Comic Book Herald

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Comic Book Movies

Spider-Man: Far From Home Review!

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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!

Marvel Comics Without Movies (Options for the Future of the MCU!)

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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!)

Avengers: Endgame Review!

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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!

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Predicting the Future of the Avengers After Endgame

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Avengers: Endgame is almost upon us and while anticipation is understandably insane, speculation is absolutely unchartable! In terms of adapting straight from a comic book source, the upcoming film has no direct equivalent. Keeping that notion of uncharted territory in mind, it’s still really anybody’s guess as to how the team gets out of this one- much less what is to become of the beloved franchise once the dust settles (oh, puns, how you wound…).

But before those theater seats are filled and the lights go down, here’s more speculation!

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Shazam! Review – Sparklefingers Rides Again

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It feels regressive, and frankly boring, to talk about the degree of “fun” in a comic book movie. For me, any movie reviewer honing in on the fact that Shazam feels light, positive, and joyously heroic, is just more of the lazy baseline assumptions that the world is fatigued of “serious” superhero movies.

Taking a step back, though, it is mildly interesting to note the overall darkness at the heart of comic book movies. DC’s Synder-verse has gotten the most attention of course, but it doesn’t take too much analysis of Avengers: Infinity War to assert that a film ending in unmitigated tragedy isn’t a particularly happy-go-lucky affair. [Read more…] about Shazam! Review – Sparklefingers Rides Again