Sequart Organization » Ian Dawe

For All Mankind and Space Force: Space in the Time of Quarantine

Ian Dawe — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 14:00:59 +0000

For All Mankind and Space Force: Space in the Time of Quarantine" title="For All Mankind and Space Force: Space in the Time of Quarantine" style="float:left;" />Quarantine has oddly coincided with a promising outpouring of space-related news and shows, from the launch of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the ISS to the debut of several new streaming shows, most notably For All… [more]

Returning to The Island of Doctor Moreau

Ian Dawe — Wed, 29 May 2019 21:38:45 +0000

The Island of Doctor Moreau" title="Returning to The Island of Doctor Moreau" style="float:left;" />Every few years, HG Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau enjoys something of a rebirth. This summer, IDW will release a full-on comic version of the story, but before that we have a new illustrated… [more]

Jordan Peele’s Us: One for the Ages

Ian Dawe — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:00:53 +0000

Us: One for the Ages" title="Jordan Peele’s Us: One for the Ages" style="float:left;" />“Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.” -Jeremiah 11:11 “Hell’s… [more]

First Man Is a Remarkable Cinematic Achievement

Ian Dawe — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:00:55 +0000

First Man Is a Remarkable Cinematic Achievement" title="First Man Is a Remarkable Cinematic Achievement" style="float:left;" />Damien Chazelle’s First Man portrays space flight in a way audiences have never seen before. We’ve experienced the mythic macho of The Right Stuff, the absorbing tension of Apollo 13 and there’s also a small… [more]

The Orville Is Everything I Love About Star Trek

Ian Dawe — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 02:05:23 +0000

The Orville Is Everything I Love About Star Trek" title="The Orville Is Everything I Love About Star Trek" style="float:left;" />I’ve been a Star Trek fan for as long as I can remember, and The Orville is absolutely the Star Trek show I’ve been waiting for. Relaxed, self-aware, smart and open-minded, The Orville succeeds so… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 13 – “The Galileo Seven”

Ian Dawe — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:50:26 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 13 – “The Galileo Seven”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 13 – “The Galileo Seven”" style="float:left;" />Star Trek is not Game of Thrones. No matter how much peril the main characters are placed in, we know that they’ll be out of it and safe by the end of the hour. That… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 12 – “The Conscience of the King”

Ian Dawe — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 21:00:03 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 12 – “The Conscience of the King”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 12 – “The Conscience of the King”" style="float:left;" />Star Trek: The Original Series often referenced Shakespeare, both in its themes and in its style. This is only to be expected, as elevated themes of tragedy and highly stylized stories of great people pulling… [more]

Manifest Destiny #s 25-30: Into the Fog

Ian Dawe — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 22:40:07 +0000

Manifest Destiny #s 25-30: Into the Fog" title="Manifest Destiny #s 25-30: Into the Fog" style="float:left;" />[Editor’s note: Sorry that I have fallen behind recently with my coverage of Manifest Destiny. But since the 5th trade paperback is released this week, it seems the perfect time to catch up. For those… [more]

Remembering and Celebrating Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut

Ian Dawe — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 18:30:40 +0000

Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut" title="Remembering and Celebrating Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut" style="float:left;" />By wide consensus, the first two Superman films from 1978 and 1980 are considered if not the strongest, at least among the strongest superhero films ever made. Especially the first of the two, directed by… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling

Ian Dawe — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 15:00:49 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episodes 8 and 9: Slipping and Falling" style="float:left;" />The last two episodes of Better Call Saul have been titled “Slip” and “Fall”, which pretty much sums up what’s happening to every character (except Gus and Mike). The victories that Jimmy and Chuck thought… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes

Ian Dawe — Thu, 25 May 2017 18:50:22 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 7 – Plans and Schemes" style="float:left;" />Hector Salamanca is the anti-Gustavo. Crude, boorish, selfish, egotistical and demanding of the lowest kind of personal loyalty, he’s the Trump of Mexican gangsters. One would like to think that people like that can only… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul

Ian Dawe — Wed, 24 May 2017 19:10:08 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 6: Saul" style="float:left;" />New realities hit Jimmy McGill hard in “Off Brand”, the sixth episode of this season of Better Call Saul. After the previous episode’s explosive climax, which saw Chuck McGill finally “outed” as deeply mentally ill… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos

Ian Dawe — Tue, 09 May 2017 20:15:11 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 5: Hermanos" style="float:left;" />The reference is so obvious that it must be an influence, but it’s worth mentioning: this week’s Better Call Saul (“Chicanery”) borrows heavily from another text about feuding brothers, namely The Godfather, Part II. In… [more]

Colossal: A Strikingly Original and Fresh Film

Ian Dawe — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:10:57 +0000

Colossal: A Strikingly Original and Fresh Film" title="Colossal: A Strikingly Original and Fresh Film" style="float:left;" />(This review is spoiler-free.) Colossal is not a perfect film, and it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it has several very important virtues that allow it to stand apart from most of the film… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?

