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Pop Culture Squad Is Celebrating Women’s History Month

Pop Culture Squad Is Celebrating Women’s History Month

Posted on by Bob Harrison

The calendar flipped to March, and here at Pop Culture Squad, that means Women’s History Month. We will be spending the next few weeks celebrating the contributions that women have made to pop culture industries, particularly comic books.

There will be a series of Live SquadCasts with an amazing array of creators and professionals in the comic industry. Tune in as the all women guest panels talk about their history in the business as well as those that came before and who is coming next.

Throughout the month we will also have other special content devoted to celebrating Women in Comics History. In the meantime, you can also check out our archive of Women in Comics History posts from 2021. Continue reading “Pop Culture Squad Is Celebrating Women’s History Month” →

New Number Ones: New Comic Series Coming in March 2023

New Number Ones: New Comic Series Coming in March 2023

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Spring is just around the corner. And we have newly sprouting comics series to show you. If you are new here, in this column, we have compiled an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers of some of the cool new comics that are coming out this month. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

This month, we have books on the list from: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics, AWA Studios, Ahoy Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Valiant Entertainment, Sumerian Comics, and IDW Publishing.

There are five jam packed Wednesdays in March and the first and the fifth weeks have the most New Number Ones.

One thing to remember, we continue to measure the “comic week” as Wednesday. As such, if we have a month like March that starts on a Wednesday, the comics released the day before count as week one. #NCBD is Wednesday.

We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

You will find the books listed below in the order of when they are released.

Week of 3/1/23
Week of 3/8/23
Week of 3/15/23
Week of 3/22/23
Week of 3/29/23

Week of March 1  

Cosmic Ghost Rider #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Art by Juann Cabal, Jonas Scharff, Arif Prianto & Espen Grundetjern
Cover Art by Morry Hollowell & Valerio Ganfiordano

DUEL IDENTITY, PART ONE / COSMIC GHOST STORIES

VENGEANCE REAWAKENED! In a far-flung corner of deep space, Frank Castle has eked out a quiet existence, his days as Cosmic Ghost Rider finally behind him. But across the universe, a vicious bounty hunter is leaving a trail of bodies in his wake and his name is… Cosmic Ghost Rider?! When Frank’s peaceful existence is shattered, he must suit up once more and face his most savage enemy yet—himself! Be there for the start of a sprawling space adventure with shocking twists and turns in the saga of Cosmic Ghost Rider!

Release Date: March 1, 2023

PCS NOTES: A fan favorite character returns in his own series guided by some excellent creators.

DC / RWBY #1
DC Comics
Written by Marguerite Bennett
Art by Meghan Hetrick & Marissa Louise
Cover Art by Hetrick

The world of Remnant comes crashing into the DCU! Grimm are running amok around Gotham, and Batman’s on the hunt to find whoever brought these mysterious monsters to his city. But as the trail goes cold, the Dark Knight finds himself face-to-face with none other than Team RWBY! What other effects are taking hold around our world with Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang here, and what does it mean for the future of the DCU?! Marguerite Bennett returns to RWBY with Meghan Hetrick and Soo Lee for an epic tale of adventure spanning every corner of the DC Universe!

Release Date: February 28, 2023

PCS NOTES: What a fantastic creative team DC assembled to tell this story?! Surprisingly for me, it has my interest.
 Continue reading “New Number Ones: New Comic Series Coming in March 2023” →

Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds

Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds

Posted on by Mike Gold

Now Fatherland, Fatherland, show us the sign your children have waited to see. The morning will come when the world is mine; tomorrow belongs to me. “Tomorrow Belongs To Me,” written by John Kander for the play “Cabaret.”

I loathe going to movies alone. If the flick is great, I wanna talk about it. If the flick sucks, I wanna commiserate with a friend. Most movies are somewhere in between, and if I picked the right companion the after-movie discussion can be better than the viewing experience itself. In seeing Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, I was joined by my dear friend Martha Thomases, of DC and Marvel fame. We’ve enjoyed some great movies together, although some would be defined by critics as shitty.

Is a movie shitty even if you had a good time? Well, perhaps by consensus, but that should not humble your experience retroactively. Portal-to-portal, going out to the movies these days is an expensive proposition: the old phrase “coming soon to a theater near you” is obsolete because the vast majority of humanity no longer lives near a movie theater (Martha is a lucky exception). So when you add up all of your expenses, assuming you are willing to pay the going theater rate for a quarter’s worth of pop corn, seeing any movie in the theater is likely to cost the better part of a mortgage payment. Of course, those few surviving movie palaces of yesteryear are now showing live theater and kinda-live concerts, so we’ve got to shoehorn ourselves into little boxes made of ticky-tacky and endure twenty minutes of commercials before we get to the trailers.

