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Godzilla: One Complicated Lizard
Bombardier Major Thomas Ferebee opened the bomb bay of the Enola Gay B-29. Out plummeted “Little Boy,” a 9,700-pound nuclear warhead, which detonated 1,900 feet above a surgical clinic in downtown Hiroshima. The bomb was… [more]
Portraits In Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part Two: Trident Makes Its Mark—But Ultimately Gets Speared
In August of 1989, a modest little anthology series with some serious “A-list” talent appeared on British comic store shelves and, presumably, at a few newsstands (or newsagents, as they’re called across the pond) as… [more]
David Bowie and the Side Effects of Fame
It’s easy for us today to think of rock and roll as being a big business, staging huge shows for audiences of teeming thousands, and the people who make the music being lauded as near-Gods.… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 14
Issue #16 “Rough Justice” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham Colors: Lovern Kindzierski Letters: Elitta Fell Cover: Dave McKean During the opening issues of The Fear Machine, we have seen Constantine adapt… [more]
The Artfully Crafted Toxicity of David Fincher’s Gone Girl
I’m going to proceed with a fair degree of caution as I write this, and you should probably do the same while reading it, because I’m about to level a pretty serious charge at a… [more]
Understanding Adventure Time’s Worldwide Adoration
In the modern iteration of pop culture, there are few television shows that have been as impactful as Adventure Time, and it is certainly not hard to see why. Whether it be nostalgia for a… [more]
Hinterkind Volume One Lacks Humanity
The concept of the ruins of the United States devolving into factionalism has been well-explored in other post-apocalyptic literature, but Edington refreshes the idea by incorporating monsters and races one might encounter in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. His human characters, however, leave a lot to be desired. [more]
Tired, Weak, and Worn: Humanizing Martin Luther King in Selma
I was standing at a urinal when the man next to me suddenly blurted out, “You just saw Selma?” “Um … yeah,” was all I managed to stammer in response. I figure the world is… [more]
Interstellar and the Question of Sci-Fi Plausibility
Warning: Mild spoilers of Interstellar are discussed in this article. The spoilers do not give any description of what actually occurs, but if you want to avoid even the vaguest of descriptions, then avoid this… [more]
Jane Austen, World War II Veteran: or, Churchill’s Cinematic Women Warriors
“You cannot make peace with dictators!” cries Lord Nelson. “You have to destroy them! Wipe them out!” In this over-determined dialogue from the 1941 film Lady Hamilton, the cinematic Nelson is calling for Napoleon’s blood… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 13
Issue #15 “Shepherd’s Warning” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham Colors: Lovern Kindzierski Letters: Elitta Fell Cover: Dave McKean Throughout Hellblazer, Constantine remarks how weirdness is attracted to him, how no matter… [more]
Cops and Cosplayers: Two Minorities in Conflict
In the last year, cops have killed average citizens, black, white, and otherwise. How many? No idea. Sadly, a Facebook bot page is likely the best count available. In the last year, average citizens have… [more]
Capital Thoughts: All-New Captain America #2
Karl Marx, writing on the Anglo-French wars, observed that history repeats itself, first in tragedy then in farce. His example was Napoleon, a man defeated by the combined armies of the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Hanover,… [more]
The Top 10 New & Returning Comics to Read in 2015
2014 was a stunning year for comics. Between the debut and rapid success of many creator-owned series to superhero comics finally growing in big ways, comics are only getting even better. 2015 seems to be… [more]
The Amazing Adventures of “Stan” and “Jack”: Michael Chabon’s “Citizen Conn”
A couple of years ago, Michael Chabon gave a reading at our local library. He was promoting a new novel, Telegraph Avenue, and the auditorium was packed. Given my academic background, I’ve had to attend… [more]
Portraits In Alienated British Youth Circa 1989-90, Part One: Introduction
Maybe it was something in the water—or something in the air—or just something floating around in the larger cultural zeitgeist of the time—but whatever the reason behind it all may have been, from the late… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 12
Issue #14 “Touching the Earth” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham Colors: Lovern Kindzierski Letters: Elitta Fell Cover: Dave McKean Fear is a powerful thing. Scientifically, it is an emotion brought upon… [more]
X-Men Franchise: A Spoiled Opportunity? Part 2
The two films that birthed the popularity of modern superhero films were Spider-Man and X-Men[i]. The two films were massive successes and demonstrated that there was interest in superhero films. The two films also were… [more]
Top 10 Films of 2014
2014 was a very good year for film, featuring an impressive balance of quality blockbusters and indie marvels. I saw a lot of movies this year, but of course I didn’t see every single one.… [more]
Illustrator Fran Krause Shows Us Our Fears
We’re all afraid of something, and we can gussy it up however we want with the most intelligent and elaborate horror movies or books out there, but ultimately our fears seem to come down to… [more]
Where True Detective Meets Community: Character Based Meta Examinations
True Detective was an amazing show. Brilliantly thematically driven, fabulously shot, and incredibly acted. It was filled with top-of-the-line craft across the board. There’s so much to learn from that show, but one of the… [more]
Frank Miller’s Daredevil Saga, Part 1: Introduction
Introduction Few writer/artists have been able to leave such an impact on a character that it has forever transformed comics after. Frank Miller was able to breathe life and vitality to characters that had been… [more]
The Fountain Comic Book: Many Roads to the Same Summit
The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky’s heartfelt sci fi masterwork, had a difficult road to the screen. This story is fairly well known: by 2002, he had written and designed the film, hired actors and started building… [more]
Superheroes in the Autopsy Room or: How a TV Star Tried to Save my Life
As I write this week’s column, it’s New Year’s Day—that one magical holiday when most of us sit around following a week of indulgences and resolve to do all manner of great things. It’s one… [more]
“What Happened To Happy Endings?”: The Multiversity: New Thunderworld Adventures #1
Forgive me if I start by stating the obvious, but there something quite archetypal and mythic about Captain Marvel. Obviously because his powers derive from some pretty mythic figures themselves. Add to this a halcyon… [more]