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2014 in Movies Part One
Doing just one end of the year list is kind of lame. Doesn’t really cover the facets worth exploring. And that’s even discounting the perpetual “lists are meaningless” argument. Of course lists are meaningless, but… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 10
Issue #13 “On the Beach” Writer: Jamie Delano; Art: Richard Piers Rayner, Mark Buckingham, Mike Hoffman; Colors: Lovern Kindzierski; Letters: Todd Klein; Cover: Dave McKean; When thinking back on our childhoods, the notion of life… [more]
Finding Comfort and Joy in Justice League this Christmas
Christmas episodes are generic now in the year of our Lord, two thousand and fourteen, but they are embedded in a larger history of seasonal programing that transcends mediums of all forms. Holiday festivals, derivative… [more]
No One Told the U.S. Court System that the X-Men are Human
Back in 2003, the US Court of International Trade handed down its decision in the case of Toy Biz Inc. v. United States that declared the Uncanny X-Men were not human. The decision may have… [more]
Capital Thoughts: All-New Captain America #1
The “All-New” Captain America begins, curiously enough, with a nostalgic turn: Sam Wilson flying into a fortress and kicking Hydra ass. But, even as fisticuffs fly, Sam’s mind is elsewhere: he replays a childhood filled… [more]
Tim Burton’s Inspiring, Gentle Ed Wood
It seems to me, and perhaps this is a gross exaggeration, that Tim Burton’s best films are the ones in which he genuinely cares about the protagonist. As a filmmaker, Burton’s eye tends to wander… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters – Part 3: The Punisher, The Boondock Saints, and Bill O’Reilly
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Oh, My Aching Cranium!: Jack Kirby’s OMAC Deconstructed And Reconstructed, Part Ten
I suppose if we were in the business of drawing parallels – which, I’m reliably informed, is something that comic book critics and scholars (whether or not I fit into either category, much less both… [more]
Sensual Female Guardian Angels: Luc Besson’s Early Films, Part 3
Not unlike the stereotypical “whore with a heart of gold,” the title character of Leon (1994) is a kind-hearted, Italian-American hit man with an ennobling ethical code. Leon Montana (Jean Reno) refuses to kill women… [more]
Subversive Season’s Greetings: Tim Burton’s Christmas Trilogy
One of my favorite Christmas songs is the opening track on Elvis Presley’s first holiday album. The album itself was a largely traditional collection of songs—“O Little Town of Bethlehem” and such—but Elvis insisted that… [more]
Krazy Kat Vs. Little Nemo
Dichotomies are dangerous, though useful, monsters. As silly as debating the relative merits of Star Trek and Star Wars can be, these conversations inevitably probe our relative biases and also outline the vast set of… [more]
“So Which Leg Do I Eat Logan?”: Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #3-4
The two year gap between Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #2 and #3 would become somewhat infamous in the comics community. Ultimate X-Men referenced what Wolverine did, but cleverly alluded to the storyline’s incompletion. Ultimates 3… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 9
Issue #12 “The Devil You Know” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Richard Piers Rayner and Mark Buckingham Colors: Lovern Kindzierski Letters: Todd Klein Cover: Dave McKean It is fairly obvious that suffering abounds within Hellblazer: demonic… [more]
The Super-Heroics of Miller and Moore Part 7: Legacy
Alan Moore and Frank Miller’s Impact on Comics Commercially The legacy and influence an artist has on all who follow him/her is always surprising. Some artists take a great work as an inspiration to try… [more]
Up Front: How Bill Mauldin’s Cartoons Captured the Truth of WWII
Although the name usually implies humor, cartoons don’t always have to be funny. In fact, like any other artistic medium, cartoons can –and should– express the entire range of emotions, and just maybe they can… [more]
ABC v. Aereo: Broadcast and Performance
In what I am hoping will be but the first in a series (or second, depending on how one counts it), the following is a look at the intersection of the arcane worlds of popular… [more]
Breaking Through The Far Side: Gary Larson’s Postmodern Antiquity
Many grow up with the presence of newspaper strips immediately within reach. These snippets of surreality appeal primarily to children, which is odd considering the intended audience of the “funnies” earlier in the 20th century.… [more]
Race, Racism, and Italian-American Crimefighters, Part 2: The Punisher
This article appeared originally in the anthology Pimps, Wimps, Studs, Thugs, and Gentlemen (2009), edited by Elwood Watson. I’m reprinting it here because I believe it has things to say about Italian-Americans, law enforcement, and… [more]
Martin Scorsese’s American Gangster Trilogy
Martin Scorsese is perhaps the most admired living filmmaker in America. His works continually strive to reflect his unique vision and often appeal critically and commercially to audiences. Some of his works are also thematically… [more]
“Australia’s Favourite Boy” Gets the Chop
Hey gang! If you could click this link and vote the second strip (Ginger Meggs) to keep me alive I’d be grateful. Yes that is just a fictional character’s plea on a promotional Facebook page… [more]
Sensual Female Guardian Angels: Luc Besson’s Early Films, Part 2
The Fifth Element features a similarly incongruous love story between a retired-marine-turned-cabbie and a woman that is, literally, all the goodness and beauty humanity has to offer. The plot concerns a contest between the radically… [more]
Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts: The Longest Jazz Solo in History
The panel opens on a barren sidewalk. Two unnamed children, a boy and a girl, sit on some steps, leading to another, equally barren sidewalk. There are no trees, no buildings, no animals, no cars… [more]
Hulk Rend Wolverine!!!: Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1-2
Damon Lindelof is an unabashed nerd in Hollywood. Lindelof’s purported first conversation with JJ Abrams was mainly a discussion about Star Wars[i]. His enjoyment of comics lead him to recruit Paul Dini, Jeph Loeb and… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 8
Issue #10 “Sex and Death” Writer: Jamie Delano Art: Richard Piers Rayner and Mark Buckingham Colors: Lovern Kindzierski Letters: Todd Klein Cover: Dave McKean With the ultimate goal of self-preservation, the consequences of John Constantine’s… [more]
The Super-Heroics of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, Part 6
The Tragic Villains of Miller and Moore Moore and Miller’s approach to writing is always comparable and yet vastly different. Miller is hard-boiled crime writer and Moore delves deep into culture and vast concepts with… [more]