fair, any human) does, it’s hard to see them make changes that could invalidate or disrespect that which I loved.  While I may never forgive DC for the Archie-legion reboots of Tenzil Kem and Chuck Taine, even I admit that sometimes it’s for the best.  Sure, Spider-Man’s new brain is scary, as is Jim Kirk’s new actor and Superman’s now-missing crimson boxer-briefs, but the audiences have responded positively to these changes, and have responded with additional money spent.  In short, we’ve trained the producers of our media to know that they can move extra units if their next big thing is a version of a past big thing (even if in name only.)  Still, sometimes I like to try to transcend my base human nature and take a positive look at what good might come of this trend…

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is waiting for the new version of the new version of ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ asking: Given that the cycle of relaunches, revamps, reimaginings and reworkings will certainly continue, what property do you most WANT to see get remade?

Major Spoilers Question Of The Day: Don’t Go In The Basement Edition

Last weeks MS-QOTDs left me mulling over scary things and scary movies, and I killed part of my weekend checking out a few of my favorite spine-chilling films out of nostalgia.  The original ‘Amityville Horror’, ‘Paranormal Activity’ and the B-52 sequence of ‘Heavy Metal’ share little in tone or construction, but they do have one major item in common:  They scare the bajeezus out of me.  As anyone who counts Major Spoilers Super Sentai reference can tell you, once something enters my head, iexpect it to stick around for a while, and today’s boring work-day led to me considering my chances of surviving in those fictional horror universes.  (In order, the answers are “Possibly,” “Certainly, so long as I’m not a tool like Micah”, and “Nooope.”)  Speed didn’t help the victims of Jason Voorhees, so I wouldn’t have too much of a handicap there, but I wouldn’t last long around Rick Grimes, having long since wandered off into the woods to get away from those people.  Either way, the give-and-take of my cinematic ruminations filled a dull Thursday afternoon (Best Chance For Matthew Survival = “Nightbreed”, in case ya wondered) but also begs a query…

The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) kicked that #@&*ing map in the #@&*ing river yesterday, asking: How would you survive in a horror movie universe and which one would you choose?