Shawn, Dominic, Keith, and Jamal return for an all-new episode of Hard NOC Life. This week, the fellas discuss the latest episode of WandaVision, news of a Wakanda series for Disney+, and what the latest DC Comics event reboot means for The Rock.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 202: Wakanda Vision”
It’s been a long time. We shouldn’t have left you without a dope pod to listen to.
Hard NOC Life is still on hiatus; however, we have an exciting bonus episode to bring you!
Last week, Keith was asked to moderate a panel as part of Scholastic’s “Power of Story” speaker series. Two artists, Eric Wilkerson and Pablo Leon, speak about the important of representation in comics and children’s lit. You can also watch the original panel on Scholastic’s YouTube channel and Facebook.
In the Bantu language Xhosa, Ulwimi olunye alwanelanga tu means “One language is never enough.” In the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s passing, there is an inconceivable grief rippling across language barriers and cascading through communities and countries. The letters on my keyboard look like a jumbled mess — trying to use language to communicate this loss is an act I am unfamiliar with.
Continue reading “Chadwick Boseman Was a Source of Light in My Understanding of a Black Hero”
This week on Hard NOC Life, Dominic schools Keith on Dune mythology as they attempt to predict what the post-coronavirus world will look like.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: ‘Dune’ and the Post-Virus Future”
In this bonus episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith talks to the creator of #OscarsSoWhite, April Reign, on the eve of the Academy Awards as she prepares to attend her first ever Oscars ceremony!
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: April Reign is Going to the Oscars”
We’ve partnered with our friends at TeePublic to create a special t-shirt giveaway celebrating both Black History Month as well as the one-year anniversary (and Academy Award Season run) of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther. See below for the rules to win three t-shirts from TeePublic!
Continue reading “Celebrate Black History Month with These ‘Black Panther’ T-Shirts”
Hard NOC Life this week to break down the news of the 2019 Oscar nominations!
History was made this morning when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its list of honorees celebrating the films of 2018 and named Black Panther as one of the nominees for Best Picture. While plenty of comic book films have received nominations over the decades, no superhero film had ever been nominated for the most prestigious prize of the night. The Dark Knight came closest in 2009 — winning a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for Heath Ledger and prompting the Academy to expand its nomination list from five to ten the following year.
Continue reading “‘Black Panther’ Breaks the Oscars’ Superhero Ceiling”
Hard NOC Life is all new for 2019!
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: What’s Nerd Poppin for 2019”
For the last Hard NOC Life of 2018, Keith is joined by actor, writer, filmmaker, and professional nerd Jon Lee Brody to recap the year in superheroes in film and television.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: The Year in Superhero Media”
It’s a special post-Halloween edition of Hard NOC Life!
We are living in a world where people are moving around the earth almost as fast as information. Most of us will not be buried in the soil of our birth. We move for different reasons: safety, opportunities, whims. What is gained and lost from these migrations?
Continue reading “Wakanda and Migration: #BlackFreedomBeyondBorders”
It took me a weekend of binge-watching to wake up to the fact that Avengers: Infinity War and the NBC sitcom The Good Place are almost the same story. Except, Infinity War is a superhero slugfest about cosmic catastrophe, and The Good Place is an observational comedy about the afterlife. Apart from that existential difference, they have very noticeable parallels.
Continue reading “‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘The Good Place’ are Basically the Same Thing”
by Benjamin To
I finally understand now why this machine took ten years to assemble. This film is pure spectacle in every best sense of the word. Once the first second starts rolling, it’s all pedal to the metal for 149 minutes.
Continue reading “What Worked (and Didn’t) in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’”
This week on Hard NOC Life, Peabody-winning journalist, poet, and podcaster extraordinaire Al Letson joins the pod!
Black Panther is to cinema as Rakim is to Hip-Hop.
I stand by this statement.
Late last year, TEDxMidAtlantic held an event in Washington, D.C. themed around the “unique insights and talents,” both discovered and undiscovered, that are possessed by everyone. Titled “SUPERPOWERS,” the TED event featured politicians, activists, scientists, journalists, and more as speakers during the two-day event. Of course, what would a Superpowers-themed TED Talk be without a contribution from a comic book creator? Fortunately, D.C.-based artist, and Official Friend of the NOC, Shawn Martinbrough was on hand to tell his story of becoming an artist and the importance of media representation through his work. See the talk in its entirety below!
Continue reading “Shawn Martinbrough’s TED Talk on Superpowers”
These last few weeks have been truly exciting for so many reasons. We began a new convention season, Black Panther debuted, and #28daysofblackcosplay just wrapped, to name a few!
-pause- Let me introduce myself. My name is Tranquil Ashes, but you can call me Tranq for short! Welcome Tranquilities to my humble space where I write about my cosplay and body positive adventures. Most importantly I’ll be featuring and giving voice to YOU, beautiful NERDS OF COLOR.
Continue reading “Katsu Panther!!”
Originally posted at Pop Culture Collab
“It’s Panther season, family.”
My cousin recently said this to me after I asked how her freshman year at an Ivy League university was going. Let’s be clear, by no means is my cousin a comic book or superhero film fan. She always teased me for being an “Afrogeek” and wondered why I loved superheroes, horror, science fiction, and related genres.
Continue reading “‘Black Panther’ Ignites the Next Generation of Fandom Movements”
Late last week, I received a mysterious package from Disney. When I opened it, it was like Christmas all over again! Thanks to the fine folks at Disney, we received a slew of merchandise from the upcoming Black Panther film. And as promised, we’re going to be giving some of them away!
With historic Oscar nominations for Get Out and record-breaking ticket pre-sales for Black Panther, 2018 is shaping up to be a watershed year for mainstream genre pictures that center Black characters. Acclaimed speculative fiction writers and educators Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, who currently offer an online course dedicated to Jordan Peele’s box office phenomenon, join Keith for a frank discussion of both films and their place in American popular culture.
Continue reading “The Sunken Place to Wakanda with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes”
Did your browser crash when trying to buy early tickets for Black Panther? Is the movie sold out opening day at your local cinema? Well, if you’re in the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia), we’re teaming up with Fantom Comics to offer a lucky NOC follower two first class tickets to Wakanda!
Continue reading “DMV Nerds: Win Tickets to a Screening of ‘Black Panther’”
