Forum 2.0

'Ghost in the Shell' raises questions about identity (and Scarlett Johansson)

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Trailers for Ghost in the Shell, which premieres March 31, have been out for a while – and while Scarlett Johansson looks awesome, they’re a bit hard to decipher. Let’s demystify Ghost with a quick Q&A:

Q: Si

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'Gotham' to rehabilitate three of Batman's silliest foes

Maggie Geha plays an artificially aged Poison Ivy in the “Mad City: Burn The Witch” episode of “Gotham” airing Monday, Sept. 26, on FOX. ©2016 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Nicole Rivelli/FOX..

 

The Mad Hatter got a re-design on Batman: The Animated Seri

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From 'Black Dahlia' to 'Elvis' to the Louvre, NBM is classin' up the joint

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

NBM Publishing is one of the country’s classier comics publishers, and its latest wave of books is evidence of that.

Standing out at the top is A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: Black Dahlia ($15.99), by Ric

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Dream team adapts 'American Gods' for Dark Horse Comics

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

American Gods is already here.

No, not the TV adaptation of the award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman, which begins April 30 on Starz. What’s arrived is the comics adaptation from Dark Horse; the first issue hit

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'Legion' is fascinating, even if you can't trust your own lying eyes

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

An unreliable narrator is an interesting storytelling device. But Fox’s Legion, which premiered Feb. 8, takes that idea to an extreme – with an unreliable reality.

Legion is the story of twentysomething Davi

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'Iron Fist' took a while to forge

Cara Howe/Netflix

Iron Fist stars (from left) Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Finn Jones as Danny Rand and Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple.

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

Some comic book characters, like Superman and Spider-Man, seemed f

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From 'Logan' to 'Wonder Woman,' 2017 promises to be a banner year at the movies

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

If you have a taste for genre films – those with an element of the extra-normal – be of good cheer: There are more than 40 scheduled for wide release in 2017. With the caveat that release dates are subject t

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Marvel's new Wasp will be 'Unstoppable'

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

She is the daughter of Henry “Ant-Man” Pym. She has taken on the legacy of Pym’s former partner, Janet Van Dyne. She was raised in the Red Room, the Russian espionage school that gave us the Black Widow.

And,

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Gift Guide 2016: What Captain Comics recommends for good little fanboys and fangirls

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

So Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, and you still have gifts to get for the fanboys and fangirls on your list. Never fear, Captain Comics is here:

AGES 0-3

Downtown Bookworks (downtownbookworks.com) se

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TV quiz: Did you catch the comics Easter eggs on 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' and the CW shows?

 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The Easter eggs have been coming in such large baskets on genre TV shows, that even non-comics viewers can probably guess them. Let’s try a quiz and find out:

1. On Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the new director

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'Rebirth' continues to rejuvenate DC titles, characters

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

 

DC Comics is in the middle of a massive “Rebirth” – and so far, the babies are in the pink, while the company is in the black.

The re-launching of the main DC superheroes under the Rebirth label began in Ju

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'Harley Quinn' is 'Suicide Squad's' breakout star

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) was the breakout star of Suicide Squad.  Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/ TM & © DC Comics

 

Monster T (Common, from left), The Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), as they appear in Suicid

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'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Season 4: Ghost Riders, LMDs and a mystery Director

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

 

As announced at the San Diego Comic-Con this year, Ghost Rider is joining the cast of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the launch of Season 4 on Sept. 20. But if anyone is expecting to see Johnny Blaze

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The first, best superhero team in comics appears in 'Legends' -- or at least a facsimile

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

The season premiere of The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow on Oct. 13 introduced the Justice Society of America. If you said, “Who?” – well, you’re in for a treat.

Superhero teams are a commonplace today, with Aveng

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Batman v Deathstroke leads news items about comics on screen

Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) will finally be joined by Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) on her eponymous show, now on The CW. Photo: Frank Ockefels III and Diyah Pera/The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

 

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Cont

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Rebirth reviews: First wave of DC's revamp starts out strong

By Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

 

DC Comics began a “Rebirth” one month ago. That’s what they’re calling the latest reboot of their superhero universe – and, so far, the super-kids are all right.

The “Rebirth” plan calls for, confusingly, o

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Hero History: The life and times of Luke Cage

Andrew A. Smith

Tribune Content Agency

If you watched Jessica Jones on Netflix, then you’re familiar with Luke Cage, whose own series drops Sept. 30. But if you look at the character’s old appearances in Marvel Comics, you’ll be in for a few surpris

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The CW's four-way crossover 'Invasion!' may be best (TV) team-up ever

In the “Invasion!” of The Flash, Flash (Grant Gustin, left) and Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) lead a mob of superheroes against the Dominators. Photo: Dean Buscher/The CW © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

In the “Invasion!” episode of

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For Tarzan to continue, he must grow with the rest of us

Photo Credit: Jonathan Olley. Copyright: © 2016 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Village Roadshow Films North America Inc. And Ratpac-Dune Entertainment Llc - U.S., Canada, Bahamas & Bermuda. 

Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan

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"Flash" sets up "Flashpoint," but probably won't follow through on other shows

Photo: Katie Yu/The CW -- © 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved

Barry “The Flash” Allen (Grant Gustin, left) battled the parallel-Earth villain Zoom (Teddy Sears) in the season 2 finale of The Flash, which resulted in the Scarlet Speedster

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