Author: Matthew Peterson

The absence of the child this weekend has led to a rare un-muted appearance by ‘Grand Theft Auto’ in my house, specifically ‘GTA: The Ballad Of Gay Tony,’ a story which features gratuitous use of the f-word, rampant homophobia and the friendly neighborhood brutal murderiness for which the GTA franchise has become known.  As I faced down a squad of armored government goons with only explosives and an absurdly large-caliber weapon, I started to realize that what my game avatar was doing was illegal, immoral and pretty much horrific.  If I were asked to roleplay such a character firsthand, I…

Or – “Superheroes-As-Celebrities Now Gets It’s Own Section In My Comics Library…” The story of Joule has, thus far, been interesting, positing a world much like our own, where superheroes compete to see who can get the best corporate sponsorships and Q-ratings.  Now that the competition enters its final stage, will she be able to transition from wannabe to hero?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

News out of the Power Rangers franchise is that Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (also known as “the awesomest thing in the history of ever”) will be adapted for American audiences as part of the second “season” of Power Rangers Megaforce in 2014 or so.  On the one hand, I’m super-psyched that this show IS coming to America, as many fan reports were blowing smoke that it would never be adapted blah blah blah we-don’t-really-know-anything-cakes.  On the other, I’m worried that the adapted pirate/superhero epic will lose all its charm in translation, and that any adaptation is just a recipe for disappointment…

Or – “Where’s Seth Rogen?” It’s been quite a while since I’ve checked in with my favorite radio/pulp hero migrated to comics, so long that the last time I was in Hornet-ville, the hero had six or ten monthly books.  With the movie version under-performing a couple of years ago, Britt and Kato are down to one regular monthly book, and there are some heavy happenings in Century City.  What will happen to the Hornet legacy if there’s no one to carry the big green fedora?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

Today’s idle browsing of the intarwebz led me to the “Wild Mass Guessing” page of a certain tropes-related archive, this one related to ‘The Big Bang Theory.’  My initial response to the show was lukewarm at best, mostly because I have, in my time, known more than a few people whose behaviors were roughly similar to Sheldon’s, and found them to be less than pleasant.  Moreover, part of me wasn’t sure that I appreciated the fact that much of the show’s humor is driven by what seems to be a pretty severe personality disorder on Sheldon’s part.  Though they’ve won…

Upon watching this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, I was struck by a couple of interesting things: First was the realization of how much Second Doctor seems to be inherent in Matt Smith’s portrayal of the Eleventh Doctor, but the second was that the new Doctors have almost exclusively traveled with a solo female companion.  The major deconstructions of this came in the form of Captain Jack (who, if you recall carefully, still had a romantic/sexual component) and Rory, who became seemingly became part of the TARDIS crew to create a love triangle with Eleven and Amy. This sort of…

I always find it interesting that there is a general disapproval of George Lucas going back and making changes to the ‘Star Wars’ movies, but a general acceptance of the re-mastered versions of the original series Star Trek episodes.  Granted, there were some effects that just did NOT hold up since 1966 and the new version of the “paradise” planet in ‘The Way To Eden’, for instance, helps to bring a terrible episode up to almost-passable status.  (The space hippies are still pretty ridiculous, though.)  It may be that the changes to Trek are merely cosmetic in most cases, while Lucas…

Or – “I Love How This Book Feels Like A Lost Silver Age Marvel Comic…” No matter what you think about Mike Allred (and he is, apparently, more controversial than I thought as a penciler) the idea behind this book is kinda delightful.  The hand-picked backup concept gives credence to the idea that a group of second-tier heroes (and one dilettante) could stand in for the Fantastic Four, and Fractions’s character work made issue #1 a must-read for me.  What’s in store for the FF in #2, and will the original Four return on time?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

Or – “Comics From Another Time… When I was young, comic books were a bit different than what you read today.  Sure, DC had just rebooted their entire universe, and Marvel was in the spasms of major change because of new ownership and…  Actually, now that you mention it, you’re probably up to speed with that part.  One thing was different, though:  They could still mention Christmas by name on the cover of the big holiday celebration issues (and perhaps a surprise or two waited inside the books as well.)  Your Major Spoilers Super Holiday Spectacular Retro Review awaits!

So, I should, in the spirit of full disclosure, let you know that I’ve prepared this question in advance.  Odds are, I’m hanging out with my family right now and preparing to get everyone on a plane for a flight to grandma’s house for more holiday what-have-you.  But, in either case, whether you’re a first-time Spoilerite or you remember Russell first-hand, we appreciate you visiting us today and pretty much any other day.  Here’s hoping your holiday went well and that you didn’t have to hide under the stairs or get caught up in an imaginary apocalypse or something, and…

For those who celebrate such things, today is Christmas Eve, traditionally a time for a last little bit of guilt tripping to keep the kids well-behaved and possibly some eggnog, but for me, the last several Christmas Eves have been spent wondering if I got the right gifts for my family.  Now that I have a child of my own, I  have to wonder what she will say was her most beloved gift of all time when she grows up and gets her own podcast.  When I was a kid, the thing I wished for most vacillated between super-powers like everyone in Riverdale had…

Or – “By The Honor Of Purple-Skull!” Sword of Sorcery is one of the most unusual titles in DC’s current line-up, combining a revamped version of the Princess of The Gemworld with futuristic tales of Beowulf, sharing only a sort-of medieval viewpoint between them.  Of course, skilled execution can make anything work, but is this issue a razor-sharp sword or a broken shield of wood?  Your Major Spoilers review (and possibly more tortured metaphors) await!

Or – “The Continuing Adventures Of Hawk-Guy!” With most of Marvel’s titles coming out more often than just once per month, it’s getting a bit difficult to keep up with everything going on.  I still haven’t read even a single issue of Indestructible Hulk, and I’ve only skimmed #1 of the new Captain America series, but I unequivocally will NOT let myself fall behind on this book, Marvel’s best ongoing series in several years.  Will #6 hold up the winning streak?  Your Major Spoilers review awaits!

Or – “What To Do When The Apocalypse Has Come And Gone…” Well, apparently, Friday was the end of the world as we know it, and now we have to pick up the pieces in a post-apocalyptic world that somehow still has Starbucks drive-throughs and basic cable (although there are no more Twinkies.)  Of course, we’ve got it easy compared to the lad called Kamandi, dragged from a bunker into a world of anthropomorphic animals, misshapen mutants and shattered masonry.  But it would seem that even in the future world that’s coming, there are still legends of heroes long past.  Your…