Ian Dawe — Wed, 03 May 2017 23:00:22 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 4: Damaged or Destroyed?" style="float:left;" />Those of us who were (and are) rabid fans of Breaking Bad will no doubt enjoy the latest Better Call Saul, “Sabrosito”, even more than usual. Just about half this instalment is essentially an episode… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs

Ian Dawe — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:25:09 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 3: Sunk Costs" style="float:left;" />The latest episode of Better Call Saul is the closest the series has come yet to feeling like Breaking Bad. The cold, meditative opening that’s paid off at the end, the long sequences set in… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses

Ian Dawe — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 21:05:27 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 2: Witnesses" style="float:left;" />The title of this episode of Better Call Saul is “Witness”, which is very fitting, since this episode in particular is about the act of watching and being watched. This is rich material, cinematically speaking… [more]

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”

Ian Dawe — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 18:15:15 +0000

Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”" title="Better Call Saul Season 3, Episode 1: “Victory”" style="float:left;" />The first image we see in the third season opener of Better Call Saul is the word “Victory”. This is such a literate show, so profoundly aware of the visual language of cinema and its… [more]

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: A First-Class Cult Movie

Ian Dawe — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 15:55:47 +0000

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: A First-Class Cult Movie" title="The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: A First-Class Cult Movie" style="float:left;" />Everyone seems to have their own definition of what constitutes a “cult movie”. For my part, I’d define it as a movie in which the main narrative, the overall plot, isn’t very interesting, but there… [more]

Mike Phillips on Necropolitan

Ian Dawe — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 18:00:41 +0000

Necropolitan" title="Mike Phillips on Necropolitan" style="float:left;" />Necropolitan is an exciting new comic book from publisher Martian Lit’s growing line of titles. Created by Mike Phillips, Julian Darius, and Steven Legge, the recently released Necropolitan #1 is a fresh take on the… [more]

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Ian Dawe — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 19:45:24 +0000

Buffy the Vampire Slayer" title="Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer" style="float:left;" />Twenty years ago, the landscape of television, drama and popular culture changed with the debut of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon. Looking back at the first shaky season of what was then… [more]

Logan: A Brilliant, Game-Changing Film

Ian Dawe — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 18:33:44 +0000

Logan: A Brilliant, Game-Changing Film" title="Logan: A Brilliant, Game-Changing Film" style="float:left;" />In some ways, the X-Men have always been about family. Looking back to the first Bryan Singer film from 2000, many of the dramatic tensions revolve around a group of outcasts trying to piece together… [more]

A Look at Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan

Ian Dawe — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 19:40:31 +0000

Old Man Logan" title="A Look at Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan" style="float:left;" />Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan is a bold, gripping adventure comic set against a western-style post-apocalyptic background featuring once-mighty heroes clinging to the last vestiges of their former glory. It makes Chris Claremont’s Days of Future Past… [more]

Remembering Bill Paxton

Ian Dawe — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 19:20:21 +0000

Bill Paxton was one of those actors who was universally loved. Always a welcome presence in any film (or, indeed, TV show), a reliable character actor with strength, vulnerability and charm, but what made him… [more]

The Belfry: A Nightmare Comic

Ian Dawe — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 22:20:55 +0000

The Belfry: A Nightmare Comic" title="The Belfry: A Nightmare Comic" style="float:left;" />Sometimes it’s interesting to read a comic that isn’t part of world-building or creating a complex, multi-layered world. To be sure: such complex comics are very welcome, and Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko’s Invisible Republic… [more]

Kevin Smith’s Clerks III and Mallrats 2 Shelved – New Jay and Silent Bob Film Planned

Ian Dawe — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:05:55 +0000

Clerks III and Mallrats 2 Shelved – New Jay and Silent Bob Film Planned" title="Kevin Smith’s Clerks III and Mallrats 2 Shelved – New Jay and Silent Bob Film Planned" style="float:left;" />Sometimes it’s interesting to learn about the limits of a creative person’s power, even over their own creations. We all know that George Lucas doesn’t own Star Wars anymore, for example, and technically, Disney can… [more]

Hidden Figures: An Old-Fashioned Feel-Good Movie that Teaches

Ian Dawe — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:00:45 +0000

Hidden Figures: An Old-Fashioned Feel-Good Movie that Teaches" title="Hidden Figures: An Old-Fashioned Feel-Good Movie that Teaches" style="float:left;" />Hidden Figures is a harmless, old-fashioned all-ages family movie, that teaches an important historical lesson, but it’s light on its feet, entertaining and never feels like a slog. Quite the contrary: this is a very… [more]

