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Portraits In Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part Five: Aim For The Head (Of State)
The fourth and final installment—this time un-numbered, as we’re through counting down to the day and find ourselves at it—of St. Swithin’s Day begins with the most painfully obvious line you could imagine: “today’s the… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 29
Issues #34-36 The Dead Boy’s Heart Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Sean Phillips Colors: Tom Zuiko Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Demons are everywhere within Hellblazer. It’s commonplace that we see John Constantine staring down… [more]
Buffy, Angel, and the Guidebook to Growing Up, Part 2
“I had my throat cut and all my friends abandoned me.” If Buffy was teaching us how to survive, then Angel taught us how to provide. Buffy took us from high school to college; Angel… [more]
Orson Welles at 100: Five Films to Get You Started
Orson Welles would have been 100 years old today, and there are celebrations, conferences and screenings happening all year long to celebrate the life and work of this giant of the American cinema. We’ve written… [more]
If I Cannot Inspire Love, I Will Cause Fear: More Frankesteins and Flying Turtles
” The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.” [more]
Buffy, Angel, and the Guidebook to Growing Up, Part 1
“It’s hard and it’s painful and it’s every day.” For those of us that grew up watching these two shows, consciously or not, we learned life lessons from them. Over the course of twelve seasons… [more]
Superhero Movies and the Curse of Familiarity: The Age of Ultron
The art of adaptation as well as the challenge of sequels is to allow the audience to experience things in new ways—strange ways—in order to destabilize us. [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 28
Issue #32 “New Tricks” Writer: Dick Foreman Art: Steve Pugh Colors: Tom Zuiko Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Following The Family Man Jamie Delano hands the title off to Dick Foreman before returning to… [more]
DC and Marvel: The Politics of Universes
The superhero world is in bit of a rumble. Recently, Zack Snyder dropped another of his completely predictable little bombs, and we suddenly have a very familiar looking Aquaman on the blocks. (Did anyone notice… [more]
Frank Miller, Bernie Krigstein, and “The Master Race”
As many of you probably know, last Friday DC Comics announced plans to publish a new sequel to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. While details were sketchy, it was clear that Miller would be… [more]
The Last Hurrah: Frankenstein, Baragon, and King Ghidorah
Good men, do not be afraid! You should all single-mindedly recite the name of Guanshiyin Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva bestows fearlessness upon living beings. If you recite his name, you shall surely be saved from these robbers, and if upon hearing that, the merchants all cry out together, Namo Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, then they will immediately be saved because they recited his name. [more]
Out of the Sunday Panels and into WWII: A Look at Superman’s Relationship with the American Working Class
In 1938, a future symbol of “Truth, Justice, & the American Way” was born, and the personification of these values formed into the character known as Superman. The first conception of superman stands in contrast… [more]
Thor is Not a God, He’s a Lunatic: Realism in Ultimate Marvel
As the Ultimate Marvel Universe is reaching it’s conclusion it is worth looking back at the magnificent alternate universe. So much of the Ultimate Marvel Universe has helped to define both the Marvel Cinematic Universe… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 27
Issue #31 “Mourning of the Magician” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Sean Phillips Colors: Tom Zuiko Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Over the last 30 issues of the series, it is clearly obvious that death… [more]
Dr Horrible and Commentary! The Musical!
The writer’s strike of 2007 was one of the odder labor events of the past few years, and had a distinct effect on a lot of pop culture products. NBC’s The Office had a shortened… [more]
Capital Thoughts: All-New Captain America #5
Comics have always wrestled with consistency and continuity—hence, the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, the Crisis on Infinite Earths series, and the ongoing Convergence. On the other hand, with all this talk of Secret… [more]
Does Cabin in the Woods Insult Horror Fans?
Almost by chance, 2012 became a pivotal year for Joss Whedon. That summer, his superhero franchise effort, The Avengers, became the highest-grossing movie of the year and of the century, changing the landscape of contemporary… [more]
I, Claudius: Queen of Heaven Review
After six hours of seeing Livia frame and poison many can she be viewed with sympathy in her last episode? How can Caligula top all the disgusting acts of Tiberius? All this and Patrick Stewart involved in BDSM. [more]
A Homosexual Reading of James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein
A. Introduction Bride of Frankenstein is considered to be one of the most important horror films in the history of American cinema. It was directed by British film-maker James Whale and stars Boris Karloff as… [more]
The Art of Miracleman: Olympus—Praising John Totleben
John Totleben’s artwork on Miracleman: Olympus is the single most influential art on superheroes since Neal Adams. It is also a rare case of art being “better” than Alan Moore’s writing. [more]
A Voice Like a Bell: Godzilla as a Hero and the Arrival of King Ghidorah
It was not long before awful Yamatano-orochi came. Soon, it noticed the smell of sake and struck its eight heads into each gate. It drank up the sake and began to sleep with a incredibly loud snore. Susanoo-no-mikoto cut its necks and tails one by one with his sword..The water color of the Hi-no-kawa river turned to red with its blood. [more]
We Don’t Want What We Want: Thoughts on Superman and Movie Trailers
When I sit down to read a comic or watch a movie, I don’t know specifically what I want. And I think that’s a good thing. [more]
“Tell Me How You Talk and I Will Tell You Who You Are”: Generational Conflict Among Homosexuals in Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra
A. Introduction Behind the Candelabra is a 2013 television film produced by American premium television network HBO. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay written by Richard LaGravenese. The film stars Michael Douglas… [more]
The Onslaught of the Mushrooms: Toho’s Serious and Silly Sixties
“I felt that I was now seeing plain, whereas ordinary vision gives us an imperfect view; I was seeing the archetypes, the Platonic ideas, that underlie the imperfect images of everyday life. The thought crossed my mind: could the divine mushrooms be the secret that lay behind the ancient Mysteries?” [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 26
Issue #30 “Fatality” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Ron Tiner & Mark Buckingham Colors: Tom Zuiko Letters: Gaspar Saladino Cover: Kent Williams Picking up immediately from the previous issue, “Fatality” brings The Family Man storyline to… [more]