Pop Culture Noise

Just like with the comics, the Marvel movies thrive on being connected, and they wither without it At a certain point, comic book readers became obsessed with stories that “count.” Basically, these are stories that impact continuity in some way, stories that are important to the larger connected universe. Comics that weren’t an active part … Continue reading “Here’s the actual problem with the Marvel movies – and it came from the comics”

Squadron Supreme is a often ignored classic. It was a groundbreaking superhero story.  It took archetypal characters to their organic extremes.  Every action had consequences.  Change was real and long lasting.  These were sophisticated stories featuring complex moral and philosophical issues, told through the genre of brightly colored super beings. It wasn’t Watchmen. The comic … Continue reading “Squadron Supreme is better than Watchmen”

Ted Lasso was great despite a foundational story problem that was ultimately its undoing.

I love the Legion of Superheroes. I could — and probably will — write endless posts about how much the Legion has meant to me over the years. I could write about how fascinated I was when I first read about them, how hunting down back issues was so much fun, how fan fic filled … Continue reading “The New Legion Isn’t Working”

Bold statement: Superman’s glory days happened during the Triangle Years in the ’90s. I can understand if that sounds insane, particularly since I’m making the above statement as someone who loves the hell out of Silver Age Superman.  If you’ve never read Superman stories from the Silver Age, you really should.  They are bat shit … Continue reading “Superman: The Triangle Years, Part 1 – Embrace Continuity”

I don’t mean that the album is transitional, I mean that the album is the perfect encapsulation of being a teenager, perhaps more specifically a white boy not living in a city. I would love to think that my teen years were grunge, but that’s probably more the romanticized view than anything else. The reality … Continue reading “Faith No More’s “Angel Dust” is Gloriously Adolescent”