Celebrate Smodcast’s 10th Birthday with the Saga of Emo Kev

Ian Dawe — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:15:57 +0000

Every now and then, an artist happens onto that happy accident of inspiration, industry and style and creates something absolutely perfect. I’m sure when Kevin Smith started recording his “Smodcast” podcasts ten years ago today,… [more]

Happy Birthday Image Comics

Ian Dawe — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 17:30:31 +0000

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of one of the strongest and most creative comics publishers, Image Comics. Founded by and for comics creators, Image was established as a home for creators… [more]

Star Trek Nemesis: The End of an Era

Ian Dawe — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 23:00:57 +0000

Star Trek Nemesis: The End of an Era" title="Star Trek Nemesis: The End of an Era" style="float:left;" />Star Trek Nemesis, released 15 years ago at this time of year, is the nadir of the entire franchise. The 1998 Trek instalment, Insurrection, was also very weak, but weak within the normal parameters of… [more]

Necropolitan #1: The Geography of Hell

Ian Dawe — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 20:00:12 +0000

Necropolitan #1: The Geography of Hell" title="Necropolitan #1: The Geography of Hell" style="float:left;" />We all think we know what hell is. (Ironically, heaven is much more difficult to define or describe, as George Carlin once pointed out.) But somehow, we all seem to “get” hell. Fire, suffering, screaming… [more]

The Goddamned #5: No Happy Endings

Ian Dawe — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 19:10:32 +0000

The Goddamned #5: No Happy Endings" title="The Goddamned #5: No Happy Endings" style="float:left;" />“I’m Cain, the man who invented murder. But God invented me, so ask yourself: who’s the real asshole here?” If readers expected the story of Jason Aaron and r. m. Guera’s The Goddamned to take… [more]

Descender #18: Back to Business

Ian Dawe — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 21:50:02 +0000

Descender #18: Back to Business" title="Descender #18: Back to Business" style="float:left;" />In its latest issue, #18, Descender gets back to business, driving the plot of this story forward after taking some time to develop the characters in recent issues. This issue is classic space opera science… [more]

Manifest Destiny #25: Who Are The Demons?

Ian Dawe — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 23:45:50 +0000

Manifest Destiny #25: Who Are The Demons?" title="Manifest Destiny #25: Who Are The Demons?" style="float:left;" />It’s a very special issue of Manifest Destiny as the 25th issue makes its appearance this week. The journey of Lewis and Clark has entered a different phase, as the Corps of Discovery settles down… [more]

Reconsidering Rogue One

Ian Dawe — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 20:15:25 +0000

Rogue One" title="Reconsidering Rogue One" style="float:left;" />Ever since the release of Rogue One, and its undeniable box-office success, and the tragic death of Carrie Fisher, there’s been much discussion about the future of Star Wars. The Force Awakens re-started the franchise… [more]

Southern Bastards #16: Moving the Goalposts

Ian Dawe — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 20:15:27 +0000

Southern Bastards #16: Moving the Goalposts" title="Southern Bastards #16: Moving the Goalposts" style="float:left;" />There are eerie and tempting parallels between Coach Boss and a certain American President-elect. Both are brutal, simple-minded, deeply insecure tyrants, and both have a tendency to move the goalposts and declare victory when an… [more]

Descender #17: Connections

Ian Dawe — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 18:00:04 +0000

Descender #17: Connections" title="Descender #17: Connections" style="float:left;" />Descender takes a turn in issue #17 (released just before Christmas last year). This innovative and emotional science fiction comic has spent its past five issues on “singularity” stories, focusing on one character at a… [more]

Arrival: Science Fiction for Grownups

Ian Dawe — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 18:02:44 +0000

Arrival: Science Fiction for Grownups" title="Arrival: Science Fiction for Grownups" style="float:left;" />Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, has the structure of a magic trick. It slowly, carefully, shows us something in its first few minutes, then gives us about 70 minutes of misdirection before showing us what… [more]

Rogue One Stumbles, then Soars

Ian Dawe — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 18:45:13 +0000

Rogue One Stumbles, then Soars" title="Rogue One Stumbles, then Soars" style="float:left;" />Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is appropriately titled. It isn’t a “Star Wars movie” in that it isn’t about the Skywalker family, nor is it about the specific large mythic arcs that define that… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 11 – “Miri”

Ian Dawe — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 18:00:03 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 11 – “Miri”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 11 – “Miri”" style="float:left;" />The most significant event in “Miri”, the twelfth episode of Star Trek – halfway through the first season – was the arrival, behind-the-scenes, of a new producer named Gene L. Coon. Whenever the production and… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 10 – “Dagger of the Mind”

Ian Dawe — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 19:47:54 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 10 – “Dagger of the Mind”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 10 – “Dagger of the Mind”" style="float:left;" />“Dagger of the Mind” (which aired almost exactly 50 years ago, on November 3, 1966) is one of a few episodes of the original Star Trek to deal with psychology. Obviously, Gene Roddenberry had a… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 9 – “What are Little Girls Made Of?”

