I was on Facebook and came across a video shared by IGN, titled "What Writers Should Learn From Wonder Woman." You can watch it here . I found it very interesting. The narrator essentially postulates that superhero movies (translated here as "Marvel movies") more or less shy away from moments of significant poignance, by distracting us with what is known as "bathos." Bathos: A tonal switch, within the same moment, from serious to trivial for comedic effect His overall conclusion is that they don't trust their story and their moments, and that the cinema they produce is suffering because of it. Conversely, Wonder Woman adheres very tightly to its serious moments, providing a deeply set throughline of sincerity tangibly felt and experienced through the duration of the film. The 9 minute video was actually quite well done and I agree with all of the points regarding Wonder Woman. However, I do believe he missed it a bit on the Marvel side of...

"Batman: Gotham by Gaslight  was originally released by DC Comics in 1989. The story was written by Brian Augustyn, drawn by  Hellboy  creator Mike Mignola, and inked by P. Craig Russell.  Batman: Gotham by Gaslight  reimagines Batman as a Victorian era vigilante-detective investigating the serial killer Jack the Ripper. Here’s an official synopsis of the comic book's story: In an age of mystery and superstition, how would the people of Gotham react to a weird creature of the night, a bat-garbed vigilante feared by the guilty and the innocent alike? The very first Elseworlds tale re-imagines the Dark Knight detective in Victorian times and pits him against the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper." - via ComicBook.com Okay seriously? How AWESOME does that sound??  For those unfamiliar with the term "Elseworld Tale," it is essentially a story starring a character with an already established continuity, in a tale having absolutely nothing to do w...

Spiderman: Homecoming is, arguably, one of the most ambitious Marvel films to date- ranking alongside "Iron Man" and "The Avengers" in terms of pushing limits and trying something new. They don't beat around the bush with another tired, emotionally stilted, rehash of Peter Parker's origin story. There is no Osbourne, only an offhanded reference to a spider bite, and only the vaguest of allusion to Uncle Ben dying (without so much as a name drop though!) No, this Spidey incarnation assumes the intelligence of the audience, respects the well known depths of its arachnidan lore.  From the gate we dive into a high school Peter Parker's world, seeing everything from his lens. His uncharted enthusiasm and reckless dedication to doing the right thing- earning his gift almost- fill up every screen. But just when you think that such a feat would take us down the by now familiar terrain of moody-broody (a phrase coined by my sister) heroes... you f...

It seems like you can hardly go a single day without logging onto facebook or receiving a twitter alert from your favorite geek site that another comicbook based TV show is being made. From the outset, this would seem like a good thing- anyone from the Saturday Morning Cartoon era or the animated heyday of Kids WB and Cartoon Network can easily recall only DREAMING of seeing our favorite heroes brought to life. So much so, that we never truly thought it would happen. Seriously, come on. All the euphoria, all the splendor, all the world transcending greatness of animation brought to unfathomable life via REAL life. What could be better? I mean, sure we had our teases with such great runs by landmark shows like Smallville, Supernatural, and Heroes- but those were still anomalies of their times. Anachronistic prophecies hinting at what could truly be. And now we're here. Arrow. Flash. Legends of Tomorrow. Agents of Shield. Legion. Supergirl. Daredevil. Luke Cage. Jessica J...

Wonder Woman is taking the world by storm right now, and once you’ve seen the film, it’s not difficult to see why. She has arrived at a particularly poignant moment in the social consciousness, through a very creatively driven film during an era where most films are laughingly noted for their lack of creativity. She is a powerful anomaly. The movie is constructed in such a way where it’s digestible for first time viewers, or for fans harking back to the Lynda Carter days and beyond. Wonder Woman, Diana, is an Amazon- the warrior race of women created by Zeus himself amid an ambient pantheon that most of us know loosely by name if nothing else. Hera, Athena, Aries, Hades, Mercury… all gods from your everyday mythology, all part of the dynamic legacy that is Wonder Woman. And they delivered it to us! It wasn’t stuffy like a librarian dissertation, it wasn’t skewed to the erudite, it wasn’t dumbed down for the uninformed; it hit that sweet spot of enticing engagement...

As most of you may know by now... Joss Whedon has been tapped to direct a Batgirl movie for DC Comics/Warner Brothers. No doubt following up on Suicide Squad's exceptionally received Harley Quinn and the anticipatory legendary experience of this summer's Wonder Woman, they're desiring to unleash all of their powerhouse female characters in the name of diversity and... well... making money. No matter. Even if they're only doing good for profit, at least good is still being released into the world.  Which brings up an excellent question.  How do we ensure that the Batgirl actress is the necessary good for this role? Superhero movies have been riding the railways of cinema into the souls of audiences for decades now. Some attempts were magnificent, some... less so. Others were jusssst enough to keep the train going. Crossing blades in the never ending duel of comic book faithfulness vs the heart of the character/story (or, for you Bible scholars, t...