ON COMICS CHARACTERS
ON SCI-FI FRANCHISES
ON GRANT MORRISON
ON TV AND MOVIES
OTHER BOOKS
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Magazine Archives for:
2016
Switch to calendar view.
Fear And The Batman: An Examination Of The Role That Horror Plays In The World Of The Dark Knight
A band of thieving criminals flee to a cornered alleyway, running from the stalking specter descending upon them. As they run they turn around a sharp corner and stumble into a dead end where they… [more]
Droids, Slaves and C-3PO’s Red Arm
The role of droids in the Star Wars universe has always been fairly clear, and yet tinged with some troubling implications. They’re servants, essentially, but they’re also companions and, most interestingly of all, they have… [more]
The Dawn of Cinematic Universes: What Shared Continuity In Film Is Telling Us About The Future Of Cinema
There is no secret that a new trend has emerged in mainstream films, a trend that is specifically connected to the inclusion of famous characters and epic worlds, all of which have now joined together… [more]
Orange is the New Black Season 4: Non-Spoiler Review
Orange is the New Black was always an interesting, innovative show, both in its subject matter and even its mode of distribution (Netflix). But last season, the narrative became unfocused, the hole at the centre… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 65
Issue #78 “Rake at the Gates of Hell: Parts One” Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Steve Dillon; Colors: Tom Ziuko; Letters: Clem Robins; Editor: Stuart Moore; Assistant Editor: Julie Rottenberg; Cover: Glenn Fabry; Despite the cyclical… [more]
David Brent – Life on the Road Now Coming to Netflix in August
“I’ve got one song, it’s about rock and roll, but it’s a metaphor for sex.” -David Brent In April, we were treated to the teaser trailer for David Brent: Life on the Road, with Ricky… [more]
Manifest Destiny #20: Big Feet and Bigger Eyes
“Captain Clark killed a curious animal… [one] never yet known in the United States.” That’s a quote from a member of the actual Corps of Discovery, and in that case it was the antelope, which… [more]
Descender #12: Brothers
One of Descender’s strongest themes has always been the notion of robots having souls — sometimes souls more pure and more sensitive than the flesh and blood humans that surround them. Our central robot character,… [more]
Smorgasbord #44: Hail to the King
A fairly quiet week of comic news brings with it a long discussion over recent casting announcements (from Captain Marvel to Mandrake, the Magician), as well as a debate over the viability of a certain… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 64
Issue #75b-77 “Act of Union,” “Confessions of an Irish Rebel,” & “And the Crowd Goes Wild” Writer: Garth Ennis; Artists: William Simpson, Steve Dillon, Peter Snejbjerg; Colors: Stuart Chaifetz, Tom Ziuko; Letters: Clem Robins; Editor:… [more]
How Much Trouble is Rogue One Really In?
As some are no doubt aware, there’s something interesting brewing over at Lucasfilm, on the production of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film, to be released this Christmas, tells the story of how… [more]
On Phonogram & “Hating So Correctly”
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Phonogram is very much a celebration of pop music, a comic filled with characters who love it deeply and at times overwhelmingly. A blurb from Art Brut vocalist Eddie Argos… [more]
Invisible Republic #10: New Wrinkles
Invisible Republic is only just now in its tenth issue, but it feels as if there have been many more than that. The complexity of the world, and the subtlety with which Gabriel Hardman and… [more]
The Complicated Legacies of Wonder Woman and Lois Lane
Throughout the history of DC Comics, two female characters stand above the rest, in terms of appearances and popularity in the broader culture: Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) and Lois Lane. It can be argued that… [more]
Super Karate Monkey Death Car: Geoff Johns and the DC Universe
It’s true, pobody’s nerfect. We live with our foibles and imperfections, our biases and misconceptions, and hope that they don’t cause too many problems for ourselves or those around us. The human failing that most… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 63
Issue #75 “Damnation’s Flame: Hail to the Chief” Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Steve Dillon; Colors: Tom Ziuko; Letters: Gaspar Saladino; Editor: Stuart Moore; Assistant Editor: Julie Rottenberg; Cover: Glenn Fabry; Picking up immediately from last… [more]
Paper Girls #6: The Horror of Adulting
Warning: If you haven’t read the first five issues of Paper Girls, this discussion will spoil a few things. On the other hand, if you have read those issues but not the latest, don’t worry.… [more]
The Goddamned #4: You Don’t Mess With Noah
The Goddamned is one of two major comics that have recently offered us a reimagined version of the Biblical character Noah. The other book — Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, which was also made into a big… [more]
Equals Film Review
Science-fiction movies have long had a history of flirting with the concept of a “utopia.” However, the recurring problem of any utopia is that they are often always a “dystopia” in disguise. Is life truly… [more]
Sifting Through the Ashes: Analyzing Hellblazer, Part 62
Issue #74 “Damnation’s Flame: Trail of Tears” Writer: Garth Ennis; Artist: Steve Dillon; Colors: Tom Ziuko; Letters: Gaspar Saladino; Editor: Stuart Moore; Assistant Editor: Julie Rottenberg; Cover: Glenn Fabry; Picking up immediately where the previous… [more]
Star Wars In May – Thoughts on the Anniversary of the Original Release
Yesterday fans all over the world recognized May 25 as one of the most important anniversaries in popular culture: the release of Star Wars on that day in 1977. This comes at the tail end… [more]
A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 12 – Wrapping Up
Over the course of this series about the 2016 Eisner Award Nominees, we’ve been focusing on individual titles that many comics fans may have either missed or overlooked. Without question, every comic mentioned in the… [more]
A Tour of the 2016 Eisner Nominees, Part 11 – March: Book Two
The history recounted in March: Book Two is, or should be, fairly familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of the 20th century. The Freedom Riders and the other struggles of the early 1960s American… [more]
A Marvel Cinematic Universe Wish List
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), including their Netflix series, is expanding rapidly. Since having kids, the wife and I can’t seem to keep up. I’m not sure she’s as impatient to see Captain America: Civil War… [more]