DC Comics’ Elseworlds stories have typically been presented as one-shots or miniseries outside a comic book’s main continuity and issue numbering. Thanks to the Elseworlds concept, Batman fans have been treated to seeing the Dark Knight portrayed as a reverend (Batman: Holy Terror), a vampire (Batman & Dracula: Red Rain), and a rampant psychotic (Catwoman: […]
Pat Shand here, back with the second installment of In a World…, a series of articles about stories you know and characters you love, but where things may not be what they seem. We’re traveling to strange, alternate realities where familiar faces have been placed in different timelines, places, and maybe even worlds. This time, […]
When I was little, I would ask my mom to safety pin a towel around my neck and I would run around the house talking in a voice that was somewhere between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Christian Bale’s Batman. I wrote the longest essay in class when my 2nd grade teacher asked us to write about […]
All this month, we’ve been looking at Elseworlds, What-If’s and other alternate reality stories here at BLASTOFF, and our Artist-in-Residence Elena Casagrande brings us this awesome banner showing off some of our favorites. Happy Holidays!
This is my ninth and final article of 2017 for Blastoff!, and before we get down to the nitty gritty, I want to take a moment to shout out my longtime pal, Professor Scott Tipton, for inviting me to contribute to the site this past January. I’m proud to be affiliated with the site, I […]
Welcome to In a World…, a series of articles about stories you know and characters you love, but where things may not be what they seem. We’re traveling to strange, alternate realities where familiar faces have been placed in different timelines, places, and maybe even worlds. First up is a tale of adventure that takes […]
In 1977, Marvel launched a new series of extra-length stories called What If? with a first cover image showing the Fantastic Four—alongside new member Spider-Man—exploding through B&W pages of comic art that featured past pairings of these characters. Here, the spider on Spidey’s chest had a “5” on it, and the Fantastic Four’s costumes similarly […]
There are things in comics which we talk about and take sides on, and yet this very attention makes us miss some obvious points. We get so caught up in the popular byways of the point that we depopulate the highways of the main point. If someone points out those main points, we are suddenly […]
As a kid growing up in the ‘90s, Mary Jane Watson was the only girl for Spider-Man. My main source of exposure, Fox’s animated “Spider-Man” cartoon show, didn’t even mention Gwen Stacy or Betty Brant. To me, Peter and MJ were as indisputable as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. They were supposed to end up […]
A couple of beautiful new coffee-table books arrived here at COMICS 101 HQ in recent weeks, both certainly worth a closer look at, especially with Christmas so close and many of you undoubtedly searching for some gifts for the nerdy among your shopping list. First up is Celebrating Snoopy, a gorgeous slipcased deluxe hardcover from […]
The Flash’s ninth episode (“Don’t Run”) was not surprisingly cerebral. (Come on. You know I was going to make that joke at some point, right?) It felt very much like a chess game, arranging the pieces just so, right before going in for the kill. In this case, somewhat literally. The knife set, with one […]
Supergirl’s ninth episode (“Reign”) was so wonderfully done for a lot of reasons. And I’m not just talking about how Lena snapped at Edge (“Morgan, you are a vile, despicable scrooge who’s going to die alone in prison.”). Or about Winn gleefully geeking out over Star Wars’ Life Day. (What do you get a Wookiee […]
The Flash’s eighth episode (“Crisis on Earth-X, Part 3”) got me right in the damn feels. A lot. From the concentration camps (“I loved the wrong person”) to Sara’s unflinching bravery in the face of almost death, this was a powerful hour of tv. One character we met on Earth X was The Ray (Russell […]