Ian Dawe — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 20:10:35 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 9 – “What are Little Girls Made Of?”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 9 – “What are Little Girls Made Of?”" style="float:left;" />Robert Bloch, who wrote the script for “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” was a big fan of HP Lovecraft. That’s probably the key to understanding what makes this peculiar episode of Star Trek interesting.… [more]

Southern Bastards #15: The Taste of Ribs and Defeat

Ian Dawe — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 17:15:40 +0000

Southern Bastards #15: The Taste of Ribs and Defeat" title="Southern Bastards #15: The Taste of Ribs and Defeat" style="float:left;" />Here we are again in the steaming tribal vendetta-filled world of Southern Bastards. Craw County continues, here in issue #15, to be a community that measures is worth based on the standing of its high… [more]

Lake of Fire #3: Oaths

Ian Dawe — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 20:40:54 +0000

Lake of Fire #3: Oaths" title="Lake of Fire #3: Oaths" style="float:left;" />The situation faced by the crusaders in Lake of Fire is becoming increasingly desperate in issue #3. Theo has been badly wounded, the Keep is surrounded by aliens intent on getting in, the people are… [more]

Descender #16: A Real Killer

Ian Dawe — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 19:25:33 +0000

Descender #16: A Real Killer" title="Descender #16: A Real Killer" style="float:left;" />All of the characters in Descender (with the possible exception of the TIMs) have an undercurrent of rage and confusion. Their world changed so dramatically, and so quickly, with the Harvester attack that it re-drew… [more]

Star Trek Re-watch, Episode 8 – “Balance of Terror”

Ian Dawe — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 20:30:59 +0000

Star Trek Re-watch, Episode 8 – “Balance of Terror”" title="Star Trek Re-watch, Episode 8 – “Balance of Terror”" style="float:left;" />“Balance of Terror” is one of those Star Trek episodes that fans often rank as one of the best of the original series, and deservedly so. It’s suspenseful, exciting, intelligent sci-fi action, essentially an extended… [more]

Yoga Hosers: A Kevin Smith Film, Through-and-Through

Ian Dawe — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 17:15:52 +0000

Yoga Hosers: A Kevin Smith Film, Through-and-Through" title="Yoga Hosers: A Kevin Smith Film, Through-and-Through" style="float:left;" />It’s difficult to review a movie like Yoga Hosers. It’s so deliberately made for a specific group of people who are immersed in jokes and references from the podcasts of Kevin Smith that one wonders… [more]

Manifest Destiny #24: Making Camp

Ian Dawe — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 21:35:47 +0000

Manifest Destiny #24: Making Camp" title="Manifest Destiny #24: Making Camp" style="float:left;" />The latest Manifest Destiny brings the “Sasquatch” story arc to an end in fairly spectacular fashion. These story arcs function quite a bit like seasons of television, and Chris Dingess has fashioned a whopper of… [more]

Christopher Guest’s Mascots Delivers to the Fans

Ian Dawe — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 18:30:19 +0000

Mascots Delivers to the Fans" title="Christopher Guest’s Mascots Delivers to the Fans" style="float:left;" />Christopher Guest movies are endearing because they’re about people who are this close to stardom, but there’s a narrow and deep chasm between them and their dreams. Even Spinal Tap (which of course was not… [more]

The New Rogue One Trailer Shows Us the New… And the Old

Ian Dawe — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 19:30:39 +0000

Rogue One Trailer Shows Us the New… And the Old" title="The New Rogue One Trailer Shows Us the New… And the Old" style="float:left;" />The new trailer for Rogue One has the distinction of explaining the film’s title (unsurprisingly it’s a callsign), and it also reveals something of the film’s plot. The character played by Felicity Jones, named Jyn… [more]

Reborn, from Mark Millar and Greg Capullo Makes Its Debut

Ian Dawe — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 20:55:03 +0000

Reborn, from Mark Millar and Greg Capullo Makes Its Debut" title="Reborn, from Mark Millar and Greg Capullo Makes Its Debut" style="float:left;" />The long-awaited collaboration between Mark Millar and Greg Capullo is now here in the form of Reborn, which debuts today. The book is certainly blessed with a deep bench of talent (Jonathan Glapion is the… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 7 – “Charlie X”

