That’s right, dear reader, you read that correctly. I wrote a book! A year ago I announced I had signed a contract with Claremont Press to write a volume for their Religion and Comics Series. I promised to update you all with more information when I had it and when I could and…(drum roll please)…that time has come! Ahhhhhhhh, I wrote a book AND I get to tell you about it. It’s a super exciting day :D. So read on, dear reader, and I can tell you all about my upcoming book. YAY!
This was a guest piece I wrote back in August of 2018 for a site that no longer exists. I like it and was thinking about Thanos today (I know…dark, right?) so I figured I’d post it here with a few slight edits. Enjoy!
What’s the plural of Thanos? Would it be Thanos? Or Thanoses? Or Thani? I don’t know but I still kind of like the ring of this title anyway so I’m sticking with it. Once Avengers: Infinity War was finally upon us, one of its most discussed features was the character of Thanos. I’ve read many reviews and essays examining the film which make the point Avengers: Infinity War is more a film about Thanos than any of the superheroes, something directors Joe and Anthony Russo have said themselves. What struck me most about Thanos when I first saw Avengers: Infinity War (and has continued to warrant further reflection with each subsequent viewing) is how different his motivations are in the film from the comics. Continue reading
I began reading The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl because I love Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics. When I heard he was writing for Marvel, I had to check it out. I instantly fell in love with the comic and I’ve been so impressed with what I continually find in its pages that I’ve chosen Doreen Green as the subject of the paper I’m writing for this year’s PCA/ACA National Conference on Popular Culture. As I began my research, I figured I’d read the comics featuring Doreen before she began to kick butts and eat nuts in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. I wanted to get a handle on how her character has evolved in the authorial hands of Ryan North and artistic hands of Erica Henderson and now Derek Charm. I was expecting a one note joke character but I was happily surprised by what I found! Continue reading
With the arrival of Ryan Reynolds second outing as the Merc with a Mouth in theatres this weekend, everyone obviously has Deadpool on the brain (and what a weird, wild, wonderful experience that is). As I’m no exception, I figured it’s time to talk about Deadpool 2! I mean, why not, right? What really makes Deadpool 2 so exceptional is how it gives us everything we love about Wade Wilson while taking the story in a brand-new direction. It also adds all sorts of new characters, characters who will surely have a lasting impact on Mr. Pool’s future. While I’ll discuss character outlines and sketch out the plot in general below, NO MAJOR SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW. Coolio? Coolio. Continue reading
When I returned to comics in 2015, one of the first trades I read was Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan’s hardcover collection Deadpool (Vol. 1), containing the first twelve issues of their run going back to November 2012. It was a Christmas gift from Kalie and my first real experience of the Merc with a Mouth, outside of occasionally seeing him as an X-Force villain back in the ‘90s. I was instantly in love with the character! Posehn and Duggan’s take became the primary lens through which I view the Regeneratin’ Degenerate. With The Despicable Deadpool #300, Gerry Duggan ends his five-year run on the title. Over the years the tales have gotten darker and darker, as he’s broken Wade Wilson to a painful degree. As I read these stories my heart hurts, and I can’t help but wonder why do we partake in stories where the characters we love are damaged so severely? Continue reading
So back in December, to prepare for The Last Jedi, I marathoned all the Star Wars movies in chronological order. Since I was dropping the Disney Canon additions in where they’d fit narratively (and back-to-back double featuring Rogue One with A New Hope) that meant EIGHT NIGHTS straight of Star Wars goodness, with The Last Jedi on the final night. Then, last month, I took this process to new heights with my Mega Marvel Movie Marathon – every single MCU film leading up to my seeing Avengers: Infinity War. That meant NINETEEN STRAIGHT NIGHTS of Marvel greatness! But now…the Merc with a Mouth returns! So what monstrously magnificent marathon will lead my way to Deadpool 2?!?!? Continue reading
I’m about to write a line I never expected to write. Are you ready? Gerry Duggan, Mike Hawthorne, and Matteo Lolli’s Deadpool is the best Secret Empire tie-in I’ve read. By far. Without question. No contest. Now, I love me some Deadpool! But with Sam Wilson: Captain America and Steve Rogers: Captain America and Champions and all the one shots (Uprising, Underground, and United) being on my pull list, I never thought ol’ Wade Wilson’s tale would be the best. But it is! Deadpool presents the everyman’s tale inside this massive, emotionally-heavy crossover event. It shows Secret Empire from the perspective of the “regular person” trapped within this system, struggling against the banality of evil growing around them while having no choice but to play their part in the new regime. Continue reading
Nancy (of Graphic Novelty² fame) has been on vacation with her family and, as a result, asked if I’d be up for writing a guest post for her blog. Um, how about YES?!?!?!? Nancy and Kathleen’s Graphic Novelty² was one of the very first blogs I found as I entered the world of WordPress and blogging and I love their posts. As a result I couldn’t have been more excited to add something to their catalogue. My choice? Well, like a babysitter who lets the kids watch something a little inappropriate while Mom and Dad are out for the night, I figured we’d look at Deadpool! However, as is always the case when Deadpool’s being written by Cullen Bunn, Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars gives us a lot more than just the Merc with a Mouth at his inappropriate best. Bunn drops Deadpool in the original Secret Wars of the 1980’s and offers another master class on why we’ve come to love and need Deadpool so much. So maybe you should click over to Graphic Novelty² and check it out?!? C’mon, it’ll be rad! I promise. As a bonus, you can also spend more time perusing all of Nancy and Kathleen’s amazing posts too. It’s a two-for! Yay!
with Kalie Zamierowski!
[Michael’s Note: Well, the school year’s ended and summer vacation has finally arrived (yay!!!). I’ll be kicking it off with a week-long mission trip to Baltimore with twenty of our upcoming seniors. Obviously that means no new material on the blog for a week. I know we’re all sad about that BUT I’m leaving you with something EPIC. Kalie and I have finished our second original short story genre-mashup. This time we’ve dropped Deadpool into A Nightmare On Elm Street. I think we may’ve topped the first one too. Personally, writing this was SO MUCH FUN. Enjoy!] Continue reading
I am a HUGE baby when it comes to scary movies. However, I have also been dating an avid horror enthusiast for two years now. How do I survive all the horror movies I watch now? How have I come to even – gasp! – enjoy and appreciate the genre myself? Well that story, my friends, is in this new guest post I wrote for Kalie over at Just Dread-Full. I had a lot of fun writing it and I’d be super excited if you clicked over and checked it out too!
My Comic Relief 