But it’s a choice we, as the paying audience, choose to make. Not so much the movie critics. They have to see damn near everything, and I sympathize. They’ve been subjected to so many flickering images it’s a wonder they’re not all epileptics. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds” →

So Long and Thanks for the Fish, Man #081: Tired of your Marvel Malaise

So Long and Thanks for the Fish, Man #081: Tired of your Marvel Malaise

Posted on by Marc Alan Fishman

The murmurs and mumbles of mediocrity started as early as Thor 2: The Dark World. They got louder with Black Widow. Louder still with Eternals. Then came the ire and fanboy rage over She-Hulk. And now it’s perhaps getting a bit too loud over Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. 

I’m sick of it.

In my day (shh, Mike Gold. Shh.) comic book movies were — at best — loud, kitschy affairs. For every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or ’89 Batman… we also got Howard the Duck, Superman III and IV, and Captain America. In the 90’s, Batman plummeted in quality, and was met by early CGI nightmares like Spawn, or obnoxious barely-based-on-their-source popcorn flicks like Judge Dredd or Tank Girl. And while these films were watchable… they were hardly of a caliber that one could present opposite more lucrative blockbuster sci-fi and action romps.

And then came Marvel.

It started unassumingly with Blade. Unlike so many neon-lit counterparts released prior… Blade felt like a horror action-movie. It was clearly inspired by the comic book origins and broad strokes of the character, but made smart choices in costuming, sets, and the watered-down plot. It wasn’t hokey. It was a blueprint.

1998’s Blade begat Bryan Singer’s X-Men. Similar to the vampire hunter… these were well-dressed (“what, you’d prefer yellow spandex?”) superheroes with well-thought-out effect work that made their mutant abilities feel believable. Combine this with the gravitas and star power of Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan, and slowly but surely, the zeitgeist was changing. 

Take a side-step from the mainstream, and you could see Hollywood begin to lean into the pulp and paper world. Ghost World, From Hell, Road to Perdition, and my personal favorite American Splendor showcased that comics beyond the punchy kind would also be applicable to mainstream (if a bit arty) America. But I digress.  Continue reading “So Long and Thanks for the Fish, Man #081: Tired of your Marvel Malaise” →

With Further Ado #238: Red, White, and Nostalgic

With Further Ado #238: Red, White, and Nostalgic

Posted on by Ed Catto

When Jack Kirby returned to Marvel Comics in the mid-70s, it was a big deal. Marvel Comics told me, and my friends, it was a big deal, and our local comic shop owner, Kim Draheim, told us too.

And it’s almost pop-culture heresy to write this, but at that time – we just didn’t get Kirby.

• Black Panther, with the Golden Frog and all that, was a nutty book and nothing like the Don McGregor Panther series we had so thoroughly enjoyed.

• The Eternals was kind of fun, but it seemed so set apart from the rest of the Marvel Universe. And when one hero finally showed up, the Hulk, it was a just robot. What a rip-off!

• Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy kind of turned into a punchline in our comic shop too.

• Most disappointing was Captain America. For years were riding along with Steve Englehart, exploring big ideas about patriotism and forgotten corners of the Marvel Universe. Sal Buscema’s Sharon Carter was the very best super-hero girlfriend at that time, and we grew to love her too. And the Nomad saga, despite swapping artists at the end, was the first (and still the best) of many super-hero identity fake outs.

At first, when Kirby burst back onto the Marvel scene, especially with the Madbomb issues in Captain America, we were intrigued. It made sense that Jack Kirby should get another crack at the character he co-created (with Joe Simon) all those years ago.

But oh, so quickly, we lost interest. Why did Cap all of a sudden talk like my grandfather? Who was this new female lead, revolutionary Donna Maria Puentes, anyway? Where was Sharon? And although I’ve come to really enjoy it, Kirby’s bombastic art – at that time – just wasn’t doing it for me. My friends and I weren’t mature enough to get it. “Why couldn’t he draw more like Neal Adams?”, we wondered. Continue reading “With Further Ado #238: Red, White, and Nostalgic” →

Pop Culture SquadCast Live: Special Guests Ed Catto and Jamal Igle

Pop Culture SquadCast Live: Special Guests Ed Catto and Jamal Igle

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Join our hosts Mike Gold and Bob Harrison as they talk about all things Pop Culture tonight. There will be special guests, including PCS’s own Ed Catto, and comic book creator and artist Jamal Igle.

You can watch the stream below, and we are also broadcasting live on our Facebook and YouTube pages.

 

Preview Reviews for February 22, 2023: Black Cloak #2, Bulls of Beacon Hill #2, and Local Man #1

Preview Reviews for February 22, 2023: Black Cloak #2, Bulls of Beacon Hill #2, and Local Man #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.

This week we have a trio of new books to review for you, including one of our most anticipated New Number Ones of the month. We have Black Cloak #2 and Local Man #1 from Image Comics and Bulls of Beacon Hill #2 from AfterShock Comics.

