Author: Dennis R. Upkins

Speculative Fiction Novelist. Author of Hollowstone, West of Sunset and other cool stories. Wordsmith, activist and nerd seraph. Saving the world and/or taking it over. http://www.dennisupkins.wordpress.com
Comics, Marvel4 Comments

Who Are The Dora Milaje?

Dennis R. Upkins

The second trailer of Avengers: Age of Ultron featured more than a few surprises. Most notably, a scene that featured a mysterious woman in the cave which had the internet abuzz.

Unfortunately the shot-callers at Disney decided to snatch defeat out of he jaws of victory. After pulling rank on director Joss Whedon with the cave scene,  Disney ultimately pulled a bait & switch in advertising the woman in the second trailer and then removing her from the film.

Based on what is known regarding the plans for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character was most likely either Shuri, princess of Wakanda and co-Black Panther, or the Dora Milaje: the elite personal bodyguards of the Black Panthers.

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Comics, Marvel5 Comments

Character Study: Shuri

Dennis R. Upkins

The Black Panther himself isn’t the only reason I’m eagerly awaiting the the live action film when it hits theaters in 2018.

Although T’Challa in action is more than reason enough.

The opportunity to see the mythical land of Wakanda, and the fiercely “Adored Ones,” the Dora Milaje, on the big screen is also well worth the price of admission alone.

But as the Captain America, Iron Man and Thor films have illustrated, the supporting players, (Falcon, Bucky Barnes, War Machine, and Lady Sif) will also get an opportunity to take center stage.

This is why I’m hoping T’Challa’s younger sister and fellow Black Panther, Shuri has a featured role in the film.

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Comics, Marvel8 Comments

PSA: X-Men Is Still Our Story

Dennis R. Upkins

I feel the need to make this important public service announcement:

Dear Comic Book Fandom,

On behalf of Wakandans everywhere, X-MEN IS STILL OUR STORY!!!!

It is our legacy, our triumph, our love letter to one another.

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Fantasy38 Comments

Going Medieval

Dennis R. Upkins

I’m always amazed at how many people are so quick to argue that people of color did not exist in Europe during medieval times or that black people, for instance, weren’t around during the Greek and Roman eras. And to include said PoCs during such time periods would be unrealistic and another example of shoving a PC agenda down our throats OH-EM-GEE.

This usually comes up in medieval fantasy stories. Like say for instance, Guinevere in BBC’s Merlin. Actress Angel Coulby caught heat for daring to be a beautiful powerful black queen.

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Fantasy, Television25 Comments

Xena Was Black

Dennis R. Upkins

File this under things you learn every day.

Amina was born around 1533 in Zaria, a province of today’s Nigeria. She was the daughter of Bakwa of Turunku. Their family’s wealth was derived from the trade of leather goods, cloth, kola, salt, horses, and imported metals.

When Bakwa died in 1566, the crown of Zazzua passed to Amina’s younger brother, Karama. Their sister, Zaria, fled the region and little is known about her.

Although Bakwa’s reign was known for peace and prosperity, Amina chose to hone her military skills from the warriors of the Zazzau military. As a result, she emerged as leader of the Zazzua cavalry. Many accolades, great wealth, and increased power resulted from her numerous military achievements.

When her brother Karama died after a ten-year rule, Amina had matured into a fierce warrior and had earned the respect of the Zazzau military and she assumed the reign of the kingdom.

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Comics, Marvel2 Comments

Flashback Friday: Letting Freedom Ring

Dennis R. Upkins

In light of recent events, I’m reminded of another infamous fustercluck of Marvel’s: a superhero by the name of Freedom Ring.

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Comics4 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Kevin Keller Miniseries

Dennis R. Upkins

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that somehow when no one was looking, Archie became the coolest kid in the room. Forget 90 percent of the titles being churned out by the Big Two. If you’re looking for quality and progressive comics, Archie is where it’s at. Yes Archie. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. No, I am not joking. Yes, we could be in Bizarro World. Let me get back to you on that one.

