Sequels are hard, but you knew that already. Moviegoers have been pummeled by horror franchises, walloped by action franchises, and thrashed by sci-fi franchises. Through years of substandard crap, we’ve been trained that anything with a title that includes a Part Two/The Spawning/The Quickening or some usage of a colon probably sucks.  That’s not always the case, though. Done right, sequels aren’t simply a craven cash grab. They can illuminate aspects of the original, tell a story that’s more complicated, flesh out supporting characters, and even tell an aspect of the story a different... Read More

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a trend-setter, and it’s kind of amazing considering the risks taken. Consider the lead of Iron Man was a troubled actor with a notable drug problem. Consider that the vast majority of people had no earthly idea who Iron Man even was. Consider that the idea of an interconnected multi-film franchise was looked at as, to be charitable, raging insanity. The irony is that, despite the huge chances taken by the MCU, Marvel Comics originally followed numerous trends instead of inspiring them. The creation of the Fantastic Four was a response to DC Comics’ creation... Read More

If you went back in time and told the younger version of myself that a) there would be a gigantically popular TV series about the zombie apocalypse and b) that I would have tapped out on it after the third season, Younger Me would have immediately called 911 and had you arrested with extreme prejudice. Consider that The Walking Dead began as an independent comic book. Now, it’s getting started on its 10th season, has one current and one upcoming spinoff series, and there’s talk about releasing three connected theatrical films. To paraphrase a former Vice President, The Walking Dead is a big... Read More