Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been mulling over the upcoming end of DC’s ‘Legion of Super-Heroes’ title, and what (if anything) it means to me and to the comics industry. I started reading Legion sporadically in 1982, but the book has been continuous part of DC’s publishing line since the characters stole Superboy’s title from him back in late 1979. Of course, there are still rumblings that the cancellation will be followed by a launchbootvamp of a new iteration of the LSH in the near future, but the question that keeps occurring to me is whether it was…
Browsing: Question Of The Day
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
With the release of Iron Man 3, my biggest problem hasn’t been the proliferation of spoilers about the Gandhi-rin or Pepper’s attire in certain scenes, but with the realization that we’re only about a year and a half from having a 50-year-old Tony Stark. Sure, he wears it well, but there is going to come a point where Marvel Studios is going to have to recast with someone more appropriate to the eternally-twenty-nine Iron Man role. Fans of Doctor Who have been dealing with this sadness all year, though, as the producers seem unwilling to bring back a nonogenerian Fourth…
After recent events in Uncanny X-Force, it has become clear that Fantomex (who once possessed three brains in a single body) has now been separated into three selves: One good, one evil, one female. Moreover, his good self and his female self have embarked on what seems to be a romantic relationship, even though their demeanor and dress sense indicates that they’re still pretty much the same person. This particular plot twist freaks me out more than the revelation that ultimate Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch might be partners, for some reason, even though Pietro and Wanda are fraternal twins. …
This evening, I awoke from not-nearly-enough sleep to find that the last episode of Doctor Who had inadvertently been made available to fans and that the spoilery details of the season-ending cliffhanger freely floating throughout the intarwebz. Overly the last couple of hours, I have been really torn on whether I want to know what is going on with Eleven and Clara enough to seek them out, or whether I can wait until next Saturday night to find out about what lies behind her perky smile and little button nose. (Is there such a thing as a Manic Pixie Sidekick…
Thanks to this week’s impending Retro Review (he said, hinting broadly) I’ve found myself once again considering the mysterious Tao of the Web-Head. When the Spider-Man universe was rebooted with ‘Brand New Day,’ the powers-that-be at Marvel Comics tried to play it off as a return to the character’s roots, taking him to a place where he was a single luckless college jerk, playing the field and living in Aunt May’s basement. Interestingly, a few years later, Peter was back at the top of his field, active as an Avenger, being really pretty geniusy marvelous with Aunt May happily married…
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been a casual watcher of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ starting when someone dubbed a season (I think it was 2009?) the worst one ever. During that time, I have enjoyed a lot of quietly brilliant moments, a few utterly awful ones, crushed hard on Nasim Pedrad and Kristen Wiig (and even a little bit on new girl Cecily Strong) and also enjoyed the many cameos by the likes of Jon Hamm and Alec Baldwin. Most surprising of all was the transformation of boy-band jackwagon Justin Timberlake into a genuinely funny and remarkably versatile performer,…
Today’s Major Spoilers Question of the Day is brought to you once more by Fangoria Presents – a new film series selected by Fangoria for Horror Fans! Use the comment section below to share your thoughts, with the best comment winning a DVD of one of the films in the series as seen on their website! (Sorry, this contest is open to U.S. residents only!) Fear, like beauty, is wonderful in that it is always in the eye of the beholder. One of the most terrifying events of my childhood came during a viewing of the Muppet show, during which…
Today’s Major Spoilers Question of the Day is brought to you once more by Fangoria Presents – a new film series selected by Fangoria for Horror Fans! Use the comment section below to share your thoughts, with the best comment winning a DVD of one of the films in the series as seen on their website! (Sorry, this contest is open to U.S. residents only!) As an aficionado of the scary-scary, I often find myself feeling like I need to defend my enjoyment of certain movies, such as the genuinely disturbing (albeit mostly on the first viewing) ‘Blair Witch Project,’…
Today’s Major Spoilers Question of the Day is brought to you once more by Fangoria Presents – a new film series selected by Fangoria for Horror Fans! Use the comment section below to share your thoughts, with the best comment winning a DVD of one of the films in the series as seen on their website! (Sorry, this contest is open to U.S. residents only!) Before they started teaming up with Abbott and Costello, the Universal Movie Monster stable (Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Wolfman, The Mummy and ancillary members The Bride, The Creature From The Black Lagoon and the Phantom…