RSS feed for Articles
SEQUART MAILING LIST
ON SCI-FI FRANCHISES
ON GRANT MORRISON
ON TV AND MOVIES
ON COMICS CHARACTERS
OTHER BOOKS
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Articles
Academics on Avengers: Endgame, Part 1
Avengers: Endgame is a cinematic generational event. The epic conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first arc that began with 2008’s Iron Man and encompasses twenty-two films. As of this posting, Avengers: Endgame has grossed… [more]
“I won’t wear one of those damnfool spandex body-condom things. I don’t have the bust for it”: Superhero Costume in the WildStorm Comics of Warren Ellis, Part 2
The Authority’s ‘sister’ title, Planetary was also launched in 1999, following a preview story included in the WildStorm titles Gen-13 and C-23 in September of the previous year. Conceived as a series in which Ellis… [more]
Jordan Peele’s Us: Untethered
“There we are – demented children mincing about in clothes that no one ever wore, speaking as no man ever spoke, swearing love in wigs and rhymed couplets, killing each other with wooden swords, hollow… [more]
Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man, and America
Disclaimer: this article includes spoilers starting in the third paragraph, so I wouldn’t read too far if you haven’t watched Avengers: Endgame yet. It also won’t make much sense if you haven’t watched Endgame and… [more]
The Invisible Art that Makes The Temple of Silence: Forgotten Works & Worlds of Herbert Crowley
Recently, I read an article by Noah Charney about Davie Bowie and William Boyd’s connection to an obscure American abstract expressionist artist Nat Tate, operating in the mid-twentieth century, who destroyed most of his paintings,… [more]
A Birthday Card for a Friend
One of my childhood friends turns 80 today. Perhaps he’s your friend too. [more]
“I won’t wear one of those damnfool spandex body-condom things. I don’t have the bust for it”: Superhero Costume in the WildStorm Comics of Warren Ellis, Part 1
The title of this essay comes from lines spoken by the character Jenny Sparks in Warren Ellis’s first issue as writer on the WildStorm title Stormwatch (#37, July 1996), after she is recruited to the… [more]
Academics on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Released on December 14, 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a movie that shouldn’t exist. Superhero movies have been dominated by live action adaptations for well over a decade, while animated comic book movies have… [more]
This Next Experiment and the Values of Fun: Toby Fox and Gaster’s Deltarune Part III
In our second article, I wrote about Undertale, the presence of W.D. Gaster in the game and its code, the collaborative dynamic between Toby Fox and his audience as well as the implications it had… [more]
Breaking Panels, Breaking Time: Examples of the Connection Between Panel Construction and Narrative Time
In Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, he makes the comment, “To kill a man between panels is to condemn him to a thousand deaths”. An incredibly evocative piece of language, and very poetic in itself. But… [more]
Preliminaries in Undertale: Toby Fox and Gaster’s Deltarune Part II
Where we last left off, I wrote a general outline of how Toby Fox’s work in game hacking, music creation, and his participation in and moderation of EarthBound forums helped influence his development of Undertale,… [more]
EarthBound Dress Rehearsals and The Beginnings of Interaction: Toby Fox and Gaster’s Deltarune Part I
It feels like everyone, and their mother too, has already been talking about the first chapter of Toby Fox’s new video game Deltarune, the spiritual sequel to the popular 2015 independent game Undertale. So many… [more]
So Long, Iron Fist—We’ll Miss Ward Meachum Most
Netflix recently cancelled Iron Fist after two frustrating seasons of mediocrity. At least season two was a marked improvement in many ways over the first—robbing Danny Rand (Finn Jones) of the Iron Fist and giving it… [more]
“We Go Bigger”: Diving into Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers
Jonathan Hickman’s run on the Avengers picks up just after Brian Michael Bendis’s eight-year run on the title came to an end. Bendis’s time on the title was a veritable event generating machine, beginning with… [more]
There is Punk and Heart in How To Talk To Girls At Parties
I’d read Neil Gaiman’s short story “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” a long time ago now, back in 2006 when it had been published in Fragile Things. It’s hard for me to remember… [more]
Jason Aaron & Steve Dillon’s PunisherMAX: Kingpin Becomes Walter White
Though many fans will rightfully clamor for Ennis’ Punisher, Aaron & Dillon’s 22-issue run on the Punisher is the greatest Punisher story ever told. Beginning with Wilson Fisk rising in the criminal world. [more]
Curtain Call: On The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and LoEG: The Tempest #1
So here we are. The last League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Not the latest, the last. If one believes the hype, this will be the final comic book published by either Moore or O’Neill – making… [more]
Hellboy Omnibus
The new collection initiative from Dark Horse is, potentially, a chance to give us a fresh outlook on Hellboy – already one of the most reprinted and talked-about comics of the last twenty-five years. The… [more]
Instinct War: Sigmund Freud, Thanos, and the Theory of Drives in Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos is often considered a Darkseid knockoff but perhaps his connection to Sigmund Freud contains some redeeming qualities. [more]
Ridley Scott’s Alien: The Horror of the Unknown
In honor of “Alien Day” a look back on the sci-fi horror classic that introduced the world to the most iconic movie monster of the 20th Century. [more]
Alan Moore’s Marvelman, Part 2: Welcome to the Real World
What if Marvelman woke up in the real world? That was the simple and enticing high-concept that Alan Moore wished to explore when he began to write his graphic novel Marvelman. In the hands of a great writer something as simple as “Superman landing in the Soviet Union” can be developed into something profound and thought-provoking. On the surface, Moore’s premise can sound simple and a desire to bring more realism into the superhero genre. [more]
Alan Moore’s Marvelman, Part 1: From the Ashes of Obscurity…
Alan Moore brought new life to one of the most unoriginal superheroes. See how Alan Moore utilized Marvelman to explore and critique the Golden Age of Comics. [more]
Politics, Power, and the Black Panther: A Commentary
Much has been said about the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther. As of this writing— and the film has yet to play a full week—it has already grossed nearly $1 billion, and global box office… [more]
Academics on Disney Buying Fox
As of now, there are currently six major film studios: Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Fox Entertainment Group, Sony Pictures, and Paramount Motion Pictures Group. These studios form the “Big Six” and are… [more]