-
io9Books & ComicsWatchmen Isn’t Being Written by Just White People, Thank Goodness
Watchmen’s first episode bowled much of the audience over simply because of the matter-of-fact way that it presented us with a brutal, frank depiction of the Tulsa race riot and the way that black Americans were viciously brutalized by their racist white counterparts. Watchmen’s depiction of the massacre was powerful, but it also raised questions about … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsTitans Is Really Leaning Into White Savior Complexes
Titans seemed like it was on the verge of backsliding into the narrative bad place after Dick Grayson revealed to his teammates that he, like Batman, has no issue lying to people who trust him. This week’s episode—“Fallen”—doesn’t just confirm that, it illustrates how Dick Grayson hitting rock bottom in order to become Nightwing is … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsWatchmen‘s Ideas About Trauma and Legacy Are Making the Show More Mystifying
Watchmen’s first three episodes were all carefully-crafted to keep much of this alternate Earth’s more fantastical elements just out of view in order to focus on establishing who the show’s power players are and what they’re fighting for. But now that Sister Night, Laurie Blake, and the rest of the Tulsa PD are all firmly … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsThe Black Mage‘s Daniel Barnes and DJ Kirkland Unpack the Meaning of the Book’s Magic
Oni Press’s The Black Mage, by writer Daniel Barnes and artist D.J. Kirkland, tells a story that’s unique to the young, black magic-user at the center of the comic. But the story is familiar to any person from a historically marginalized background that finds themselves suddenly thrust into the eternally weird world of higher education. … Continued
-
io9The Reboots Will Continue Until Morale Improves
The past decade has demonstrated that no matter how much the general public gripes about Hollywood being a wasteland for new ideas—an accusation that’s popular despite the fact that it isn’t exactly true—reboots are here to stay whether we like them or not. Studios have little to no reason to ever stop rebooting classic stories … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsTitans Is Back on Its Overwrought Emotional Nonsense for Some Reason
Titans has always had a fair amount of difficulty closing out plot lines in satisfying ways. The latest episode, “Atonement,” sadly makes it very obvious that the writer’s room ran out of ideas for how to handle Deathstroke coming back onto the scene to ruin Dick Grayson’s life. In an attempt to finally clear the … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsWatchmen‘s Internal Clock Is Finally Running on Time
As emotionally-charged and dense as Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen has been, there have been more than a few moments that made it easy to lose sight of the fact that the series is still very much a comic book adaptation. But this week’s episode—“She Was Killed By Space Junk”—is a triumphant tribute to the source material … Continued
-
io9One of Steven Universe: The Movie‘s Most Emotional Moments Was Fantastic from the Jump
Steven Universe: The Movie is so packed full with moments of pure aesthetic and emotional gorgeousness that there are times when it’s easy to lose sight of just how impressive the story being told actually is. From the looks of this exclusive clip of the movie’s production, it seems as if that was always very … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsTitans Turned ‘Family’ Into a Four-Letter Word
Titans’ second season has spent a significant amount of time in the past in order to illustrate the various reasons why the show’s heroes are such haunted people clearly living in the shadow of something devastating. First, there was the original incarnation of the Titans, a team that seemingly broke apart following Deathstroke murdering Aqualad. … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsWatchmen‘s Latest Twist Shouldn’t Be a Surprise to Anyone
The story taking place in Watchmen’s present is informed by that world’s past—one similar to ours where groups of white supremacists have terrorized black people across the world for centuries. At times, the show assumes you know this fact to be true but in others, like the opening moments of this week’s episode, Watchmen slows … Continued
-
io9MoviesThe Case for Calling All Vampires Draculas
Myths about vampiric creatures that rise from the dead to feed on the blood of the living predate Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the modern concept of extravagant, seductive vampires by hundreds of years. But stories about aristocratic, sometimes campy vampires who vanish into puffs of smoke and must be invited into human homes have arguably … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsBlack Lightning Is Raising the Stakes to Keep Things Interesting
Black Lightning’s become a decidedly more complicated show this season because of the difficult position it’s put its titular hero in. By agreeing to be detained and studied by the American Security Agency, Jefferson Pierce has ensured that his children will remain relatively safe and free. But it also means Freeland’s lost Black Lightning again, … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsHBO’s Watchmen Is Much More Connected to the Comics Than You Think
Even though HBO’s Watchmen is directly connected to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal comic, the studio went to great lengths to emphasize that the series is telling its own story, one that’s only mildly related to the source material. As it turns out, though, that’s not at all the case, but you have to … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsOld Man Bruce Wayne Dragged Titans Back to the Bad Place
Titans knocked it out of the park so well with last week’s Superboy-centric episode that it seemed as if the series might have both hit its stride and figured out how to tap into just the right amount of charming comic book absurdity to convince anyone still on the fence about the show to give … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsLet’s Unpack Watchmen‘s Explosive Premiere in This Spoiler Discussion Zone
HBO’s Watchmen is so packed with multiple meanings and pieces of social commentary about anti-black racism in America that it begs to be picked over and discussed, if only so that viewers can get a sense of how it’s possible that we all took completely different things away from the first episode. On its face, … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsAggretsuko‘s Rage Will Be Channeled Into a Furious Comic Book
The pure existential rage radiating from Sanrio’s Aggretsuko is so powerful that it can no longer be contained in the form of just an animated series. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Black Mage’s Daniel Barnes and D.J. Kirkland are working on a new Aggretsuko comics series for Oni Press that will further explore the inner … Continued
-
io9MoviesDeWanda Wise Will Fight Dinosaur Clones in Jurassic World 3
After the middling reception Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom received, it seems as if Universal’s banking on the return of a number of classic characters from the Jurassic Park franchise to lure people back into theaters. But the studio’s also game to bring some fresh blood into the dinosaur-laden fray. Variety reports that She’s Gotta Have … Continued
-
io9MoviesBlack Panther’s Daniel Kaluuya Is Bringing a ‘Misunderstood’ Barney to the Big Screen
Barney is a dinosaur who we all know from TV, but now Mattel is bringing Barney & Friends to the big screen. Variety reports that Mattel Films and Daniel Kaluuya’s (Get Out, Black Panther) production company, 59%, are teaming up to make a live-action Barney movie about a stuffed purple dinosaur who’s brought to life … Continued
-
io9Books & ComicsMetal Men Artist Shane Davis Reflects on the Lies That Make Heroes Tick
Writer Dan DiDio and artist Shane Davis’ new Metal Men series, out this week, is drenched in bright splashes of gleaming color that hide a dark, human truth. It binds the comic’s team of heroes and their creator together in ways that devastate them all. The book still features the Metal Men series’ signature camp … Continued
-
io9MoviesVenom Director Ruben Fleischer Wishes People Were Nicer to the Film, Which Made $856 Million
Because Ruben Fleischer’s Venom was missing a number of major elements of Eddie Brock’s antiheroic origins from Marvel’s comics (see: Spider-Man), there was a significant chunk of time when the public’s feelings about the movie ranged from apprehensive to outright hostile. But then the movie finally hit theaters and—surprisingly(?)—it made bank at the box office. … Continued
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore's posts