If you’re a long time comic book fan, you’ve probably used the terms “Golden Age”, “Silver Age”, “Bronze Age” and “Modern Age” to talk about different periods in comic publishing history. You probably don’t really think about what they mean most of the time, but you do have a vague distinction in your mind. For…
Tag: superheroes
Call For Comments: The Ages of Comics and Superheroes
From Mav: Several years ago when I was doing my oral comps (PhD exams) I was asked a question about the evolution of comics. I don’t remember the exact question anymore. What I do remember is that one of my committee members stopped me and said “you always say that… the ages of comics. What…
e243. What’s in a Name? (or Several)
Sometimes we come up with an episode idea that we just completely mean to be filler. We have no real agenda and not as much research as normal, but we need to fill a week before a much more complicated show and so we just decide “lets have a discussion topic and see how it…
e228. Investigating the Style Cycle
We’ve all heard complaints that the current pop-culture fad du jour is getting repetitive. For instance, right now, it’s superhero movies. People are constantly complaining about “the MCU formula” where “all the movies look the same, they all have the same plot, and they all make all the same jokes.” Whenever some other company makes…
e223. The Cultural Impact of Ms. Marvel on Disney+
This Wednesday saw the season finale of Ms. Marvel on Disney+, a show that we have been thoroughly enjoying. However, there’s been a weird bit of reaction to Ms. Marvel and the MCU in general as of late. While the critical reviews of Ms. Marvel are overwhelmingly positive (it currently sits at a 98% on…
e183. How to Read All of the Marvels
If you’re a comic book fan, one of the things people often ask you is “I want to get into comics. Where do I start? What should I read?” This is especially true if you’re someone who reads comics for a living. It’s even more true this last decade or so of box office dominance…
e168. Time to Stop Wearing Underwear on the Outside
Have you ever noticed how infrequently superheroes in most superhero TV shows and movies actually wear their superhero costumes? It makes sense when you think about it. Superhero costumes are actually kind of silly: wearing underwear on the outside of spandex bodysuits? They’re based on pop culture tropes from nearly a century ago, which honestly…
Call For Comments: Why Are There Still Superhero Costumes?
From Mav (with Monica Geraffo): This is going to be about superheroes and fashion. But it’s not going to seem like it at first and there are a billion concepts that I want to tie together, so bear with me. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise at this point that I love superheroes. I love…
e96. Mask Theory
In the 21st century, when we think of masks, we think of superheroes. But the idea of superheroes as a concept is only about a century old. Masks have been around forever. They have a long history in theatre, professional wrestling and costume balls. Beyond that they have a cultural tradition that dates back to…