After watching and digging the Justice League Unlimited episode based off of Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons’ classic Superman tale, For the Man Who Has Everything, I figured I’d see what else the series has to offer. Blastoff’s comics historian, Scott Tipton, recommended I check out two episodes – one that shows the lighter, adventurous […]
I haven’t seen much of the DC Animated Universe outside of Batman: The Animated Series, but when I learned that the second episode of Justice League Unlimited was an adaptation of one of my favorite Superman stories ever told, I figured I’d see how it holds up. I first read For the Man Who Has […]
Ever since Man of Steel, the comics community has been embroiled in a heated debate about Superman’s true nature. There are those that defend the idea of Superman killing a villain for the greater good, while others – the majority, I think – reject that out of hand. Personally, I prefer Superman without blood on […]
Last time, we took the long trip from Earth to Mars and back again with Captain Franco and his crew of Earthmen, who faced the philosophical conundrum of killing and eating an intelligent alien life form in order to ensure their daily meals on the way home. Dick’s satirical condemnation of colonialism and the objectification […]
Okay, last time, we revisited two of Ray Bradbury’s most chilling stories: The Pedestrian and The Veldt . Now, we’re moving from one science fiction legend to another… Philip K. Dick. Philip K. Dick featured brilliantly realized futuristic settings, terrifying conflicts between man and the mysterious other, and alien life forms that ranged from beautiful […]
Last time, I took a walk with Mr. Leonard Mead, the eponymous character of Ray Bradbury’s The Passenger. Bradbury’s story could be interpreted as a scathing depiction of a world addicted to technology, but I saw it as, instead, an exploration of the fear that the world will pass us by and our way will […]
In today’s social media-obsessed culture, where your opinion ain’t worth squat unless you tweet it out, it’s been noted – and tweeted, you bet – that we’re getting dangerously close to the dystopian future that sci-fi writers made careers out of prophesizing. In fact, it’s mostly a single work that our modern world gets compared […]
Introducing the lethal Deadpool! Everybody’s talking about the Merc with a Mouth. Deadpool’s first film just kicked down Hollywood’s door by laying waste to box office records, so I figured we’d continue my Marvel Firsts journey by breaking from the norm. Usually I revisit the iconic #1s, but hell… Deadpool has had about as […]
I’ll be honest… I didn’t expect Deadpool to make the box office wave that it did. I tried to see it the day after it came out, early in the morning to avoid the crowd… only to be turned away by a guy who looked as baffled as I was when he told me it […]
Today, my journey through Marvel’s most iconic first issues takes me to 1961, which saw the debut of Marvel’s first family with The Fantastic Four #1. The Fantastic Four #1 is, of course, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While The Avengers #1, last Marvel debut I covered, brought together Earth’s mightiest heroes as a […]
Okay, so obviously there have been many AVENGERS #1s. I think somewhere between twenty and twenty-five this year, give or take. This time, though, we’re dialing back to the Silver Age for a look at the genuine article… the very first time that Marvel heroes united against a common threat and decided to call themselves […]
One day, my copy of Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? will be completely unreadable due to the unquantifiable amount of tears I’ve shed on its pages. It’s impossible for me to read this comic without ugly-crying – no, I’m not talking silent weeping or a single tear. I make an absolute ass of myself […]
I’m not alone in saying I could listen to Kevin Smith talk for hours. In fact, while I enjoy his movies, and find Chasing Amy to be a genuine masterpiece that examines the shaming of female sexuality, the fragility of modern masculinity, and the beating heart of geek culture, I’ve probably listened to him on […]