You can find these books at your LCS or wherever you buy books on February 22, 2023. We think they are all excellent.

Also the rest of the #NewNumberOnes for February are here.

Black Cloak #2
Image Comics
Written by Kelly Thompson
Art by Meredith McClaren
Colors by McClaren
Letters by Becca Carey
Cover by McClaren

Original Solicitation:

Murdered prince. Hungry mermaids. Vengeful queen. Plentiful suspects. Dead assassin. Dying Black Cloak. So far this case is going to the devils. And it’s super great that absolutely everything is on the line. No pressure!

PCS Review: Continue reading “Preview Reviews for February 22, 2023: Black Cloak #2, Bulls of Beacon Hill #2, and Local Man #1” →

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Cartoonist Leeanne Krecic

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Cartoonist Leeanne Krecic

Posted on by Bob Harrison

We were very excited to talk to our latest guest. Cartoonist Leeanne Krecic, creator of the worldwide hit webcomic series Let’s Play, sat down for a discussion about her comic making craft and what she is currently working on.

Let’s Play, a romance webcomic that has 4.8 million subscribers and over half a billion views on Webtoon, is Leeanne’s most well-known work. It is a super engaging story with wonderful, and relatable characters.

Leeanne has just launched a Kickstarter to make a video game based on the characters from Let’s Play called Everdate. It funded in less than three hours and is barging through stretch goals. We talked about the game and what backers can expect from the results of the campaign.

As is typical with most comic creators, Leeanne’s journey to comic success is unique and interesting. We talked about her journey and the challenges that she overcame.

We are really happy that we had the opportunity to talk to Leeanne about her comic, life, and the game.

We hope you enjoy the SquadCast below, and don’t forget to check out the campaign information for Everdate – Let’s Play: The Dating Game.

Everdate – Let’s Play: The Dating Game
Coming soon from Mongie Studios!

Campaign Link: http://kck.st/3RZ6QW8

Ending: Thu, March 16 2023 3:00 PM EDT

PCS Notes: This game looks amazing for both fans of the comic and newcomers. We highly encourage you to check out the campaign site. There are lots of animations and a couple of videos to give you even more about what to expect from this project.  Continue reading “Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Cartoonist Leeanne Krecic” →

With Further Ado #237: Start-Ups & Second Acts in Geek Culture

With Further Ado #237: Start-Ups & Second Acts in Geek Culture

Posted on by Ed Catto

One of the many great things about Geek Culture is the opportunity for “second acts”.

There’s an old gag that posits 97% of all comic fans want to work in comics, and the other 3% are lying. There’s probably a lot of truth in that.

I would guess the numbers aren’t as high for something like the music industry, for example. I love listening to music, but I have no talent and little aptitude to create music. I even hum off key.

This weekend, Saratoga Springs celebrated the annual Chowderfest. It’s an incredible time, as just about every restaurant and bar erects a Pop-Up to serve their own version of chowder. This annual event attracts so many locals as well as folks like us, who traveled there for the festivities. There were so many people enjoying this event. Along with so many tasty chowders. There were also long lines, more than a few hoisted beer mugs and lots of smiles. Continue reading “With Further Ado #237: Start-Ups & Second Acts in Geek Culture” →

Super Bowl LVII Movie Trailer Recap Featuring The Flash, Guardians, and More

Super Bowl LVII Movie Trailer Recap Featuring The Flash, Guardians, and More

Posted on by Bob Harrison

As one of the biggest entertainment machines in the US goes into it’s off season, we are left with a few very interesting film trailers to ponder and salivate over as necessary. We collected the most important trailers from Super Bowl LVII here. In terms of quantity, there have been other Super Bowls with more trailers and of more massive import. Overall, the quality we got here was pretty good.

Before we get into the trailers, I had one note about the commercial advertisement aspect of this Super Bowl. There is a concept that was utilized by a few advertisers in which the commercial acted as a teaser/redirect to the internet. Several commercials asked me to take my phone and scan a QR code, ostensibly from the TV,  so that I would get more information on the website for the product. Some of the trailers were also taglined with “Watch the FULL TRAILER on the Internet now.” It is definitely a shift in entertainment consumption. In the past advertisers and television executives wanted the viewers to sit on their hands and keep their eyes glued to the tube.

Now that we are done with noticing the evolution of media consumption toward a more interactive model, let’s take a look at the trailers. We are focusiong on the movies that are fit into our wheelhouse here at PCS, and have listed them by release date:

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
In theaters March 31, 2023

PCS Notes: This movie looks fun, but I am totally stoked about the Owlbear and the Gelatinous Cube.  Continue reading “Super Bowl LVII Movie Trailer Recap Featuring The Flash, Guardians, and More” →