Forum 2.0

'The Defenders': The Netflix show breathes new life into an old comics concept

Sarah Shatz/Netflix

The Defenders on Netflix teams (from left) Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Danny “Iron Fist” Rand (Finn Jones), Matt “Daredevil” Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Luke Cage (Mike Colter).

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The Def

Read more…

Special editions, masks and more celebrate Harley Quinn as she takes over Batman Day

Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

DC Entertainment released a logo reflecting Harley Quinn’s takeover of Batman Day.

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Can it really be 25 years since Harley Quinn first entered the pop culture lexicon? Well, it’s

Read more…

The many retellings of Ragnarok

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

As we anticipate the latest Thor movie premiering Nov. 3, some may wonder what “Ragnarok” is in the title. Therein lies a fascinating tale – or tales.

Ragnarök (sometimes Ragnarøkkr) is a Norse myth about the en

Read more…

Q&A: 'Marvel's The Inhumans'

Copyright Marvel Entertainment Inc.

The Royal Family as they appeared in the comics in the 1960s: From left, Gorgon, Crystal, Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak and Triton.

 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The arrival of The Inhumans on the nation

Read more…

The Captain Comics scorecard for Hulu's 'The Runaways'

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Runaways, the new Marvel Comics-based series premiering on Hulu Nov. 21, has a cast so large the viewer may need a scorecard. So let’s make one.

The clever conceit of Runaways is that at some point every teenage

Read more…

Fox's 'The Gifted' features mutants both new and old for longtime X-fans

 

©2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Ryan Green/FOX

 

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The Gifted, premiering

Read more…

First week of 'Arrowverse' introduces lots of new friends, foes

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The week of Oct. 9 saw the season premieres of the four inter-connected superhero shows on The CW based on DC Comics, which constitutes a data dump of extreme importance to lovers of geek culture. This must be

Read more…

Captain Comics: 20 Fun Facts to Know and Tell about the Justice League

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

 

Justice League premieres Nov. 17! Here are 20 Fun Facts to Know and Tell about DC Comics’ premier super-team:

 

1. The Justice League of America was created in 1960, but was based on the Justice Society of Am

Read more…

'Future Quest' is everything that's great about comics and Saturday morning cartoons

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

If you don’t like Future Quest, you just don’t like comics.

I’ve said that a dozen times in various online venues, because it’s true. This series combines a wide variety of former Saturday morning cartoon sta

Read more…

'Atomic Blonde's' dark roots and more news from the Comics Cave teletype

Copyright Focus Films

Charlize Theron stars in Atomic Blonde, loosely based on the graphic novel The Coldest City.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

All the big news from Comic-Con International: San Diego in the last few weeks has drowned o

Read more…

Like 'Defenders'? Here are some books you'll love to read

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Want more Defenders? Let Captain Comics take you to the source for the reaing that will tide you over until the next Netflix series comes out.

But first, let’s get this out of the way: While the comic book D

Read more…

Let the Punisher fit the story: The many (weird) versions of Frank Castle

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

When Marvel’s The Punisher drops at Netflix Nov. 17, rest assured that what’s on screen will be the best of the many versions of Frank Castle that have appeared in the comics.

Frank (né Francis Castiglione) at h

Read more…

Can TV's Inhumans transcend the flaws of their origins?

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

As it hits the mid-point of its run, Marvel’s Inhumans is obviously not as bad as critics made it out to be. But it does have a conceptual problem going back to its comic book roots, and it remains to be seen wh

Read more…

Comics archaeologist unearths 'Super Weird Heroes' -- so bad they're good!

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

They’re super! They’re weird! They’re heroes!

They’re Super Weird Heroes, which is the title of the latest collection from comics archivist/historian Craig Yoe ($39.99, Yoe Books/IDW).  Yoe, who has written a

Read more…

Competition among streaming services heats up

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

It’s a pretty dizzying time for streaming services, especially if you’re a fan of Peak Geek TV.

First, Disney announced it was removing its content from Netflix and starting its own streaming service.

Then th

Read more…

'The Death of Stalin' finds the funny side of death, treachery and fear

Copyright Titan Comics

The cover to The Death of Stalin graphic novel. Art by Thierry Robin. 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

You wouldn’t think that a graphic novel named The Death of Stalin would be funny, but it is.

In fact, this black

Read more…

'Preacher,' 'Gotham,' 'Kingsman' keep tone of source material, but are different stories

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Sure, a lot of movies and TV are based on comics these days. But as a lot of the current genre material demonstrates, that leaves a lot of wiggle room for directors and showrunners.

Michele K. Short/AMC/Sony Pi

Read more…

Takin' Care of Business

Here's a good news/bad news post.

The bad news:

As some of you may know, I was laid off from The Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis back in late March.

This didn't come as that great a surprise. Even though I'd worked there for 27 years, the last

Read more…

How much news was there at SDCC? A LOT

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Do you want to know the top five reveals from the San Diego Comic-Con? How about the top 10? How about AS MANY AS I CAN FIT IN THIS COLUMN? That’s what I thought. (Note: Release dates subject to change.)

ANT

Read more…

Archie gets ahead of SDCC with big announcements, eclectic releases

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Most movie, TV and comics companies are keeping their powder dry for Nerd Christmas, otherwise known as Comic-Con International: San Diego (July 20-23). But Archie Comics has anticipated the show with a numbe

Read more…