Ian Dawe — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 22:15:21 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 7 – “Charlie X”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 7 – “Charlie X”" style="float:left;" />“Charlie X”, like many of the early episodes of Star Trek, has a strong science fiction idea at its core, but stumbles a bit with the execution, producing an episode that’s intriguing but sometimes feels… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 6 – “The Naked Time”

Ian Dawe — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 21:15:46 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 6 – “The Naked Time”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 6 – “The Naked Time”" style="float:left;" />By any measure, “The Naked Time” is a strange episode of television. The crew of the Enterprise is infected with some sort of virus that causes their emotions to become completely unblocked and they give… [more]

The Great Lost Commentary Track for Chasing Amy

Ian Dawe — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 18:20:42 +0000

Chasing Amy" title="The Great Lost Commentary Track for Chasing Amy" style="float:left;" />[Warning: the following article contains strong language. Some would call it “mature content”, but to be frank, there’s nothing mature about it. Read at your own risk.] Over a decade ago, when Kevin Smith was… [more]

Lake of Fire #2: Heroes

Ian Dawe — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 19:50:52 +0000

Lake of Fire #2: Heroes" title="Lake of Fire #2: Heroes" style="float:left;" />Lake of Fire, by Nathan Fairbairn and Matt Smith, seems to be mixing what we would expect from a “crusaders vs aliens” storyline (lots of fights, strange eruptions from wounds) with a fairly robust and… [more]

Descender #15: Effie

Ian Dawe — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 21:30:55 +0000

Descender #15: Effie" title="Descender #15: Effie" style="float:left;" />Descender’s”singularity” series continues in issue #15, with a new and interesting twist: a love story. But there’s nothing sentimental or false about this particular love story; it recounts a tragic, wise and emotionally realistic relationship… [more]

Raiders! Tells the Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made

Ian Dawe — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 19:45:54 +0000

Raiders! Tells the Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made" title="Raiders! Tells the Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made" style="float:left;" />Like many kids who grew up in the 1980s, including me, Eric Zala and Chris Strompolos liked to create little movies in their backyards with their parents’ video cameras. (Mine was a Star Trek pastiche… [more]

For the Love of Spock: An Imperfect Portrait of a Fascinating Man

Ian Dawe — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 18:45:47 +0000

For the Love of Spock: An Imperfect Portrait of a Fascinating Man" title="For the Love of Spock: An Imperfect Portrait of a Fascinating Man" style="float:left;" />Adam Nimoy’s long-awaited documentary about his father, For the Love of Spock, is now playing in selected theatres and is available for streaming purchase on several services, after a storied build-up and crowdfunding campaign. Conceived… [more]

Invisible Republic Begins a New Arc in Issue #11

Ian Dawe — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:15:30 +0000

Invisible Republic Begins a New Arc in Issue #11" title="Invisible Republic Begins a New Arc in Issue #11" style="float:left;" />The new story arc of Invisible Republic, which begins here in issue #11, is a bit of a departure from previous issues and arcs in this compelling and complex science fiction drama. Readers will remember… [more]

Manifest Destiny #23: Tales of Captain Helm

Ian Dawe — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 21:20:04 +0000

Manifest Destiny #23: Tales of Captain Helm" title="Manifest Destiny #23: Tales of Captain Helm" style="float:left;" />It’s become apparent that the Captain Helm story in the pages of Manifest Destiny serves, at least in part, the same function that Tales of the Black Freighter did in Watchmen. This is emphatically a… [more]

The Lost Work of Will Eisner Adds to an Impressive Legacy

Ian Dawe — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 20:50:09 +0000

The Lost Work of Will Eisner Adds to an Impressive Legacy" title="The Lost Work of Will Eisner Adds to an Impressive Legacy" style="float:left;" />Available now from Locust Moon, The Lost work of Will Eisner gives us a glimpse into the evolution of both an artist and a medium. The collection presents two strip-based comics runs from the master… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 5 – “The Man Trap”

Ian Dawe — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 17:10:55 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 5 – “The Man Trap”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 5 – “The Man Trap”" style="float:left;" />“The Man Trap” first aired fifty years ago tonight, and what a strange episode it is to launch what has become one of popular culture’s signposts: Star Trek. Viewed as part of our Star Trek… [more]

Kevin Smith Shakes Off the Critics of Yoga Hosers

Ian Dawe — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 15:00:50 +0000

Yoga Hosers" title="Kevin Smith Shakes Off the Critics of Yoga Hosers" style="float:left;" />Kevin Smith’s new film Yoga Hosers was given a limited release this past weekend (alas, it’s still not playing here in Vancouver), and so far the film is most notable for the singularly vitriolic reviews… [more]

