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Articles
“If it Ain’t Broke …”: Revisionist Missteps in Batman: Earth One
Three weeks ago, while discussing the Superman: Earth One series of graphic novels, I mentioned in passing that I “didn’t care” for the Earth One Batman series. Now as far as Internet critiques go, saying… [more]
Metal Monsters: Tsuburaya Returns to Kong
1967 was a big year for Toho. Not because of the introduction of Godzilla’s son, but because it was their thirty-fifth anniversary. Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda reunited to work on their penultimate collaboration for… [more]
Portraits in Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part Eight: Flushed Down The Toilet
There’s a question I just know you’re dying to ask right now—“dude, if you’re talking about True Faith, why do you have a cover scan of Preacher #1 at the top of your article?” It’s… [more]
Community Season Six: “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television”
Lets talk about Community’s propensity for series finales. While it’s true that the continually reincarnated Futurama might actually have more finales if you factor in episodes designed to serve as finales in the event of… [more]
Five Reasons Why Comics Scholarship is Important
Before getting into comics, I had no idea where to start, or how to approach comics as a body of work. Over the course of several decades comics have diversified into a multi-headed beast. There… [more]
Kingpin, Kubrick, and Conan: A Vincent D’Onofrio Triptych
Vincent D’Onofrio. It’s a name I’ve known for years, but until now I’ve never really paid much attention. That’s about to change. As you may have already guessed, I’ve been watching Netflix’s Daredevil, where D’Onofrio… [more]
Portraits In Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part Seven: “I Feel So Extraordinary”
Those were the opening lyrics to New Order’s breakthrough hit “True Faith,” but let’s be honest—they don’t have jack shit to do with the frame of mind of Nigel Gibson, the teenage protagonist in Garth… [more]
Capital Thoughts: All-New Captain America #6 and some contemplations on Age of Ultron
Hydra’s new plan for world domination—safe sex! Brilliant! Here’s how it’s supposed to work: Hydra has created a new virus that make couples impotent. Only Hydra agents will get the antidote, which means that in… [more]
Tyler Durden Lives! : Fight Club 2 #1 Review
For a debut issue, novelist Chuck Palahniuk comes to the comic medium with such grace and talent one would think he is an old master returning to his craft. The best-selling novelist chose to continue… [more]
Giant Bugs, Children, and Hibernation: On Son of Godzilla
After Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Toho decided to task Jun Fukuda and his crew with making another Godzilla movie set in the South Pacific. This one would capitalize on the trendy location in a… [more]
Why Avengers: Age of Ultron is One of the Best Marvel Movies Yet
The first Avengers movie was magical. It’s almost indisputable at this point. The less analytical got a joyous and brilliant popcorn movie that featured big stars and entertaining and loved characters bouncing off one another.… [more]
Bonnie and Clyde … and The Cat in the Hat?
It’s funny what can happen to your mind when you’re bored. Recently, I saw a play at a local children’s theater and I had every reason to believe the play would be great. It’s a… [more]
Studio Ghibli and Fascism
Studio Ghibli’s films have inspired some introspection so far, but upon further inspection there is a very serious issue that preoccupies the studio’s middle cannon: that is fascism, and the portrayal of fascism in Studio… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 31
Issues #39-40 “The Hanged Man” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Steve Pugh, Dave McKean Colors: Tom Zuiko, Dave McKean Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Over the past 34 issues and one annual[1] Jamie Delano has… [more]
The Meristems of Mad Men
[This piece contains major spoilers for the finale of Mad Men.] In most plants, vertical growth occurs from two points, right at the tip of the stem, from the “shoot apical meristem” and at the… [more]
A Very Australian Apocalypse: Mad Max: Fury Road
This is the way the world ends: This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper. Luckily for cinema audiences, George Miller does… [more]
“Our Sonnet’s End Attained, Awaits The Hearse Let’s Raise Our Gaze From Verse… To Multiverse!”: Multiversity #2, Superjudge
Grant Morrison, and to some extent the metaphysics of the DC Multiverse, have a very Gnostic flavour with an affinity for Manichean Dualism. Universe A and Universe B, The Invisibles and the Archons, Apokolips and… [more]
A Vengeful Statue: Daiei’s Daimajin Trilogy
In the years after his death, the capital city was struck by heavy rain and lightning, and his chief Fujiwara adversary and Emperor Daigo’s crown prince died, while fires caused by lightning and floods destroyed many of residences. [more]
Flying Cars, Graphic Novels, and Superman Earth One
When it comes to predicting the future of the publishing industry, there are two types of people—those who have no idea what is going to happen and those who pretend like they do. Given the… [more]
The End of Mad Men
This week, I can almost guarantee, this water cooler conversation will be repeated throughout the world: “So, what was Mad Men all about?” “I’ve no idea.” It’s been seven seasons and eight years, and this… [more]
The Burden of Change: Mourning the Pastoral in Pom Poko
Japanese tales are burdened with loss, especially modern ones. Modern Japanese fiction, produced by such writers as Natsume Soseki, is conscious about the loss of innocence and the disintegration of Eastern culture against the Western… [more]
Portraits In Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part Six: A “Crisis” Of Faith
The next stop on our tour of British comics focused on disenfranchised teens/twentysomethings in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s brings us to True Faith, a smart, satirical, dare I say sometimes even poignant look… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 30
Issue #37-38 “Man’s Work” & ”Boy’s Play” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Steve Pugh Colors: Tom Zuiko Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Ideological conflict has played a large role in Jamie Delano’s run on Hellblazer.… [more]
The Other Side of the Wind: Orson’s Last Stand
Few films would have been as knowing, satirical, poetic and ahead of their time as Orson Welles’ last famous “unfinished” film of the 1970s, The Other Side of the Wind. In one of the great… [more]
How The Avengers Became the Center of the Marvel Universe
From 1961 to 1965, in a white-hot blaze of publisher demand and creativity, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, John Romita Sr. and others hammered out the entire Marvel Universe. In the process, they made… [more]