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Magazine Archives for:
2020
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Wonder Woman 1984 Review
SPOILER WARNING: Please don’t read this until you’ve seen the film! I never wrote anything on Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. Well, that isn’t entirely true, as I’d admit if Diana of Themyscira’s Lasso is called… [more]
An Introduction’s Inevitable Conclusion: Art Spiegelman: Golden Age Superheroes were Shaped by the Rise of Fascism
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year since the Folio Society published Marvel: The Golden Age 1939–1949 as compiled and edited by Roy Thomas. I saw it as a sponsored Facebook advertisement… [more]
Citizenship 101: The DC Public Service Announcements of the 1950s and 1960s
An unlikely 1949 brown paper schoolbook cover produced by DC Comics and distributed by the Institute for American Democracy (IAD) received a great deal of attention following the violent protests in Charlottesville in August 2017.… [more]
The Panther’s Priest: Christopher Priest’s Career Prior to Black Panther
To preserve clarity, except when using exact quotes, this history will refer to Christopher Priest consistently by his current name. He was born Christopher James Owsley, and many of his comic book credits prior to… [more]
Sequart Releases Musings on Monsters: Observations on the World of Classic Horror
Sequart is proud to announce the publication of Musings on Monsters: Observations on the World of Classic Horror, edited by Rich Handley and Lou Tambone. As children, we fall in love with monsters, and age often… [more]
You Humans Love Your Symbolism, Chapter 3: Reincarnation in House of X #2
Chapter 3: Reincarnation in House of X #2 – The Uncanny Life of Moira X Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Pepe Larraz Color Artist: Marte Gracia Cover Art: Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia It would be… [more]
The Universe of Possibilities: Star Wars, Doctor Aphra, and Literary Concurrency
Fans of the Star Wars franchise are probably familiar with the series of events that led to Marvel Comics becoming, once again, responsible for the publishing license, but just in case: Marvel produced the original… [more]
Different Men of Tomorrow: Superman and Providence
Stop me if you’ve heard this story. A mild-mannered bespectacled journalist works at an American newspaper attempting to find a story, having to deal with a senior editor, a wise-cracking coworker, and a troublesome, opinionated… [more]
Formless and Void: On BLAME!, NaissanceE, and Liminal Spaces
“What’s it about?” When I recommend BLAME! – the admittedly a tad obscure manga by Tsutomu Nihei – to someone, I tend to get that dreaded question asked to me. I hate having to answer… [more]
Panther’s Range: The History of the Black Panther Prior to Christopher Priest
The Black Panther was a ground-breaking character in his 1966 debut. From his first appearance onward, he was seldom absent for long from Marvel Comics publications, whether as a guest star or part of the… [more]
You Humans Love Your Symbolism, Chapter 2: Visions of the Future and the Past in Powers of X #1
Chapter 2: Prophecy – Visions of the Future and the Past in Powers of X #1 – The Last Dream of Professor X Writer: Jonathan Hickman Penciler: R.B. Silva Inker: R.B. Silva with Adriano Di… [more]
Excerpt from Brett Dakin’s American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason
INTRO: I never met Lev Gleason—he died five years before I was born. My mother would tell me stories about her flamboyant, free-spending uncle from New York City, and I especially loved hearing about Uncle… [more]
How Lightsabers Illustrate the Anakin-Ahsoka-Luke Connection
No two lightsabers are alike. Each has a different design on their hilts and various blade colors to pick from. They are completely the choice of the user who builds it. The original trilogy did… [more]
Exploring White Privilege in Christopher Priest’s Black Panther: Part 2, Hunter, the White Wolf
Hunter glided into the pages of Black Panther stealthily, first trailing him under a cloak of invisibility in the closing panels of issue #3, before fully appearing in issue #4. Even then, his back story… [more]
You Humans Love Your Symbolism, Chapter 1: Paradise in House of X #1: The House that Xavier Built
“You see, I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love your religion.” This bold statement of Magneto towards the end of House of X #1 not only serves as… [more]
Infertility and Destiny in Netflix’s The Witcher
Every fictional world has its own set of rules regarding who has power and how it’s important to the narrative. From Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc., many stories separate those with… [more]
Exploring White Privilege in Christopher Priest’s Black Panther: Part 1, Everett K. Ross
It seems shocking that it took more than 30 years for Marvel’s flagship black superhero Black Panther to have a writer who was himself black. This milestone on its own would have made Christopher Priest’s… [more]
Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers #2: In Secret, They Rule
To understand some of the elements of this story, one must dive back into Brian Michael Bendis’s time as the writer for the Avengers. In New Avengers: Illuminati #2, the Illuminati gathers together the Infinity… [more]
What the Creators of She Ra and the Princesses of Power Understand About Queer Representation
When the token LGBTQ+ character is introduced into a TV show or movie, the audience already has a few expectations about them. Typically, that character will have little to no screen time and is only… [more]
Bold, Precise, Experimental: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Young Avengers and Their Coming-of-Age Story
Whenever Kieron Gillen and Jaime McKelvie’s excellent run on Young Avengers gets mentioned online, it’s more often than not to talk about how diverse and inclusive is in regards of sexual identity. This is absolutely… [more]
The Last Jedi is Repetition, Not Subversion
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is known for being one of the most divisive films in recent history. The reason for that is that it seems to involve moving away from the themes of the… [more]
For All Mankind and Space Force: Space in the Time of Quarantine
Quarantine has oddly coincided with a promising outpouring of space-related news and shows, from the launch of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the ISS to the debut of several new streaming shows, most notably For All… [more]
Thor ’77-’78: On the Never-Ending Road to Ragnarok, Part 4
The Mighty Thor #265: This one is truly an ALL BATTLE ISSUE! We left off with The Destroyer, a suit of indestructible-looking armor, powered by someone’s spirit force, crashing into battle with Thor. We find… [more]
Sequart Releases From Bayou to Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer
Sequart is proud to announce the publication of From Bayou to Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer, edited by Rich Handley and Lou Tambone. British occultist John Constantine elevated Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, and it wasn’t long before… [more]
Green Lantern’s Burden: Re-Evaluating the Superhero Genre’s ‘Woke’ Moment
At the turn of the new decade, as the euphoric epoch of the 1960s finally withered away, the symbols of American optimism took on new burdens and new crises. The superheroes of the 1970s, now… [more]