Author Archives: Matthew Peterson

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.

8
REVIEW: Justice Society Of America #42

Posted on by

Or – “The Problem With A JLA/JSA Crossover…”

Back in the day, the JLA had their own book, and travelled to Earth-2 (or to somewhere else WITH natives of Earth-2) once a year, usually a two or three part affair.  The JSA seldom had their own title during this period, mind you, and usually we saw a sampling of each team rather than THREE DOZEN heroes.  With the JSA, the JSA All-Stars, and the Justice League in play, as well as guest-stars galore, there’ a lot going on in this crossover, but not a lot of focus… 

More After the Jump >>

5
REVIEW: CBGB #2 (of 4)

Posted on by

Or – “I’m Probably Not Cool Enough To Read This…”

In my duties as a Major Spoilers writer/editor/bon vivant/playboy, I sometimes feel guilty about my complicitness in the thought process that “Comics=Soopa-Heroes.”  I am a comics fan AND a super-cape fan, admittedly, and the industry is geared towards presenting the ongoing adventures of guys in ludicrous suits punching people (not that there’s ANYTHING wrong with that) but I’ve also got a lot of series near and dear to my heart that are off the beaten path.  It may seem a bit odd for Boom Studios to publish this anthology series inspired by the legendary New York rock venue, but at least no one can complain about Mary Jane or time-traveling multimillionaires…

More After the Jump >>

7
REVIEW: The Boys – Highland Laddie #1 (of 6)

Posted on by

Or – “Tartan Plaid And Heilan’ Trews…”

Recent events in “The Boys” have left Wee Hughie Campbell confused about his life and the path he has taken since the death of his girlfriend a couple of years ago…  His friends may be his enemies, his enemies have become dear friends, and the games of deceit and death have worn harsh on his mind.  What happens now?  Well, as a wise old sage called the 80′s taught us, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, which for Hughie means a tiny hidden hamlet in bonny aulde Scotland…

More After the Jump >>

8
RETRO REVIEW: Defenders #50 (August 1977)

Posted on by

Or – “War Against The Zodiac! (Also: DOO DAH!  DOO DAH!)”

In the classic Marvel Universe, there was always a superhero team pecking order.  The Avengers with the first line of defense against criminal conspiracies and schmucks trying to, say, kill everyone in New York born under the sign of Gemini.  The X-Men were mostly dormant, but  still showed up here and there to fight the odd mutant menace or guy with a funny head.  The Fantastic Four were the ones who dealt with all the cosmic menaces, like when Galactus mistook the Roman Coloseum for a Port-A-John.  And when the menace was a multi-dimensional eight-headed troglodyte, or self-help clowns, or even a man with a gorilla’s body who wants to take over the world using the power of EST?  That, my friends, is when you called in the Defenders.  They were original non-team, founded by Doctor Strange, The Hulk, The Silver Surfer and The Sub-Mariner, four guys who didn’t team up much, and usually meant it when they did.  In their many years of operation, the Defenders dealt with some oddball menaces, but few of them reached the level of the man called Scorpio.

More After the Jump >>

5
REVIEW: Green Lantern – Emerald Warriors #1

Posted on by

Or – “Okay, One More GL Title And We’ve Reached Spider-Man Level Saturation…”

There’s a whole lot shakin’ in the cosmic portions of the DC Universe lately, what with the strange corpses who stopped living and became mixed-up cosmic zombies, the rewriting of the books of Oa, half a dozen new Corps to compete with the Guardians boys in green, and pretty much life, death and the whole cosmic enchilada flying back and forth.  During all of this, Guy Gardner and Guardian Ganthet have made an unspecified deal with a particular devil, in the hopes of protecting the universe at large.  They probably forget how badly those sorts of things tend to go…

More After the Jump >>

21
TOP TEN: Ten Stories That Changed Everything

Posted on by

Or – “And Not Always For The Better…”

Every medium has watershed moments; stories, characters or events that change the paradigm for all art of that type.  Going back to the days when movie careers were ruined by “Talkies” (look up Gloria Swanson sometime) these shifts can be jarring for everyone involved, from the creators to the fictional characters themselves.  A sea change is always invigorating, but there’s not way to control or to predict where such reimaginings will actually take us…

More After the Jump >>

6
REVIEW: Secret Warriors #18

Posted on by

Or - “Awright, You Gold-Brickin Swastika Slingin’ Ratzis And Like That!”

