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Editorials
Smorgasbord #19: DC Presents Legends of Fabulous Popstar Rihanna
This week on The Smorgasbord: Tom and Shawn kick Archie while he’s down, pick through the blighted wastelands of August Previews, take Jill Lepore to task for breaking Rule #1 of Academia, and wonder whether… [more]
The Coming of Comicgate: Backsides, Batgirl and Ethics in Hammer-Wielding
In my previous post I took a close look at the controversy surrounding the Batgirl #41 variant cover that occurred in March. Now, it’s time to take a look at how that debate fits into… [more]
Comic Book Covers 4 Cancer and My Father
As this writer sits in his living room trying to think up a good news story for Sequart. He can’t. His father is dying from a mix of lymphoma, liver, and colon cancer. [more]
Why I’m Not Excited about a Revival of Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks was a product of its time. Debuting in 1990, it was up against an awful lot of network TV nonsense. It was trailblazing in a lot of ways. But it simply doesn’t hold… [more]
Don’t Send in the Clowns: Jared Leto Isn’t Cool Enough to Be Joker
Remember when The Joker was cool? Do you remember how gratifying it would always be to see him reimagined for a new video game or cartoon? Or better yet, to see him re-adapted for another… [more]
Smorgasbord #18: …What is it Good for?
Avengers: Age of Ultron came and went, leaving audiences baffled and the podcast divided, as Shawn and Tom war it out for a bit before signing a peace treaty. Speaking of wars, the reviews of… [more]
How Supporting Rap Duo Run the Jewels Supports Comic Book and Street Art Culture
While in contrast to Hip Hop’s legendary Supervillain, MF DOOM, Killer Mike and El-P have acted as music’s superheroes for the past two years. With their critically acclaimed sophomore album Run the Jewels 2, the… [more]
Joss Whedon: Where He is, Where He was, and Where He May be Going
It is no doubt that Avengers: Age of Ultron will be the biggest blockbuster hit this year and Joss Whedon is the man that brought it to us. But after it’s all said and done,… [more]
From Batgirl to Comicgate?: The Variant Cover Controversy
The Joker would be proud. On 13 March, DC Comics unveiled a set of variant covers for title due to be published in June. To mark the 75th anniversary of Batman’s archenemy, each of the… [more]
Smorgasbord #17: The Big Red One
Giant-sized issue! Shawn and Tom discuss the Eisner nominations, July’s Previews, Netflix’s Daredevil, and Marvel and DC playing Musical Director’s Chairs. Plus: the Batman v. Superman trailer leads to Jesus, while the Fantastic Four trailer leads… [more]
Smorgasbord #16: Shiny Happy Podcast
In the wake of last episode’s Scandalpalooza, Tom and Shawn discover a whole new world of happy thoughts and positivity (with the exception of Michael Bay). Ego the Living Planet is name-dropped, Shawn prepares for… [more]
How Movies Stereotype and Demonize College Professors
British and American films about college professors tend to depict them stereotypically—as atheistic alcoholic egomaniacs with social anxiety disorder and an uncontrollable desire to have sex with their students. Independent American films such as Smart… [more]
Smorgasbord #15: Notes on a Scandal
This is the long one… with almost two hours of talking Shawn & Tom attempt to make sense of the recent rush of controversies (including the Batgirl cover, Erik Larson, poor costume design, speech, and… [more]
Smorgasbord #14: The Case of the Defeathered Duck
On this episode: Shawn and Tom discuss Valiant’s attempt to create its own cinematic universe, Black Mask Studios want to make “Tube Comics” a thing, Michelle Rodriguez doesn’t like thieves, and Tom briefly discusses the… [more]
Smorgasbord #13: Satan, TM
In this hour-and-40-minutes spectacular, Shawn and Tom wrestle with the solicitations for the month of May, grapple with the first image of the cienametic Aquaman, tussle with a whole host of TV announcements (including a… [more]
On Internet Outrage and Choosing Not to “Bite the Hook”
Last Monday, The Guardian published a piece on contemporary comics that asked the question, “When did the comic-book universe become so banal?” It was written by an art critic and former comic book reader who… [more]
A Facebook Conversation About Pulp Fiction
I’m a Facebook addict, but it is a nice place to live when not visiting the material realm because I have cool friends. I know a lot of people who don’t like Facebook because their… [more]
Amazon Did Not Kill the Comic Shop (or, How My Daughter Saved the Shop)
On the eve of this year’s annual ComicPro Meeting, an international meet-up of the best and brightest brick-and-mortar comic book retailers, I am happy to announce that Amazon did not kill the comic shop. In… [more]
Smorgasbord #12: The Fish People Messed with our Sound
Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor horrible recording equipment (sorry folks, this episode might prove a bit echo-y) will stop Shawn and Tom from talking about comics. In this episode, we talk at length… [more]
DC is Re-Branding (or De-Branding) Its Universe. So What?
Note: This is a “companion editorial”—of sorts—to the “Marvel Is Rebooting Its Universe. So What?” piece I wrote for Sequat on Wednesday, January 21st. Apparently there’s something of a PR war going on between the… [more]
American Sniper is Bad for America
In recent weeks, the culture of uncritical patriotism has returned to the news with the release of the film American Sniper. Chris Kyle’s case, and that of his supporters, involves a certain level of wrapping… [more]
Marvel is Rebooting Its Universe. So What?
“Don’t change anything, just give the illusion of change.” Those words—or something very much like them, at any rate—have been attributed to Stan Lee for ages now, and it’s been painfully obvious that Roy Thomas,… [more]
Smorgasbord #10: Whisker Monsters Improve Everything
After a week off Shawn and Tom are back at comics-talk game, starting with the huge news backlog — including the possibility of Spider-Man hopping to the Marvel Cinematic universe (and why it’s a bad… [more]