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Monday, January 17, 2022

Blog Update: Third Anniversary!

 

Hey y’all. I’m three days late to this celebration, which is incredibly appropriate given how the last year has gone. But that doesn’t matter because we’re all here now. This will largely be a discussion of what I have planned for the upcoming year and the changes coming to the site soon.

Before that, I want to give a short list of the posts I am particularly proud or or just had extra fun writing in 2021. These are not the only ones I think were good or some such, but a small, entertaining group of posts. There are plenty more to find if you wish.

First up are all the WandaVision episode by episode reviews. It was extremely fun to participate in the one true zeitgeist capturing MCU TV series, even if I ultimately feel lukewarm about the venture. Of those write-ups, my favorite is easily the finale. I was able to express all my feelings about a supremely frustrating (but not irredeemable) series and feel it was one of my stronger outings of the year.

Next is the Featured Review of Batman: The Black Mirror, which covers the first story arc in one of my favorite Batman runs. It is a surprising arc as it is slow to introduce the overarching story in a way I did not remember. Plus, it has some of the best artists in the industry creating affecting, moody stories. If I have the opportunity, I would like to do more reviews of older material like this in the future.

The New Mutants had an all-time strange journey to release. When it finally arrived, it was a strange, wonderful film that was by no means perfect that served as a fitting conclusion to Fox’s X-Men film franchise. I tried to capture that in my review, though I felt I could have spent more time building out some aspects.

Now, let’s peer into the future. In the extreme short term, the second half of this month will feature the 2021 year in review. We’re doing things a little differently this year, though. Comics and video games will retain their standalone lists while t=television, movies, and anything else I come up with receive a combined list. This is largely due to the fact that if I made a list of the top, let’s say, 10 films I saw from 2021, it would be 90% of films I saw last year. Same goes for TV. Those pieces will be up in the coming weeks.

In the slightly longer term, This year is still the 20th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts and my plans for that celebration have changed but remain partially in place. Additionally, there is an anniversary event announced for early this year that could change those plans even more. That will likely come in March seeing as the original game released that month. I have some other ideas for longer/more ambitious series but have learned my lesson about announcing things before they are ready.

As for the more regular posts, Weekly Comic Reviews will be moving to Mondays for the time being. Featured Reviews will not be a guaranteed weekly column, though I expect it to appear more often than not. Only when there is a comic I particularly want to cover in an extended way will it appear. That could be either a new comic or an older one, as mentioned above. It has yet to be decided on which day they publish, though Friday or Sunday are most likely.

The more varied pieces like move reviews and general thoughts on various subjects will continue to be any of Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. That will start this week with a piece about The Matrix or the Spider-Man films, depending on which I am inspired to finish first. There is also an outside chance both go up this week, but my priority is getting one out with the first year in review.

So those are some of the plans for this year. Right now, my focus is on getting back into the flow of writing. I am excited for what’s coming this year, though. I hope y’all will join me; it’s gonna be fun!


Thursday, January 6, 2022

Blog Update 01.06.2022


 

Hey y’all. Happy New Year! I apologize for the lack of updates for the past… six months or so? I had a lot going on that I’d rather not talk about. It’s all good now, but it has been a lot. Anyway, I am here to discuss what where the blog is at and what the immediate future looks like.

First, the anniversary of the website is coming up in eight days. There I will announce my plans for the 2022 as in years past. That will include a new schedule and types of posts I want to write as I have been rethinking my approach to this site. That will include some modified versions of old plans—Kingdom Hearts’ 20th anniversary is still coming—as well as brand new ones. There will also be a look back at the abbreviated year and what went well in 2021.

The traditional Year in Review posts will return in the coming weeks, though some categories may be modified as I have interacted with some forms of media very little (my poor, neglected streaming services). Some, I interacted with more than ever though and I am excited to share what I found.

Between now and the anniversary celebration, there will be a couple posts. Nothing super big, just a couple things I have had on my mind of late like Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix. Maybe even something about recent comics, though that is a lot to fit into eight days where I will be working quite a bit of overtime. We’ll see what happens.

That’s the plan, with more plans to be announced in the future. I am super excited to be back. Thank you everyone for reading and I’ll see you again in a few days.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

News Roundup 07.27.2021

Hey y’all. Welcome back to the news! We have a ton of news from throughout the pop culture landscape. This is a big one (1300+ words!). Also this past week, we had a Featured Review based on the newest Superman comic, Superman and the Authority and a Comic Reviews  piece about last week’s issues you can read before starting this week’s lot. Those were very fun and worth checking out.

Anyway, let’s get to the news!

Saturday, July 24, 2021

Comic Reviews 07.24.2021

Hey y’all. Welcome back! We have an interesting group of books to look at this week, including more DC issues than usual, especially if you count yesterday’s Featured Review of Superman and the Authority #1. I am not the biggest Grant Morrison fan in the world, but I have been a kick lately and been reading rather a lot from them. Their comics are always interesting, though not always to my taste so it was a fun issue to read and review.

Anyway, enough about Morrison. Let’s get to the reviews!

 

Spoilers for: Miles Morales; Spider-Man #28, Nightwing #81, The Flash #772

Friday, July 23, 2021

Featured Review: Superman and the Authority #1

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Mikel Janin

Colors: Jordie Bellaire

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Janin

Around these parts, we have mixed feelings pertaining to Grant Morrison. Sometimes he produces genius writing like Batman Inc. Others he makes complete duds like Final Crisis. However, they both shine when Morrison’s strengths, which lie in characterization, are at the forefront. Luckily, the first issue of this miniseries leans on its characters as there is little in the way of plot.

Full Spoilers for Superman and the Authority #1.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Comic Reviews 07.17.2021

Hey y’all. We have a bunch of big extra-sized comics this week. Not sure how that happened, but I had nothing to say about the new Way of X and Excalibur issues so here we are. I liked all three to varying degrees, but generally found them to be engrossing both for what they contain and what they imply about the future. Its not often I am excited for the big events at any publisher, but they’ve got me hooked right now.

Anyway, on to the reviews!

Spoilers for: The Flash 2021 Annual #1, Infinite Frontier #2, Sinister War #1

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