A Comic Book Reading Order Guide For Beginners & Fans
There’s a romantic idealism at the center of Captain America. A figure who’s both a relic of the past and a timeless source of inspiration across generations. And while longtime readers have loved Captain America for decades, one film bridged past and present to set the hero on the big screen adventure of a lifetime.
In 2011, Marvel Studios brought Steve Rogers to life in Captain America: The First Avenger
There’s a perverse thrill to the Joker. There’s charm in the chaos, comedy in the kills. Whether it’s Mark Hamill’s gleefully sadistic animated rendition, or the Clown Prince copyrighting fish, this is a monster we’ve all wanted to watch for over 80 years.
Even Heath Ledger’s Dark Knight interpretation is humming with electric mystery. I left the theater in 2008 impersonating and quoting Batman’s archenemy. Which is also to give voice to so many people’s greatest fear about Joker directed by Todd Phillips: Joker is a violent madman that still inspires us to smile. [Read more…] about Previously On #91: Joker Movie Review!
What do you want from a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame? Historically, Marvel has followed up the biggest most game-changing events in the MCU with lighter comedies or character introductions (Ant Man & The Wasp, Doctor Strange). The reaction has been a mix of praise (this mint after a heavy meal is exactly what was needed!) and resignation (well, I guess not every story can be the biggest one ever told).
For my money, the MCU’s never needed a transition film with a sense of purpose as strongly as Spider-Man: Far From Home. The entire MCU has come to as close to an ending as a comic book storytelling perpetual motion machine can come. Which of course, leads to the question I’ve been pondering: “What do you want from a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame?” [Read more…] about Spider-Man: Far From Home Review!
It’s only been a few short weeks since the release of Avengers: Endgame and, as expected, speculation is huge as to what comes next. Certainly, there’s already some definite franchises to anchor the MCU into Phase 4 and beyond. However, for as much bankability of, say, a Black Panther 2 or the already-announced intentions for a live-action Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, there’s still a ton of Marvel properties that have yet to be translated into a filmed medium.
Let’s take a look at some now and pretend “elevator pitch” these concepts into an ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. [Read more…] about Marvel Comics Without Movies (Options for the Future of the MCU!)
There’s a part of me that buys into the idea – the non-controversial idea – that good stories have endings. This defies my love of superhero comics because the whole shared universe promise is that these stories never actually end. There are exceptions of course (this is why it was such a big deal when Hellboy comics ended this month after 25 years), with breaks for creative runs and conclusions to arcs within the larger tapestry, but endings are for elseworlds and alternate timelines. Avengers are Forever.
Editor’s Note: Let’s just assume this entire review contains spoilers – do not read unless you’ve seen Endgame, or don’t care about spoilers!