Animation, DC Comics, Streaming2 Comments

Two New Batman and Superman Animated Series Coming to HBO Max

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021 Keith Chow

HBO Max and Cartoon Network just announced they are bringing their two most iconic superheroes back to the world of animation. Both Batman: Caped Crusader and My Adventures with Superman are sure to bring in a new generation of fans into the worlds of Gotham and Metropolis, while simultaneously giving long-time fans the kind of nuanced and action-packed stories they crave.

DC Comics, Toys1 Comment

Mezco’s One:12 Collective Superman is Out of This World

March 5, 2021March 9, 2021 Keith Chow

When it comes to my passion for action figure collecting, you’d think Mezco’s One:12 Collective line would be a no-branier. It takes the intricate detail and soft goods stitching found on 12-inch Hot Toys figures and shrinks them down to my preferred scale, without losing any of the craftsmanship. But by and large, I missed the One:12 boat, focusing more on Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, and the occasional S.H. Figuarts figure. And while I pre-ordered both Batman and Superman from, well, Batman v Superman, I never took them out of their (admittedly gorgeous) packaging. Well, Mezco’s just-released Superman from the 1978 film has changed all that.

DC Comics, Hard N.O.C. Life

Hard NOC Life: Crisis of Infinite Supermen

September 27, 2019January 30, 2020 Hard NOC Media

On a new episode of Hard NOC Life — which was recorded before the reveal of Brandon Routh as Superman! — Keith and Dominic get excited about all of the Superman, especially the inclusion of Smallville in this fall’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover on The CW.

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DC Comics, Television4 Comments

Can the New Black Canary Fix Arrow’s Problems?

February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 Desiree Rodriguez

Originally posted at A Latina’s Media Musings

Firstly, as an almost disclaimer of sorts, I’ve never been a fan of Arrow. Even in the show’s heyday of seasons one and two when it was praised and lauded as a great show and comic book adaptation. Though it bares moderate similarities to Green Arrow: Year One overall, it just wasn’t for me. However, I can look back on the show’s beginning seasons and see a clear pattern of character arcs that were leading to a greater picture. A picture that would create an adapted vision of the classic Green Arrow comics mythology.

Needless to say, that from season three onward, Arrow did not only continuously strive away from that proposed picture, but did so almost gleefully. It often felt at times that the show was more interested in using the brand names of “Green Arrow” and the original materials (or should I say Batman’s original materials) for the sake of hollowed out Easter eggs, than truly adapting them in interesting and creative ways. One of the best examples of this is the show’s depiction — and mishandling — of the Black Canary, aka Dinah Laurel Lance.

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DC Comics, Television13 Comments

Why Can’t Tom Welling be Superman on Supergirl?

June 6, 2016September 26, 2019 Keith Chow

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while now, but with today’s news that Superman will actually appear next season on Supergirl, I figured now would be as good a time as any to explain why I think veteran TV Superman Tom Welling should don the red cape once again (for the first time?) and officially welcome Kara to The CW, the network Smallville launched a decade ago.

“But Smallville and Supergirl are two separate, incompatible continuities!” I know. I know. But hear me out: Supergirl is the perfect opportunity to get Welling back on The CW in the one role he deserves (but may or may not need right now): Superman.

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DC Comics, Television4 Comments

Waiting for Superman: The Beginning of the End of Smallville

May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 Keith Chow

Five years ago today, Smallville ended its historic ten-year run on The CW, fka The WB. At the time, it was the longest running genre series on-air and is still the longest running superhero series in television history. It’s hard to believe now, when superheroes have completely permeated popular culture, but Smallville’s popularity was a rarity in the early 2000s. The current incarnation of The CW — which after the acquisition of Supergirl from CBS should just rename itself DCTV — owes a great debt to the Superman origin story shepharded by Into the Badlands creators Al Gough and Miles Millar. (FYI, Craig Byrne, founder of Kryptonsite — the definitive Smallville destination on the internet, penned a must-read retrospective of the series at Collider).

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DC Comics, Recaps, Television3 Comments

NOC Recaps Supergirl: Flight Song

November 10, 2015November 10, 2015 Keith Chow

With each passing week, I’m becoming more and more impressed with Supergirl as a series. Sure, the pilot was already strong, but last week’s episode definitely raised the bar. Now with episode three in the can, the sky’s the limit for Supergirl to blaze its own trail. It’s just too bad the ratings are not keeping pace with the quality of the series. Come on, America! Tune in because this show could use your eyeballs!

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Comics, Movies, Origins15 Comments

Comics are for Children

November 21, 2013June 17, 2021 J. Lamb (Snoopy Jenkins)

I don’t remember the wonder anymore.

As a child, I did not collect comics weekly. At ten, I lacked the funds and access to a friendly neighborhood comic book shop. Travel to the closest store required leaving Black suburban safety, crossing highways and railroad tracks, and strolling through an alien White community three miles away to feed a Cable and Nightwing habit. No. Besides, graphic novels offered complete story arcs, so to read new comics I would cajole my mother into forking over twenty dollars American (not including sales tax) each time I wished to depart Waldenbooks in Chesapeake Square Mall with the Spider-Man Clone Saga, or Batman: Contagion.