Celebrating “ROM Spaceknight: The Original MARVEL Years” Omnibus!

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Back in 2010, I talked about my favorite comic book back when I was a kid, ROM: Spaceknight. MARVEL’s Love Letter to ‘50s Science Fiction movies was solidly in my wheelhouse with nods to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and even I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). If you’re unfamiliar with ROM you can go back and read my aforementioned blog or the article I wrote for the September 2016 issue of Scary Monsters Magazine. The seventy-five issue (plus four Annuals) series ran from 1979 to 1986 before falling into obscurity a.k.a. Licensing issues. Although IDW had their own ROM series for a while, it bore little resemblance to the one I’d grown up with and didn’t resonate with me as MARVEL’s had. At the same time, MARVEL couldn’t legally mention his name and while most of their titles got collected in trade paperback or hardcover Omnibus editions, ROM was never given the honor. That is, until now. 

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“Nothing can stop the (C2E2) Juggernaut!”

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What a time for comic book fans to be alive! Just this past week, the female-driven Captain Marvel joined the billion-dollar club while SHAZAM (the original “Captain Marvel”) hit theaters in his own fabulous film. In other news, Netflix’s binge-worthy “Umbrella Academy” got renewed for a second season while the creepy, yet original Joker trailer also dropped. Perhaps the biggest news in nerdom was how presale tickets for the much-anticipated Avengers: Endgame managed to shut down movie sites unable to keep up with demand. So whenever you hear someone mention the phrase “superhero fatigue,” don’t say anything. Just casually walk away…and laugh.  Continue reading →

The Daredevil You Know: Spotlight on Charlie Cox at C2E2!

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The following Q&A is from The Daredevil You Know: Spotlight on Charlie Cox panel at Chicago Comic Entertainment Expo (C2E2) on Sunday, April 8, 2018. My original intention was to squeeze this into my final post of the series last Thursday but, even after skimming off the less interesting stuff, felt it warranted its own. The panel was hosted by Clare Kramer a.k.a. Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and ran an hour. The auditorium was huge and the panel photos here were all taken by me – thanks to a great telephoto lens. I have to say that so far as celebrity panels go, Cox was one actor who’s really in tune with his character. He not only provided interesting behind the scenes tidbits (at least as far as what Marvel allows) as well as insights on Daredevil, himself. But don’t take my word for it, read for yourself… Continue reading →

Howard the Duck (1986) Revisited: Was it really that Bad?

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In the summer of 1986 Universal Studios and Lucas Productions (yes, THAT Lucas Productions) released a film that may go down in history as one of the worst movies of all time. It featured an all-star cast, featuring Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones and Tim Robbins and had a budget of $35,000,000 (it reportedly grossed $16,295,774 in the United States according to the IMDB website). The story features Howard, a humanoid duck character from a planet much like earth whose predominant species were ducks instead of hairless apes.

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Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2015!

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I’ve attended the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) for the last four years and each time it rolls around I get more and more excited about it. The success of the Marvel films reignited my love of comic books and inspired me to dig out that old collection of mine; thirteen long boxes featuring the ‘70s and ‘80s exploits of Spider-Man, The Uncanny X-Men, The Mighty Avengers, and so on. This year I attended the event with my friend, Elizabeth Ocon, along with my thirteen year old daughter, Jade. I think it was Jade’s excitement that caused me to anticipate this event as I did back when I was in my teens and attending Chicago’s Comic Con (as that event was called back in the day).

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C2E2 was Comic Paradise!

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With a steady stream of new super hero movies continuously breaking box office records, nothing says “spring” like a good comic convention. Fortunately for me, one of the best of these is right here in the Windy City ala C2E2 (Chicago Comics Entertainment Expo). I’ve been going faithfully for the past couple of years and, though initially just to cover Svengoolie, it has since become so much more.

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