Forum 2.0

'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' has become multi-layered, exceptional TV

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got off to a rocky start in its first season, for which some viewers have never forgiven it. But if they’re not watching this season, they’re missing some of the most compelli

Read more…

The Captain Comics Guide to reading Wonder Woman

By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
 
Wonder Woman, the movie, is shattering box office records like, I dunno, glass ceilings. Which means a lot of new Wonderfans are going to be looking for some supplemental reading.
 
But where to start? Like

Read more…

'Valerian' brings visual splendor (and mixed reviews) to theater

Copyright Cinebook

Valerian: The Complete Collection Volume 1 contains the first three Valerian stories. Art by Jean-Claude Mezieres.

 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Can Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, premiering July 21, bre

Read more…

'Riverdale' combines a number of influences to become its own, unique animal

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The m

Read more…

'Dark Days' annotation

I don't have much to add to the reviews of Dark Days: The Forge and Dark Days: The Casting discussed HERE. I pretty much agree with them, but also it's early in this story, so there's still lots of time for the stuff we like to go sour and the stuff

Read more…

Latest time Batman proposes to Catwoman competes with popular first time he did it

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Spoiler alert: The surprise ending to Batman #24, which shipped June 7, features Batman (Bruce Wayne) proposing to Catwoman (Selina Kyle).

Whether the Bat-Cat union will actually happen is anybody’s guess – h

Read more…

'Logan' only loosely based on pre-X-isting X-comics

 

Photo Credit: Ben Rothstein

Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) tries to protect the young mutant Laura (Dafne Keen ) in Logan. 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Logan, premiering March 3, is already getting positive reviews and word of mouth.

Read more…

'Gotham' reveal tops FOX, CW superhero season finales

Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

Solomon Grundy first appeared as a Green Lantern foe in All-American Comics #61 in 1944.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Most of the comics-based TV shows on The CW and Fox have reached their season finales,

Read more…

The Captain Comics Guide to reading Spider-Man books that informed 'Homecoming'

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Spider-Man: Homecoming absolutely nails the Spidey that most fans fell in love with. The movie lifts from various sources to put together a cohesive launch for the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Spider-

Read more…

Ruh Roh! In DC's new 'Scooby Apocalypse,' the monsters are real

By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
 
“I’d have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for those darn kids!”
 
That phrase is so iconic, some people use it who aren’t aware it comes from the various iterations of the Scooby-Doo cartoons and movies, where

Read more…

Mummies I'd Like to Film: Here are the important dates in pop culture mummies

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

With the release of The Mummy on June 9, Universal launches its “Dark Universe” – a series of inter-connected movies featuring classic monsters. That’s reason enough to look at these Important Dates in Mummy

Read more…

'Flash,' 'Arrow' tread old ground in new ways in season premieres

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Arrow and Flash have returned at The CW for seasons 5 and 3, respectively. Both are covering familiar ground, but cleverly enough that it feels new.

(Spoilers ahoy, so back out now if you must.)

The season p

Read more…

The Top 10 Silliest Bits in 'Wonder Woman' comics

© 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Ratpac-Dune Entertainment LLC

Doesn’t Gal Gadot look awesome in Wonder Woman? But writers can do bad things even with good characters.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Wonder Woman, whose first liv

Read more…

Archie goes to 'Twin Peaks' in upcoming 'Riverdale'

 By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Everyone’s got questions about Riverdale, the new series premiering Jan. 26 on The CW, based on the enduring characters from Archie Comics. Here, then, are the answers:

Q: Some people refer to this series as

Read more…

'Fifth Beatle' is a fascinating look at Fab Four's matador

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

“Brian was a flawed and imperfect hero, but he was a hero all the same. … So like all worthy heroes, why shouldn’t Brian Epstein have a life in comics?”

So said Vivek J. Tiwary in an essay at the back of The

Read more…

Fall 2017 (and 2018) shows GeekTV is here to stay

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Spring is when a young person’s fancy turns to TV schedules – and if you’re into geek culture, 2017 promises to be a fancy year indeed.

A few genre shows have been canceled or reached their finales – NBC’s Po

Read more…

LMD lunacy: The strange history of those S.H.I.E.L.D. androiac

Strange Tales #135 (1965) featured the debut of S.H.I.E.L.D., the promotion of Nick Fury to Director  – and the first appeareance of Life Model Decoys. Copyright Marvel Entertainment Inc.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

What are LMDs and w

Read more…

Everybody (except the U.N.) is celebrating Wonder Woman's 75th anniversary!

DC Comics created an official logo for the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

It’s Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary, and lots of people are celebrating. The United Nations, on t

Read more…

Need more aliens? Dark Horse will provide

By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
 
Are you as eager for Alien: Covenant as a face-hugger scuttling from its egg? As hungry for the latest “Alien” movie as a Xenomorph’s second set of jaws? Ready to explode into the theater May 19 like a chest-b

Read more…

From comics to crime noir: Archie's Alex Segura brings his Miami P.I. back in 'Dangerous Ends'

By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
 
From Batista’s Cuba to modern Florida. From street gangs to dirty cops. From Miami’s upscale neighborhoods to its dirtiest back alleys. From seedy bars to AA meetings.
 
All those spans describe Dangerous Ends,

Read more…