When I saw the first trailers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, my reaction was, basically, “That looks as much like a sequel to Watchmen as it does a sequel to Man of Steel.” To be clear, by Watchmen, I’m referring to Zack Snyder’s 2009 movie based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 1986 … Continue reading Watchmen, Rebirth, and the DC Universe
Tag: Superman
With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice out next month, The Atlantic takes a look at Superman’s history and asks whether or not DC Comics and Warner Bros. understand how and why the character works. It’s not a spoiler to say that the article’s conclusion is that sometimes they do, but that mostly they don’t. … Continue reading The Meaning of Superman
I was tagged by a friend with this on Facebook: “Who is your favorite writer of all time? And what are your top five favorite works by that writer?” I have struggled with this, because there are writers I could name who I really, really love — only I’ve read what amounts to a fraction … Continue reading An Influential Author and Favorite Works
Until last night, I’d never seen an episode of Smallville. I knew about the series, about how it’s about Clark Kent as his powers develop, before he becomes Superman. I have coworkers and former coworkers who watch it religiously. My youngest sister, who wouldn’t be caught dead with a comic book, loved it in its … Continue reading On Smallville’s Finale
One hour in a time machine. All of history, past and future, is open to me. Where would I go? I wouldn't be like the amateur time travelers of Desmond Warzel's short story "WikiHistory" where, as BigChill says in the story, "everybody kills Hitler on their first trip." Honestly, no interest in that. I'd want … Continue reading On Personal Travels Through Time
I have a long-standing habit, I call it the “binge read.” In college, I went on binge reads of Philip K. Dick and Larry Niven and Orson Scott Card and Ernest Hemingway, where I would gather as much of an author’s body of work as I could, and then I would read all of it … Continue reading On Things I’ve Been Reading
Yesterday, I lost my wristwatch. There’s nothing profound to the story. It’s a case of simple human mistake-making. This happens. At some point, maybe five years ago, I stopped wearing a watch on a regular basis. Actually, it was more recent than that, come to think of it. After I moved to Baltimore. I had … Continue reading On the Loss of a Watch
I have been feeling creative of late. More creative than I’ve felt recently. A number of projects that were running in background processes and had begun to come up “Not Responding” on the mental Task Manager have started running again. And I’ve realized I’ve not put together the “Yankees Suck” sign yet; I need to … Continue reading On Creativity, Comic Books, and TR
The on-again, off-again film based on DC Comics’ Justice League appears to be off again. Years of development heck wasted. The present Justice League project seemed cursed from the very beginning. From script issues (and the Writers Guild strike) to casting problems to location uncertainty (would be it Canada? would it be Australia?), Justice League … Continue reading On the Justice League and the Justice Society
I read a report out of Hollywood yesterday that the casting of Superman for the Justice League film may have be decided. Rupert Evans. I’ll be honest. The first time I read that, I misread it at “Rupert Everett.” And, I can safely say, I absolutely did not see Rupert Everett as the Man of … Continue reading On the New Superman
People get rid of stuff at work, and then it’s free for the taking. Usually it’s comic books. Sometimes it’s magazines. I’ve picked up some manga here and there. Even a Torchwood DVD. But home improvement products? Not usually… Someone put a Superman Light Switch Plate on the reading rack yesterday. A couple turns of … Continue reading On the Newest Find
Superman Returns, the long-awaited return of Superman to the silver screen, generally succeeds but in the end has enough flaws that it has to be considered a schizophrenic mess. Let’s start with its good points. Casting. Across the board, the casting was top-notch. Kevin Spacey is Lex Luthor. Brendan Routh is utterly convincing as Superman. … Continue reading On Superman Returns