This story is not for the faint of heart. But enough time has passed that I feel I can talk about it. What follows is a true story, not embellished for either humor’s sake…or horror’s sake. It is a tale of primal fear. It is a tale of crushing fear. It is a tale of waking before work to find yourself wrapped in your worst possible nightmare come to life. But it’s also a story of survival (which, uh, is kinda obvious because I’m writing this). Are you ready? Then let’s go… Continue reading
Last week Kalie and I were in Indianapolis presenting at the PCA/ACA Conference on Popular Culture. It was so much fun! Both of our papers were well received (mine (as I’ve mentioned once or twice) explored Jason Aaron’s use of the Divine Feminine in The Mighty Thor) and the whole week was an enriching, stimulating experience. It was exciting to meet so many other people who teach through popular culture and there were papers on just about everything you could imagine. To see all these different scholars in all these different areas, utilizing pop culture and speaking to its value in an academic setting was incredible. While we were there, Indiana’s Comic Con was going on down the street. And THAT got me thinking about the one comic I covet… Continue reading
My brother David is an incredibly talented musician. He’s played the guitar for years. He sings. He writes his own songs. And recently he decided to teach himself the drums. Turns out he’s a great drummer too. He plays a few set open mic gigs around town each week. I’m always impressed to see not just him but all the local musical talent we have spend the night jamming together on originals and covers. Recently one musician performed his rendition of the Kink’s “Lola.” The crowd was digging it and the bar was singing along…only every word I sang came from “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “Yoda” instead. “Lola” is one of those songs that’s completely lost to me. Al’s version is the only one in my heart and mind. And I wouldn’t have it any other way! Continue reading
This is an important post for this site. Well, it’s an important post for me I guess, that’s a better way to put it. It doesn’t have a strong, driving social justice message. It isn’t a call to action. It isn’t a heavy analysis or anything like that. But for the first time in almost twenty years, I’m finally reading The Amazing Spider-Man again every month. For someone who’s always loved Spider-Man as much as I do, this is important. It turns out, being back in the current life of Peter Parker means even more to me than I thought it would. Continue reading
My original plan was to re-watch all three of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movies, both of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man movies and then re-watch Captain America: Civil War in preparation for Spider-Man: Homecoming. Then I was going to write this post about which film version I liked best. It was going to be a sort of who-really-embodied-my-Spidey-the-best kind of a thing. But a realization hit me. While I’ve loved each and every Spider-Man I’ve seen swing across the screen in their own way (yes, I even see a bright and enjoyable silver lining to Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2), not one of them have felt like my Spidey. However, this has nothing to do with writers, directors, or actors. Rather, it has everything to do with when I grew up. Continue reading
Of course I saw Logan over the weekend. But I don’t want to write about it. I can’t yet. I need time to sit with the film, to let it move through my heart and mind until I reach the place where I feel I can write about it in a way that honors the experience. However, I still have Wolverine and the X-Men on my mind. So I’ve decided to take a little trip down Memory Lane and revisit the very first X-Men comic I ever read. Ahh…the early 1990’s. What a great time to meet Wolverine, Cyclops, and everyone else! Continue reading
For a lifelong fan of comic books and a lover of Star Wars what I’m about to say surprises even me. I just finished reading the Dark Empire miniseries for the first time. For real. How has it taken me so long to read this?!? I can absolutely see why this is considered such a classic! With all this excitement running through my being I thought it would be an excellent time to engage in an EPIC lightsaber duel. However, given the fact that my lightsabers are all the way downstairs and I’m lacking an opponent at the moment, I figured I’d talk about Star Wars, comics, canon, and the Expanded Universe instead. Continue reading
I’m participating in a new series on the blog today! For nearly a year, Jenmarie – who runs the wonderfully eclectic Star Wars blog Anakin and his Angel – has done a monthly feature she opens to all bloggers in love with the galaxy far, far away. It’s called “Star Wars ComLINKS” and the goal is to inspire those of us who love Star Wars to get together and talk about it. I’ve come to love participating in the Top Five Wednesdays and I also enjoy the sense of community that comes with the awards and tags circling the blogging world. So I was excited to join Jenmarie’s ComLINKS and combine that feeling of community with STAR WARS. What’s not to love?? Anyway, this month’s topic was to discuss a favorite Star Wars memory. Continue reading
My Comic Relief 