As a teen, Superboy didn’t stay in Smallville all the time. He loved his home, but occasionally he traveled through time – like you do – to team up with the Legion of Super-Heroes. In Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #255 by Gerry Conway, Joe Staton, and Vince Colletta, he works with Shadow Lass, Cosmic […]
Spider-Man faces a host of entertaining villains, but he didn’t necessarily meet all of them face to face. In “The Reprehensible Riddle of the Sorcerer,” originally published in Marvel Super Heroes #14, he fights the Sorcerer. However, he doesn’t realize it because the Sorcerer is controlling him from afar. The story written by Stan Lee […]
When I open the pages of a Spider-Man comic, I don’t expect to find horror. That changed when I read “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” The six part story by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck spread across the Web of Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1987, and it’s the kind of story that […]
While I love Star Wars: The Clone Wars and it’s probably my favorite animated series, I consider Avatar: The Last Airbender to be the best cartoon I’ve ever watched. Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created a riveting world with a rich and broad tapestry. It’s so natural that I feel like I could go […]
Have Netflix? Then you can now enjoy the engaging story that is Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Don’t automatically discount it if you didn’t like the prequels – don’t be one of those geeks. It’s okay to give things a chance and then dislike them but don’t write them off with an air of superiority […]
When you take a minute and think about the long history of comics, it’s kind of amazing that we’re still rabidly devouring stories about characters who have existed for several decades. Captain America made his first appearance in 1941, and we’re all losing our minds over the release of a new film starring the superhero […]
Captain America: The First Avenger was the movie that made me feel excited to explore the world of superhero comics. Steve Rogers was no small part of that – I enjoy a hero who isn’t brooding and the pleasant manners are a plus – but Peggy Carter factored into my enthusiasm, too. Played by Hayley […]
Even though Hawkeye has had the staying power to last in the Marvel universe for about 50 years, it seems his appearances in recent Marvel films have made him more popular than ever. Clint Barton hasn’t had a ton of screen time, but somehow Jeremy Renner made the character resonate with fans. Maybe it’s his […]
When I think of families in comic books, the word that comes to mind first is tragedy. I don’t turn to comics to get feel-good stories about relatives. That’s not to say they don’t exist or to say it’s the way it should be, but so many heroes have devastating backstories involving their parents’ death! […]
When I first tread into the world of big two superhero comics, I had plenty to wrap my head around. Time lines, crossover events, reboots, 5,000 different Batman stories, decades of history. Comic books are intense and a touch intimidating in that way. But that wasn’t all. It absolutely blew my mind – and still […]
When I told friends I needed to read Thor stories this month for research purposes, they started throwing names of issues and creators at me with enthusiasm. Thor’s a popular guy/god/hero. In the flurry, one story was almost universally recommended: Beta Ray Bill’s first appearance. I’m not one to write off popular opinion but there’s […]
Thor: The Dark World tore up the box office last weekend and with good reason. It was a fantastic follow up to Thor with just a few weak points. I can’t speak to how true it was to the comics and whether it was a solid superhero movie in that regard, but I can say […]
Of the handful of Doctor Strange stories I read for Blastoff’s month of Sorcery and Magic, I connected most to The Oath by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. It showed a Doctor Strange using his medical past as well as his magical skills to solve a problem and save his friend. As far as […]