I’ve read Archie comics with a twisted fascination for many years. The whole Mayberry/Stepford theme was something of a morbid fascination. A comic book full of good-nature clean wholesome fun revolving around a gang of vanilla All-American teens required far more suspension of disbelief than any story about aliens, mutants or bionic ninjas.

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Marvel, Television1 Comment

Character Study: Edwin Jarvis

Dennis R. Upkins

Even though Agent Carter is a miniseries airing during the winter hiatus of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the series continues to establish itself as one of the most important narratives Marvel has produced for reasons explained here.

The showrunners capitalized on a great storytelling opportunity in providing a powerful backstory to Agent Carter’s fellow countrymen and associate, Edwin Jarvis, Howard Stark’s butler and friend.

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Animation, Movies3 Comments

Color Commentary: Disney’s Frozen

Dennis R. Upkins

In honor of the nationwide “snow day,” Color Commentary is back and this time it is taking on Disney’s Frozen. But don’t let the weather or the movie title fool you. No chill will be found in this post.

Color Commentary is done in complete satire, intended for mature audiences, and meant for entertainment purposes. In other words, if you take any of this seriously, you are a fracking idiot.

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Marvel, Television4 Comments

Why Marvel’s Agent Carter Truly Matters

Dennis R. Upkins

While most of the Marvel one-shots have been entertaining and well crafted, I was really surprised at how much Agent Carter resonated with me. The more I learned about the miniseries currently airing on ABC, the more I excited I became.

It wasn’t until watching the first few episodes of the miniseries that I realized why.

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Movies7 Comments

Five Potential Superhero Roles For Jennifer Lopez

Dennis R. Upkins

Although American Idol is coming to a close, host, singer, actress, and entertainment icon Jennifer Lopez isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Last year she co-starred with Viola Davis in the critically acclaimed thriller, Lila & Eve. Currently she can also be seen on the NBC police drama, Shades of Blue.

It was around this time last year when Lopez made it known that she’d be interested in landing a superhero role.

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Television6 Comments

My Top 15 Television Series of 2015

Dennis R. Upkins

They say there’s nothing  good on television. Clearly, more than a few shows were trying to disprove that saying. 2015 kept me busy in terms of reviewing shows but more than a few proved to be well worth it.

As is the standard, for a series to be reviewed (much less nominated), it must meet the guidelines of my Media Litmus Test.

So without further adieu, the following are my Top 15 Television Series of 2015:

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Movies14 Comments

My Top 15 Films of 2015

Dennis R. Upkins

Much like 2014, I did not expect 2015 to offer a str0ng selection of cinematic gems, but offer it did.

Quite an impressive feat considering that the general law for media I consume is that it must pass My Media Litmus Test.

Without further adieu, the winners are:

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Movies2 Comments

Five Movies To Watch On Christmas

Dennis R. Upkins

Finding something decent to watch on Christmas can often be a challenge. Reruns have no appeal, neither do cheesy holiday specials, and you probably couldn’t care less about sports.

Fear not. The following are five film suggestions that are appropriate not only for Christmas but basically any day ending in ‘y.’

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Fantasy, Television10 Comments

BBC’s Merlin: A Retrospective

Dennis R. Upkins

Originally published at Geeks Out

This month marks the three year anniversary of the series finale of the BBC’s Merlin. By no means is it an all-time favorite show and more than a few formulaic eps I could’ve done without. But the show had its charms and when it brought it’s A-game, the show delivered moments that were nothing short of magic. See what I did there?

All the same, I find myself plagued with all the feels. So much so that it’s forced me to break out into song.

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Literature4 Comments

How to Fall in Love with Your Writing

Dennis R. Upkins

It’s 5:45 a.m. on Monday, November. 30, at the time of writing this article. For the past few hours I’ve been in writer mode which can best be described as Puppet Angel, hence the pic.

For most people it’s the start of a new week and the final day in the month. But for an intrepid lot, today is essentially Judgment Day.

The final hours of National Novel Writing Month are upon us. NaNoWriMo is perhaps the writing equivalent of Battle Royale/Hunger Games/Mortal Kombat/Thunderdome. Each year, many enter, but only a handful survive.