It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with the adventures of Nick Fury (once the head of SHIELD, now a Secret Warrior against something or other) and his charges in the Secret Warriors.  Last I read, they were in the midst of the Secret Invasion and they had a new member who reminded me of Gateway, and there was lots of Sturm und Drang about HYDRA being SHIELD being HYDRA.  What’s happened in between, you ask?  Click away, Faithful Spoilerite, and see what shall be revealed…

More After the Jump >>

8
HERO HISTORY: Howard The Duck

Posted on by

Or – “WAAAUUUUUGH!”

Of all the heroes of the various comic book universes, I find myself drawn to those who are the most human in their makeup.  I’m not talking about “Batman Doesn’t Have Any Powers” human, but the characters who are able to express real human emotions in a way that I find relatable.  Honestly, normal humans don’t lose a parent and then vow to spend their entire life fighting crime, they usually descend into booze, drugs, and unhealthy relationships which leave them scarred for life.  I appreciate Bouncing Boy’s struggle to fit in with the cool, thin kids.  I appreciate the ways that Bruce Banner has to deal with the curse of the Hulk.  I love the fact that Luke Cage’s first thought when he got superhuman powers was how to make a buck off them.  Today’s entrant is, in an Alanis Morrisette ironic kind of way, the most human of all and his adventures are among the most unique in comics history.  Trapped in a world he never made, he still had to fight to survive, dealing with issues of money, sex, identity and mental instability just like the rest of us.  This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Howard, who fell through a dimensional portal one afternoon, and ended up in the middle of a battle to save the universe, and has become forever known to the hairless apes of his new home world as Howard The Duck!

More After the Jump >>

8
RETRO REVIEW: Marvel Super Special #1 – KISS (1977)

Posted on by

Or – “DETROIT ROCK CITAAAY!”

For those of you who don’t remember the far-flung 1970′s, I’ll give you a rundown of how it went:  Chevy Chase was funny then.  Big lapels were in.  Nobody knew what the hell a cellular phone was.  Elvis was alive, part of the time anyway.  There was a gas crisis and people freaked out at paying more than a dollar for petroleum.  Steve was not yet bald, and George Lucas still knew what he was doing.  There’s pretty much all ya need to know for free…  Also big during the late 70′s was a band called KISS, whose larger than life personas and antics made them ripe for transition into comics form, and thus the oversized Treasury Edition format was dusted off and a comic book was commissioned.  The sad/awesome part is that it’s actually pretty good…

More After the Jump >>

3
REVIEW: King! #1

Posted on by

Or – “It’s all Righteous, Baby!   Ah-HUH!”

Sadly, I no longer remember what the real Elvis Presley sounds like.  In my head I hear a composite of Rob Schneider, Bruce Campbell, and voice artist Jeff Bennet as Johnny Bravo.  That said, this isn’t a story about Elvis, and it isn’t your average comics experience…  What exactly IS it?  Click the jump, mah friend, an’ let th’ Kingamajorspoilers tell y’all about it.  Uh huh HUH!

More After the Jump >>

16
REVIEW: Superman – The Last Family Of Krypton #1 (of 3)

Posted on by

Or – “Why Wouldn’t Jor-El Make ONE Big Ship Instead Of Four Small Ones?”

 

If Jor-El of Krypton had been quicker in his experiments, or perhaps more assertive in his arguments, we might have an entire planet of Supermen running rampant across the universe.  Had he built one big rocket instead of several small ones, though, he could have saved his own life and that of his wife as well as baby Kal’s.  Of course, that course of action might also have a few consequences as well…

More After the Jump >>

37
TOP TEN: Ten Characters Who Should Be More Popular

Posted on by

Or – “Sometimes I Don’t Get What People Like…”

Since the beginning of Major Spoilers, I have repeatedly bumped into the realization that not everyone thinks that my favorites are all that awesome.  People miss the grandeur of the 3-D Man, they fail to see the conceptual brilliance that is The Scarecrow, and talk about Batman whenever I try to explain how Matter-Eater Lad single-handedly saved the universe three times.  But there are several cases in comics where I just cannot fathom why the fans aren’t rushing out in a buying frenzy for nine monthly titles featuring their adventures…

More After the Jump >>