Into the Longbox

Hello readers. In all this time I've been doing this blog, I don't think I've gone into a little about myself as a comic book reader. Well, today is the day! I think the reading habits of someone can give you an insight into their personality. Lemme tell you about some of my quirks or maybe you'll find them endearing traits. I dunno, YOU be the judge. Alright, really, how many comics DO you have? Let's say it's north of 15,000. Keep in mind, this is an accumulation of about 30 plus years of comic book collecting. I took a pause between 1998-2003 because I was in college and I thought I was over this comic book thing. I was wrong. Once I got a real job with disposable income, I hit comic book stores, conventions and eBay HARD. Then I became a reader that would buy every Wednesday and here we are.  Why don't you buy digital comics? This is one of the places where I'm more analog. I like the feel of a comic book, holding it and finding a nice place to read ...

After watching the X-Men: Animated series, I figured, "What the hell, I'll watch that Spider-Man: Animated Series from the same era." This decision was also supported by a blink and you'll miss it cameo of Spider-Man from X-Men '97. I read speculation that seeing Peter and Mary Jane meant that Peter had found "the real MJ." I read that and was like, "What are people talking about? I don't remember that at all." I think it was because by the time the late 90's came around, I had jumped off the bandwagon for that show. I can say now that I have watched all five seasons in it's entirety, I made the right call. For as much shit as I gave X-Men, that pales in comparison to this show. This show is remarkably bad. I'll get into my reasons for thinking that of course, but I didn't want to waste too much time before I got into my feelings on it. I will inevitably pull in comparisons to the X-Men show to prove my point.  One thing I ...

I'm just as surprised as you that I didn't see this movie, day one. I can explain that. Life stuff was happening and I couldn't find he time, so I had to wait a whole WEEK to finally see it. That is a lifetime in trying to avoid spoilers on the internet talking about the numerous amount of cameos in this movie. I finally did and let me tell you, I enjoyed it and thought it was great.* You may be thinking, he put a * , what does that mean? I put this as a qualifier because I'm going to be real about something. My level of enjoyment was raised because of the massive amount of meta commentary that was throughout the movie. Unfortunately, a lot of that is built on whether or not you have read comic books in the last twenty years as a more than a casual fan, kept up with all the studio nonsense behind all these characters, watched the first two Deadpool movies, Logan, both seasons of the Loki series, any of the X-Men movies and some of the other Fox/Marvel movies that you fo...

This year, 2024, I'm rolling out a new series of posts in this here blog. I'm not keeping up with it like I should and as a man in his mid-40's, I have lots of old man opinion on things. Why not channel that old man anger into my favorite thing...comic books! This is my chance to focus on something that I like or don't like in a single post. If you know me, it will be a vehicle for my incessant bitching about said topic. Maybe it will be entertaining, maybe it won't. We'll see if the State of the Union is really strong! The first thing I want to tackle is the Black Panther. Specifically within the comic books. He's been my favorite character for nearly 20 years now, so I've read practically every series he's starred in. I may not remember all of it, but I have a good enough sample size to have an informed opinion. Why am I talking about him right now? Simple. His comic book series have been mid to outright bad the past few years. If you read any of m...

Even after my blistering review of X-Men the Animated series , I was still excited for this show. I just didn't want it to be ANYTHING like the previous one that was fraught with so many issues. My feelings were relieved after the first episode, but then I thought, "Can they sustain this though?" The answer to that is an unequivocal yes. I will have specific thoughts at the last part of this review, but I wanted to give my quick thoughts on each episode. Episode 1 - "To Me, My X-Men"  - This episode went out of it's way to establish how a bitch-ass like Cyclops could lead the X-Men. He answered the call and I like how this show isn't trying to make you hate him like the previous one did. The action was top notch and did things in animation the old show could never dare to do. Peep Cyclops super hero landing and the team take downs of sentinels. The action here gives you hope that this show is not going to be playing around. Episode 2 - "Mutant Liber...

Like many of you, I grew up with the X-Men cartoon in the 90's. Well, technically I was 12 when the show started, but those were my formative nerd years. Surprisingly it was THIS show and not Batman: The Animated Series that was the full blown start of my relationship with comic books. I had dabbled before but it was X-Men that birthed the interests I still have to day. I saw the premier "Night of the Sentinels" in the US, just before we moved to Germany, where I lived for the majority of the show's run. I watched the first two seasons via the color coded VHS tapes I bought from the BX or by watching them on British cable. My relatives proved unreliable in recording me anything, so when we had a brief return to the US, I made sure to record a few episodes on tape. Those first two seasons, I watched multiple times and I can quote most of them and remember very specific musical cues and scenes. I was all in on this show and have nothing but fond memories. When Disney Pl...

If I had been on top of my shit, I would have had this out during Black History Month. But I don't, so I didn't. Don't let my tardiness take away from what I'm about to say about this show. For those that want to know what they're getting into, this will be a glowing review.  Before I get there, I feel it is important to mention how this show differs from the comic book series of the same name, which I also read avidly. In the book, Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl) is borderline unlikeable with no redeeming qualities. She's a super genius, with all the personality quirks that comes with someone that is genius level. Egotistical, prickly, feeling no need to have any friendships. Throughout her series, she gets by without truly making friends and doesn't seem to have an arc where she improves. As much as I wanted to always recommend it, that made it a tough read. Thankfully, the show does away with that. Lunella is still a super genius, but she is trying to fit i...