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Misc3 Comments

A Hard N.O.C. Life For Us

Dennis R. Upkins

Our fearless leader Keith Chow doesn’t know I’m doing this and hopefully he won’t kill me too badly. I’ve been meaning to share this story because I know Keith’s too humble to do it himself. And since a certain someone celebrated a birthday last week, this seemed only appropriate.

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Star Trek, Television3 Comments

The Wesley Crusher Appreciation Post

Dennis R. Upkins

So recently Wil Wheaton won the internet (yet again) when he threw down the gauntlet for all writers (such as yours truly) when he stated that writers deserve to be paid with actual cash.

Truth be told, Wheaton was perhaps my first major crush, with a legendary character known as Wesley Crusher.

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Fantasy, Literature2 Comments

And the Nominee Is…..

Dennis R. Upkins

With October being LGBTQ History month — as well as Black Speculative Fiction Month, the following news seems almost provident.

My sophomore novel, West of Sunset, has been nominated for 2015 Gaylactic Spectrum Award in the best novel category. I’m immensely humbled by this honor. It’s wonderful to be reminded that if you’re willing to dream and put in the work, opportunities manifest as a result.

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Sci Fi, Television4 Comments

Character Study: Zoe Washburne

Dennis R. Upkins

With October being #BlackSpeculativeFictionMonth, it seemed only appropriate to put the spotlight on an amazing black character. Zoe Washburne, the big damn heroine of Firefly/Serenity, portrayed by Perfection herself, Gina Torres, seemed like an excellent selection.

When Firefly first premiered, I knew the series was going to be something special. Joss Whedon was at the helm, very talented and good-looking cast, wicked cool concept. Of course it wasn’t until I saw the first episode that I realized how special this little series about cowboys in space truly was. A major part of that success was a little cowgirl known as Zoe Washburne.

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Sci Fi, Television11 Comments

Character Study: Doctor Martha Jones

Dennis R. Upkins

In honor of #BlackSpeculativeFictionMonth

[Scene: Attending a party where friends are discussing their favorite Doktah.]

Partygoer 1: I love the Classic Who’s. Tom Baker is my guy.
Partygoer 2: Eccleston, through and through.
Partygoer 3: Tennant. The only 10 I see.
Partygoer 4: My Doctor was Eleven. Denny, who is your favorite Doctor
Denny: stops typing on iPhone Huh?
Partygoer 4: Who’s your favorite Doctor?
Denny: Oh that’s easy. Dr. Martha Jones, followed closely by 10.

Resumes typing on iPhone and departs while others stand in confusion.

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Fantasy, Interview, Literature

Lie To Me: An Interview With Michael James Bode

Dennis R. Upkins

In honor of LGBTQ History Month and National Coming Out Day

Originally posted on Geeks Out.

You all are in for a real treat. Mike Bode and I have been good friends going back well over a decade. Before either of us became published authors, we both had a loyal following on Livejournal. Bode was one of my favorite bloggers. My fellow ATL resident is armed with a rapier wit and a glass of the finest wine that would make one Olivia Pope proud.

So when I learned that he stepped into the writing game with his debut novel, Queen of Lies, the first in the Architects of the Grand Design series, I was too excited to boost the signal. His second installment, The Mirrored City, will be available October 29.

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Comics1 Comment

Throwback Review: The Angelus Volume 1

Dennis R. Upkins

[In honor of Bisexual Awareness Week]

I began re-reading Witchblade around the time when Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic took over — as writer and artist, respectively — the series. At this time, Sara was pregnant and a new wielder in one Danielle Baptiste had been introduced.

I won’t lie, I had my concerns. A shakeup like this can easily go either way. If not handled properly, it can easily ruin a franchise. More than that, Sara is a tough act to follow, so “the new girl” would have to be on point. I’m proud to state that the storyline was a success, as is Danielle. While a complete contrast (she’s not the no-nonsense tough as nails New York cop that Sara is and doesn’t try to be), this affable ingenue possesses a champion’s heart and proves herself every bit the badass one would expect from a Witchblade wielder. Suffice it to say I was all too excited to see Danielle in her own spinoff series as the latest host of the Angelus.

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