Anchorman

Anchorman

About twenty years ago, comedy movies enjoyed something of a renaissance under Gen Xers like Judd Apatow and Todd Phillips. That class of early-to-mid aughts film makers didn't produce high art, but they did turn out the movies your stoner friends quoted incessantly. These were the last comedies to feature…
December 23, 20215 Comments
charizard

Milo v Beardson

This past Saturday, Trump-era provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos resurfaced on-stream with internet bloodsports veteran and inner circle groyper Beardson Beardly. The occasion was a debate on the spiritual ramifications of grown men pursuing children's hobbies--in this case, Pokémon cards. If you're wondering how the dispute started, one of the Groypers' wignat…
December 20, 202114 Comments
Superhero-Dials

Superhero Dials

The eagerly anticipated follow up to part 3 in Man of the Atom's series on the history and business of comic books has arrived! In this installment, our stalwart chronicler explores the Thor Power Tool case's impact on the industry, shares more story craft wisdom from Jim Shooter, and introduces…
December 15, 20218 Comments
FF Tactics Retro-Spective

Retro-Spective Returns

Just a quick reminder that Geek Gab Retro-Spective returns with an all-new series on the cult hit tactical RPG Final Fantasy Tactics. And we'll be playing this classic game the way it was meant to be played: on a Play Station (technically a PS2 - remember reverse compatibility?) running the…
December 8, 20211 Comment
Weird Tales Distro

Distro Tech

The irrepressible Man of the Atom continues his journey through American comic book history. Continuing his deep dive into comic book distribution, he takes a page--or three--from legendary Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Which distro method is superior: Newsstands or the direct market? Shooter’s and Rozanski’s analyses are well worth your…
December 6, 20219 Comments
Defaced Comic

Comics Defaced

Man of the Atom returns with part 2 in his series on the history of American comic books. This time, he examines comic book distribution, among many other topics. Return rate was the fraction of the total print run that was returned to the distributor by the retailers. Newsstand distribution…
November 30, 202111 Comments
Shatner Deep Fried Turkey

Spitting in the Face of Science

Happy Thanksgiving to all my cherished readers. Out of my deep and abiding interest in your wellbeing, here is a cautionary message from Mr. William Shatner: Macross meets Warhammer 40K Read now for 99 cents!
November 25, 20213 Comments
Nebuchadnezzar Ages

The Ages of Comics

Friend of the blog Man of the Atom pens a learned essay on the origins and ages of American comic books: What about the stories? Where did they originate? Like any good writers, the comic authors typically went to the literature of the times as well as the recent past…
November 22, 20214 Comments
Astroworld satanic

Stanning for Satanism?

A quote often attributed to Chesterton notes that when something draws equally vehement attacks from opposite sides of the same issue, it's a good bet that what the partisans are attacking is true. In other words, heresies tend to come in diametrically opposed but equally erroneous twos. The resurgence of…
November 19, 202119 Comments
Shooting Up

Shooting Up

A striking phenomenon increasingly on display as the generation raised by Nickelodeon turns 40 is the redirection of man's natural religious impulse to pop culture artifacts. A while back, I termed those who make idols of action figures, comics, and video games the Pop Cult. The reason Generation Y is…
October 29, 202124 Comments