Silver Streak: When Wilder Met Pryor

Ian Dawe — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 19:00:45 +0000

Silver Streak: When Wilder Met Pryor" title="Silver Streak: When Wilder Met Pryor" style="float:left;" />The recent passing of Gene Wilder left a lot of people reeling, having lost yet another inspirational figure from our collective youth and popular culture experience. Wilder was a gentle, kind man by all accounts… [more]

Lake of Fire #1: Crusaders vs Aliens in an Innovative, Compelling New Comic

Ian Dawe — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:45:50 +0000

Lake of Fire #1: Crusaders vs Aliens in an Innovative, Compelling New Comic" title="Lake of Fire #1: Crusaders vs Aliens in an Innovative, Compelling New Comic" style="float:left;" />There’s been quite a lot written about The Crusades, but it seems like modern historians agree on one thing: they were a great excuse for Christians of a certain persuasion to engage in some serious… [more]

Manifest Destiny #22: The Eyes Have It

Ian Dawe — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 23:30:10 +0000

Manifest Destiny #22: The Eyes Have It" title="Manifest Destiny #22: The Eyes Have It" style="float:left;" />Like many men of their era, Lewis and Clark were “blessed” with an overabundance of positivity and confidence (more for Lewis than Clark, but they each believed in the soundness of their society and their… [more]

Descender #14: Bandit’s Lonely Vigil

Ian Dawe — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:45:17 +0000

Descender #14: Bandit’s Lonely Vigil" title="Descender #14: Bandit’s Lonely Vigil" style="float:left;" />The latest issue of Descender is the third in a series of five issues termed “Singularities” by the comic’s creators, Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen, but it’s easily the most creative and appealing thus far.… [more]

Descender #13: Telsa

Ian Dawe — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 20:05:50 +0000

Descender #13: Telsa" title="Descender #13: Telsa" style="float:left;" />Descender #13 is ostensibly about Captain Telsa, the red-haired, firey Captain from the UGC, sent to retrieve TIM-21 and the codex he carries in his electronic DNA that may hold the key to understanding the… [more]

Mr Clarke from Stranger Things: The Importance of Experts

Ian Dawe — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 16:30:19 +0000

Stranger Things: The Importance of Experts" title="Mr Clarke from Stranger Things: The Importance of Experts" style="float:left;" />The pop cultural touchstone of the moment (or, at least, one of them) is the Netflix series Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers and currently drawing the appreciative fascination of the world. With its… [more]

Manifest Destiny #21: Leadership

Ian Dawe — Sat, 06 Aug 2016 01:30:51 +0000

Manifest Destiny #21: Leadership" title="Manifest Destiny #21: Leadership" style="float:left;" />One of the many challenges that the historical Lewis and Clark expedition had to surmount was simple hunger. They weren’t as badly off as some, and fared far better than some of the more northern… [more]

Black Road #4: A Walk in the Snow

Ian Dawe — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:15:10 +0000

Black Road #4: A Walk in the Snow" title="Black Road #4: A Walk in the Snow" style="float:left;" />It’s too easy for us today to slip into a simplistic stereotype of the “dark ages”, or the early medieval period. Barbarians roaming across the countryside, committing unspeakable acts of carnage and pillage, and scared… [more]

Star Trek Beyond Expectations

Ian Dawe — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 15:17:43 +0000

Star Trek Beyond Expectations" title="Star Trek Beyond Expectations" style="float:left;" />A five year mission may sound easy, but the first thing we’re shown in Star Trek Beyond is how long five years can really be when one has to spend it cooped up with 400… [more]

Congratulations to the 2016 Eisner Award Winners

Ian Dawe — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 16:15:18 +0000

Our series on the Eisner Awards was never meant to be predictive of who would win — quite the contrary, we were only trying to profile some of the nominated titles, because they’re all worth… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 4 – “The Enemy Within”

Ian Dawe — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 14:00:46 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 4 – “The Enemy Within”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 4 – “The Enemy Within”" style="float:left;" />“The Enemy Within” was the fifth episode filmed for Star Trek: The Original Series, and only the third after it was greenlit, but it’s the first Star Trek episode that truly feels like Star Trek.… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 3 – “Mudd’s Women”

Ian Dawe — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 14:15:11 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 3 – “Mudd’s Women”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 3 – “Mudd’s Women”" style="float:left;" />“Mudd’s Women” was one of the three original scripts considered by Desilu Productions as a pilot episode for Star Trek, which would have been an interesting choice to say the very least. The first episodes… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 2: “The Corbomite Maneuver”

