Covering comics and genre stuff, natch
It’s time for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe entry, and this time the wheel turns to the sequel to 2015’s modest hit Ant-Man, now aptly titled Ant-Man and The Wasp. Shall we dive in, or shrink down? Continue reading “Quick Review: Ant-Man & The Wasp”
I had promised a few weeks ago that I’d review Deadpool 2, and have not thus far for a pretty simple reason: the old adage, if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. But I wanted to do some “quick hits” for recent releases I don’t have too much to say about, so here they be. In case you couldn’t guess, I have Moviepass. I’m not crazy, I wouldn’t pay to see all these! Continue reading “Movie Review Roundup- Deadpool 2, Solo, Adrift, Hereditary”
With Dan Slott’s monumental 10-year run on Amazing Spider-Man finally coming to an end this month, it’s a good time to look back at the event that kicked off this strange new era for Spider-Man, the immensely controversial and divisive “One More Day” anti-saga. In the Fall of 2007, Marvel serialized the storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #544-545, Friendly Neighborhood #24, and Sensational #41. Hyped for nearly a year, the exact details of the story were not made specific, but fans were aware it was going to accomplish three things: end J. Michael Straczynski’s tenure as writer of the flagship title, set up the new “thrice-monthly” shipping Brand New Day status quo, and somehow change Spider-Man’s world dramatically. Rumors were flying left and right, to the point where even the most naive fan went into the story arc aware that it was likely going to somehow result in the ending of the marriage between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. And end, it indeed did. Continue reading “Time’s Up: One More Look at Spider-Man’s One More Day”
Saw Infinity War this weekend, waited until I saw it twice to give some concrete thoughts. There’s not much I can add that hasn’t already been said at this point so I’ll just give my impressions. Everyone and their mother has seen it by now so I will say SPOILERS ahead, but I figure any embargo time has long since passed. Continue reading “Quick Review: Avengers Infinity War”
I attended a speaking engagement with some high-level Fox production crew members, and found out some interesting information, in particular regarding the Fox-owned Marvel characters in the wake of the Disney deal. Continue reading “Exclusive: Future of Disney-Fox deal for Marvel characters”
People are very very worried about Stan Lee recently, myself included. Here are a couple articles explaining it:
https://nerdreactor.com/2018/03/05/injdustry-community-worried-stan-lee/
Many in the comic industry are expressing their worry as well.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/03/06/peter-david-jason-david-frank-stan-lee/
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/03/07/stan-lee-champions-mark-waid-ramos/
We simply have no idea what’s going on at this point, but I truly hope Stan is not being mistreated or taken advantage of. He is a legend, and deserves to have his dignity and respect at 95 years old. We want everything to be okay, but I have a bad feeling that something is going on and can only hope somebody gets to the bottom of it soon.
Released in Spring 2004 to middling reviews, little fanfare and a lousy box office take, The Punisher is often seen as the red-headed stepchild of the Marvel films, not a good film by any measure but a distinctly vexing one, let down by a weak budget and an inexperienced director more so than being a complete fiasco. The tone, borrowed heavily from Garth Ennis’ seminal Marvel Knights run of stories, is wildly inconsistent, alternating between mean-spirited sadism and downright wacky slapstick comedy. Eventually, over-the-top ultraviolence and silliness overtake the sorry spectacle, and it’s remembered not as a high watermark in comic book film but a hiccup before Marvel Studios got their hand on the characters, and they started to actually get away from Avi Arad’s death grip. Still, there are many many things to analyze, most of which relate to the story and the choices made- some of them not good. Strap yourselves in folks, as we take a look at the very first (second I guess, if you count the Dolph Lundgren version) big screen adaptation of our favorite judge, jury and executioner rolled into one skull-faced package. Continue reading “Let the Crime Fit The Punisher: Analyzing the 2004 Film”
In the first season finale episode of Mad Men, Jon Hamm’s dapper Don Draper is trying to sell a version of Kodak’s Carousel home slide projector, which was ostensibly a product in 1960. Making a pitch while he rifles through pictures of his family and himself in better times, Don delivers a monologue so moving that even hapless Harry Crane wheezes tearfully from the room. He narrates, “In Greek, nostalgia literally means pain; the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge, in your heart. Far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place, where we ache to go again. It’s not called ‘The Wheel,’ it’s called ‘The Carousel.’ It lets us travel in the way a child travels. Round and round, and then back home again. To a place where we know- we are loved.” Continue reading “Carousel: The Circular Nature of Comic Books”
Now and then I’ll pop in with a quick review for a movie that I’d like to write an in-depth article on later, but just giving my initial thoughts on for the moment. Very minor spoilers. Continue reading “Quick Review: Black Panther movie”
Ultimate Spider-Man, by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, ran for 160 issues from September 2000 to June 2011, of which Bagley illustrated 116 (plus change) of those issues, with a few interim artists and relaunches lumped in-between. It was a fascinating, widely beloved comic of its time that was practically the face of “Nu Marvel” and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada under his regime, remaining well-regarded even today. Both one of the first “reboots” of a character attempted in the modern era, and not at all as much of a controversial gamble as revisionists would lead you to think, USM (as it has become known) explored Peter Parker in his formative high school years, along with his cast of friends and villains updated and refurbished for the new millennium. Extremely decompressed, the greater story spanned about two years’ comic book time over eleven real years and launched the eponymous Ultimate Universe, to become one of Marvel Comics’ preeminent series. It was a fan favorite, a top seller, and won numerous awards. And it had almost nothing in common with the youth of the day it was supposedly created to appeal to, nor has it had any real permanent legacy beyond being fondly remembered and kind of/sort of leading to Bendis’ creation of Peter’s successor, Miles Morales. That is all, of course, besides one important lasting influence that the series left on Spider-Man, one which may not have changed him for the better at all. Continue reading “Teenage Wasteland: The Ultimate Legacy of Ultimate Spider-Man”