In 1946 something amazing happened in the world of comics and pop-culture. The Golden Age of Comics was coming to a close. In less than a decade Fredric Wetham’s Seduction of the Innocent would demonize the industry. Comic books would be smeared as leading to delinquency and fascism. Wertham must have been unaware of the…
Since the Golden Age of Comics heroes have been plagued by an army of unusual and bizarre foes. Jon Morris has collected the best of the worst in The Legion of Regrettable Super Villains. These rogues are organized by era, running from the Golden Age to Modern Age of Comics. If you are thinking about…
The month of August marks the 127th birthday of New England author H.P. Lovecraft. As an amateur antiquarian, Lovecraft used his passion for local history to merge the travel writing and horror genres. Many of his tales are set in New England, with several taking place on the North Shore. To give his fictional locales…
One of the early pioneers of the early comic and sequential art form, Jack Kirby fully deserves the title of “King of Comics”. Born Jacob Kurtzberg in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Kirby would move from selling day old bread to creating some of the most iconic comic book characters. His unique style breathed life into…
In 1961 the talents of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee brought forth an unusual group of superheroes. A quartet of adventurers mutated by cosmic radiation. This fantastic foursome would in turn help transform a struggling Marvel Comics into a multimedia powerhouse. The Fantastic Four shared aspects with another comic Kirby had worked on a few…
Sherman Alexie is a celebrated author, considered to be at the forefront of the Native American literary renaissance. A movement starting in the 1960’s, in which Indigenous Americans sought to reclaim, and record their oral traditions and history. Utilizing western literary formats these writers challenged the established historical narrative, and explored their new cultural identity.…
John Carpenter is an American filmmaker well known for his cult films. In the United States he is often derided as a horror director, or in his own words “A bum”, but overseas his cinematography is celebrated. While a significant amount of his work is rooted in the horror genre, they are often quite complex.…