The Batman Wrestles With a Gloomy, Problematic Billionaire Version of Batman
It's a Batman movie that seems distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of Batman.
Comics
Tennessee School Board Pulls Maus From Eighth-Grade Curriculum
A grim sign of the bureaucratic mentality controlling public education
Spider-Man: No Way Home Is a Spider-Man Movie About How Much You Enjoyed All the Other Spider-Man Movies
It's the two Spider-Mans meme in $200 million movie form.
Loki
Even the most powerful cosmic demigod can be foiled by the even-more-powerful machinations of bureaucracy.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Might Be the Worst Movie of the Year
It's a crude, ugly derivative of a crude, ugly film.
James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Is a Movie About Being Canceled (by a Giant Starfish Monster)
The most subversive thing about the movie is that the director was allowed to make it at all.
Trots and Bonnie
Shary Flenniken portrayed her comic strip characters "with a complete lack of adult-world moralizing or editorial restraint."
Black Widow Is a Step Back for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Is the biggest brand in movies better off on the small screen?
The Overly Examined Life of Henry David Thoreau
Cartoonist Peter Bagge looks at Henry David Thoreau's life at Walden and beyond
The Snyder Cut of Justice League Is an Internet Fan Theory Come to Life
It’s a victory for fans made possible by the evolution of streaming technology.
Even Voldemort Masks Up in New Public Service Announcement
WarnerMedia, the Ad Council, and the CDC are infantilizing us and insulting our intelligence.
Milton Friedman in 'It's A Miracle'
How did Chile avoid becoming like Cuba? Milton Friedman's economic policy has something to do with it.
Watchmen
The new HBO show explores how systems of authority fail those for whom they are ostensibly responsible.
HBO's Dazzling Watchmen Was a Show About the Limits and Dangers of Power
Damon Lindelof’s remix of Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel took on race, policing, and political power in an alternate-present America.
Bryan Caplan Says Milton Friedman Is Wrong About Open Borders
The George Mason economist partnered with Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's Zach Weinersmith to offer a thoughtful look at immigration policy in comic form.
The Boys
What if the superheroes everyone loved and looked up to were actually awful people?
Stan Lee Co-author Kat Rosenfield on Rise of Cancel Culture in the Literary World
Trick of Light collaborator talks about working with a legend, the failings of online community, and the rise of cancel culture in the literary world.
Did Apple CEO Tim Cook Get Trump To Realize Tariffs Are Harmful?
Plus: Marvel Comics cancels Art Spiegelman, prohibition still doesn't work, and more
San Diego Comic-Con and the Tensions of Market-Induced Growth
In Comic-Cons, as in great nations, there's room for plenty more to live the dream.
Mad Magazine Is Dead
The comic magazine's ability to rib culture, politics, and business shaped the boomer mentality, and we should be grateful.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Pits Spidey Against Fake News
The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fun, frivolous, and forgettable.
Credo: The Rose Wilder Lane Story
A biographical comic about a mid-century libertarian foremother
Cancel Culture Comes for Counterculture Comics
Today it's creators, not cops, who want to banish R. Crumb, onetime king of the comics underground.
The Hellboy Reboot Is a Damned Awful Movie
Director Neil Marshall's revival is a sad imitation of Guillermo del Toro's comic-book movie masterpiece.
Nylon Says Please Stop Sharing Those Hilarious Alien Cartoons—the Artist Is Pro-Life
The online fashion magazine warns readers that Strange Planet's Nathan Pyle is maybe pro-life and "we should be more careful with what we're sharing."
Shazam! Is a Captain Marvel Movie Worth Seeing
A charming, lightweight superhero movie that works hard to please.
Captain Marvel Is a Message Movie Without a Message
Marvel's first female-fronted superhero film is a woke superhero fantasy scared to take any risks.
Peter Bagge on Underground Comics, Immigration, and Being a Libertarian Artist: Podcast
The cartoonist talks about being libertarian, why Marvel is OK with "serums" but not drugs, and how comic books have evolved over the past 30 years.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Is the Next Step in Superhero Movie Evolution
A joyous, energetic Spider-Man remix shows what superhero movies can be.
Comics Legend Stan Lee Was the Godfather of Shared World Storytelling
Without him, Hollywood as we know it might not exist.
Why Stan Lee's Flaws Were Part of His Virtues
Less creator than editor, pathetic company man, purveyor of childish nonsense? No amount of next-level quasi-sophisticated Stan Lee critique can avoid the proper conclusion: He was the Man.
Comics Giant Stan Lee Dead at 95
Marvel's former chief left behind a massive cultural legacy preaching tolerance and personal responsibility.
Orson Welles Defends the Freedom to Publish Gruesome Horror Comics
Friday A/V Club: A flimmaker fights a moral panic.
Venom Feels Like a Relic From When Hollywood Didn't Know How To Make Superhero Movies
The dull new movie makes for a marked contrast with the delightful new Spider-Man video game.
Guardians of the Galaxy Stars Want James Gunn Back, Despite His Politically Incorrect Tweets
The stars have signed an open letter explaining why Gunn didn't deserve to lose his job.
Pepe the Frog Meets the Copyright Cops
When alt-right activists adopted this amphibian as their own, were they stealing a cartoonist's property or exercising free speech?
Donald Trump's Supreme Court Pick Will Shred the Constitution! Or Save It!: Podcast
Trump freaks out Democrats with second SCOTUS pick; the Libertarian Party comes of age; how Steve Ditko created the modern action movie
