We live in a terrifying world. The cult of ISIS marches through the Middle East, with its black clad fundamentalists consumed by zealotry dispensing brutal violence without a pause. On the flip side, callous operators dispense drone strikes and missiles from afar, the deaths of innocents engulfed in flames tallied […]
2015 Eisner Awards Nominees + My Picks for Winners
The 2015 Eisner Awards nominations have been released! Check out the full list here. Just for fun, here are my picks for winners in each category: Best Short Story “Rule Number One,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC) Love, love, love that this got nominated, and […]
‘We’re Home’ – Star Wars Brings a Generation Full Circle
When Han Solo and Chewbacca appeared together on screen for the first time in over 30 years via last week’s new Star Wars The Force Awakens teaser trailer, it took Harrison Ford just a single line to bring an entire generation to its emotional knees– “Chewie,” Ford’s aged voice uttered […]
Happy 20th to ‘Chrono Trigger’
Time is a weird thing. It’s the most mysterious force in the natural world, it’s existence perhaps nothing more than an illusion spun by our monkey brains to make sense out of the swirling universe we find ourselves staring at, bleary eyed and confused. Twenty years. Twenty spins of the […]
Can Peter Parker Finally Grow Up?
It’s time to let go. It’s time to put the scrapbooks of teenage, wisecracking Peter Parker on the shelf. It’s time to hang-up the throwback perpetual bachelor fantasy. It’s time to put Spider-Man away. It’s time to let Peter Parker get old. I say this as a reader who came […]
Favorite Things About 2014
Here’s a completely subjective breakdown of some of my favorite things about 2014, in no particular order. 1. Winter Soldier Yeah, I know Guardians of the Galaxy had the raccoon and the talking tree and the humor and the amazing soundtrack, but Marvel’s first 2014 offering, Captain America: The Winter […]
A Brief History of Star Wars Teaser Trailers, 1995 – 2005
I have to admit, George Lucas had me fooled. After 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, I really thought Star Wars movies were a thing of the past. In interview after interview, Lucas steadfastly insisted that the story was done. I believed him. I put Stars Wars on the shelf, its […]
Comic Review: ANNIHILATOR #1
Grant Morrison’s done this all before, you know. The whole “metafiction starring a none-more-mod writer with a dark and magical alter-ego/creation slicing through the tenuous membrane dividing the real world and the world of creation because what is reality anyway, mannnn” thing. It’s been done. Morrison did it perhaps most […]
The Hyperkin RetroN 5 – Real and Spectacular
Well, well, well. Look what the cat’s dragged in. I preordered Hyperkin’s RetroN 5 console way back in November 2013. Then I cancelled. Then I preordered again this March. Release dates came and went. Sometimes the manufacturer would address the delays, sometimes nothing. I began to think the RetroN 5 might […]
Comic Review: SOUTHERN BASTARDS #4
The first arc of Jason Aaron’s Alabama epic concludes with the full-speed-ahead force of a freight train in this week’s Southern Bastards #4. The issue is a dark, balmy action tale rife with firecracker dialogue, brutal violence, and the stifling, claustrophobic energy of a small town gone bad wrapped around […]
Comic Review: TERMINAL HERO #1
In the afterward of Terminal Hero #1, writer Peter Milligan describes the book as unlike anything he’s previously written. That’s mostly true, although traces of Shade the Changing Man are present. It’s a weird comic by a weird writer with some weird art, and it’s definitely unlike anything else on the […]
Comic Review: MILES MORALES THE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4
This is Brian Michael Bendis at his best. There’s no diner scenes. No shots of superheroes drinking coffee. No infamous Bendis “wall of words” slowing down the story’s pace. There’s not even a pop-culture reference or winking aside to detract from the proceedings. Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #4 is […]
Comic Review: LOW #1
There’s a scene in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall where a young version of Allen’s character Alvy Singer is taken by his mother to the doctor. Young Alvy is depressed and has grown apathetic toward his 9 year-old responsibilities. His reason- the universe is expanding and will someday break apart into […]
Comic Review: TRANSFORMERS vs. G.I. JOE #1
This is a crazy comic book. Artist-writer-colorist-letter Tom Scioli channels Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko, embarking as a nearly one-man band to drum up a radically different take on the Robots in Disguise meeting the Real American Heroes. Co-writer John Barber tags along to pepper in dialogue, captions, and plot […]
Comic Review: SUPERMAN #33
Two solid issues of Superman in a row? The new DC, there’s no stopping them now! The Man of Steel’s refresh era continues in Superman #33, with writer Geoff Johns and long-time Marvel artist John Romita Jr. bringing readers part two of their “Man of Tomorrow” story. While not quite […]