Ian Dawe — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 14:15:32 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 2: “The Corbomite Maneuver”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 2: “The Corbomite Maneuver”" style="float:left;" />“The Corbomite Maneuver” does what a television pilot episode should do. It introduces the main characters and their relationships, gives them a threat that’s significant but not world-ending and provides lots of coverage of the… [more]

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 1: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”

Ian Dawe — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:00:36 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 1: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”" title="Star Trek Re-Watch, Episode 1: “Where No Man Has Gone Before”" style="float:left;" />“Where No Man Has Gone Before” is an important part of the building blocks of what we now know as Star Trek. Filmed mostly in the summer of 1965, this episode wasn’t aired until over… [more]

The Great Star Trek Re-Watch: An Introduction

Ian Dawe — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 21:45:01 +0000

Star Trek Re-Watch: An Introduction" title="The Great Star Trek Re-Watch: An Introduction" style="float:left;" />The argument hardly needs to be made that Star Trek should appear on the Mount Rushmore of not only science fiction, but world popular culture. Since arriving 50 years ago this year, it has become… [more]

Negative Space Gets a TPB Release This Week

Ian Dawe — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 16:40:44 +0000

Negative Space Gets a TPB Release This Week" title="Negative Space Gets a TPB Release This Week" style="float:left;" />Negative Space, by Ryan K Lindsay and illustrated by Owen Gieni, is one of the more astute and creative explorations of depression ever committed to the page, and this week it’s available from Dark Horse… [more]

Plutona #5: Kid Logic

Ian Dawe — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 21:35:59 +0000

Plutona #5: Kid Logic" title="Plutona #5: Kid Logic" style="float:left;" />The finale of Plutona’s five issue run is understandably dark, but then again, that’s basically the only place this remarkable series could go. The most interesting parts of this book have always been the relationships… [more]

Shattered Empire Fills in Some Intriguing Star Wars Gaps

Ian Dawe — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 20:20:07 +0000

Shattered Empire Fills in Some Intriguing Star Wars Gaps" title="Shattered Empire Fills in Some Intriguing Star Wars Gaps" style="float:left;" />One of the great things about a mythical universe such as the one created by Star Wars is that there’s plenty of room to tell many different stories, so long as they connect neatly with… [more]

Droids, Slaves and C-3PO’s Red Arm

Ian Dawe — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 19:40:00 +0000

The role of droids in the Star Wars universe has always been fairly clear, and yet tinged with some troubling implications. They’re servants, essentially, but they’re also companions and, most interestingly of all, they have… [more]

Orange is the New Black Season 4: Non-Spoiler Review

Ian Dawe — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 18:30:42 +0000

Orange is the New Black Season 4: Non-Spoiler Review" title="Orange is the New Black Season 4: Non-Spoiler Review" style="float:left;" />Orange is the New Black was always an interesting, innovative show, both in its subject matter and even its mode of distribution (Netflix). But last season, the narrative became unfocused, the hole at the centre… [more]

David Brent – Life on the Road Now Coming to Netflix in August

Ian Dawe — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:30:45 +0000

David Brent – Life on the Road Now Coming to Netflix in August" title="David Brent – Life on the Road Now Coming to Netflix in August" style="float:left;" />“I’ve got one song, it’s about rock and roll, but it’s a metaphor for sex.” -David Brent In April, we were treated to the teaser trailer for David Brent: Life on the Road, with Ricky… [more]

Manifest Destiny #20: Big Feet and Bigger Eyes

Ian Dawe — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 20:30:20 +0000

Manifest Destiny #20: Big Feet and Bigger Eyes" title="Manifest Destiny #20: Big Feet and Bigger Eyes" style="float:left;" />“Captain Clark killed a curious animal… [one] never yet known in the United States.” That’s a quote from a member of the actual Corps of Discovery, and in that case it was the antelope, which… [more]

Descender #12: Brothers

Ian Dawe — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 22:10:46 +0000

Descender #12: Brothers" title="Descender #12: Brothers" style="float:left;" />One of Descender’s strongest themes has always been the notion of robots having souls — sometimes souls more pure and more sensitive than the flesh and blood humans that surround them. Our central robot character,… [more]

How Much Trouble is Rogue One Really In?

Ian Dawe — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 20:45:10 +0000

Rogue One Really In?" title="How Much Trouble is Rogue One Really In?" style="float:left;" />As some are no doubt aware, there’s something interesting brewing over at Lucasfilm, on the production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film, to be released this Christmas, tells the story of how… [more]

Invisible Republic #10: New Wrinkles

Ian Dawe — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:45:46 +0000

Invisible Republic #10: New Wrinkles" title="Invisible Republic #10: New Wrinkles" style="float:left;" />Invisible Republic is only just now in its tenth issue, but it feels as if there have been many more than that. The complexity of the world, and the subtlety with which Gabriel Hardman and… [more]

Paper Girls #6: The Horror of Adulting

Ian Dawe — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:20:21 +0000

Paper Girls #6: The Horror of Adulting" title="Paper Girls #6: The Horror of Adulting" style="float:left;" />Warning: If you haven’t read the first five issues of Paper Girls, this discussion will spoil a few things. On the other hand, if you have read those issues but not the latest, don’t worry.… [more]

The Goddamned #4: You Don’t Mess With Noah

Ian Dawe — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 19:10:36 +0000

The Goddamned #4: You Don’t Mess With Noah" title="The Goddamned #4: You Don’t Mess With Noah" style="float:left;" />The Goddamned is one of two major comics that have recently offered us a reimagined version of the Biblical character Noah. The other book — Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, which was also made into a big… [more]

Star Wars In May – Thoughts on the Anniversary of the Original Release

Ian Dawe — Thu, 26 May 2016 21:40:37 +0000

Star Wars In May – Thoughts on the Anniversary of the Original Release" title="Star Wars In May – Thoughts on the Anniversary of the Original Release" style="float:left;" />Yesterday fans all over the world recognized May 25 as one of the most important anniversaries in popular culture: the release of Star Wars on that day in 1977. This comes at the tail end… [more]

A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 12 – Wrapping Up

Ian Dawe — Wed, 25 May 2016 16:15:02 +0000

Over the course of this series about the 2016 Eisner Award Nominees, we’ve been focusing on individual titles that many comics fans may have either missed or overlooked. Without question, every comic mentioned in the… [more]

A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 11 – March: Book Two

Ian Dawe — Tue, 24 May 2016 19:15:12 +0000

March: Book Two" title="A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 11 – March: Book Two" style="float:left;" />The history recounted in March: Book Two is, or should be, fairly familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of the 20th century. The Freedom Riders and the other struggles of the early 1960s American… [more]

A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 10 – Kaijumax

Ian Dawe — Thu, 19 May 2016 20:45:16 +0000

Kaijumax" title="A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 10 – Kaijumax" style="float:left;" />Zander Cannon’s Kaijumax is an easy comic to like, because it takes such joy in being what it is. A colourful, quick-witted satire of prison movie cliches, blended with an all-star cast of Toho Pictures’… [more]

Manifest Destiny #19: Teamwork

Ian Dawe — Tue, 17 May 2016 17:45:05 +0000

Manifest Destiny #19: Teamwork" title="Manifest Destiny #19: Teamwork" style="float:left;" />When undertaking a task as dangerous as the exploration of unknown lands, teamwork is an absolute necessity. Other writers (such as Stephen Ambrose) have noted that it was this capacity for group unity, strong leadership… [more]

Black Road #2: A Little Kindness

Ian Dawe — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:30:40 +0000

Black Road #2: A Little Kindness" title="Black Road #2: A Little Kindness" style="float:left;" />It should come as no surprise that Black Road has the narrative structure of the “journey”. (The word “road” is right there in the title, after all.) While we were introduced to the characters and… [more]

Revisit The Dark Knight Rises With Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman

Ian Dawe — Sun, 15 May 2016 20:15:10 +0000

The Dark Knight Rises With Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman" title="Revisit The Dark Knight Rises With Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman" style="float:left;" />Kevin Smith is naturally a positive and forgiving personality, which makes his podcasts fun, but often prevents him from really getting into a serious critique of a film, especially when it’s a film close to… [more]

Kevin Smith’s Critic-Proof Yoga Hosers Trailer Debuts

Ian Dawe — Wed, 11 May 2016 15:00:13 +0000

Yoga Hosers Trailer Debuts" title="Kevin Smith’s Critic-Proof Yoga Hosers Trailer Debuts" style="float:left;" />For the past few years, particularly since the release of 2011’s Red State, Kevin Smith has led a (mostly) one-man campaign to carve his own path through 21st-century popular culture. Temporarily ditching his film career… [more]

Southern Bastards #14: “Homecoming” Ends

Ian Dawe — Tue, 10 May 2016 18:00:44 +0000

Southern Bastards #14: “Homecoming” Ends" title="Southern Bastards #14: “Homecoming” Ends" style="float:left;" />As we reach the end of the “Homecoming” story arc in Southern Bastards, it becomes fairly clear what this particular storyline has always been about. Not football, or even race, necessarily, but the rather the… [more]

A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 9 – Monstress

Ian Dawe — Sat, 07 May 2016 15:00:26 +0000

Monstress" title="A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 9 – Monstress" style="float:left;" />Monstress wastes no time in creating a lush, vivid fantasy world and giving us some great characters to populate it. This Image Comics release by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda builds all manner of artifice… [more]