This, my children, is Ultraa… …who should not be confused with Ultra, Ultra Boy, Ultragirl, Ultraman ( Japanese or American version), Captain Ultra, Ultra the Multi-Alien, the Ultra-Humanite, Gary Concord the Ultra-Man, Ultraforce, or Lords of the Ultra Realm. Ultraa was the first superhero of Earth-Prime, which was the plane of existence where we readers dwelled in [...]

I don’t know (or really care) what triggered the latest round of the recurring “Superman is boring/Superman is cool” debate, but it has made for some interesting reading. Superman has never been one of my favorite characters, though I’ve read and enjoyed many comics starring or featuring the Man of Steel in my 35+ years [...]

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this Chris Mautner piece about the “dangers of nostalgia” since some well-meaning pals sent me a link to it yesterday afternoon. As someone who has spent a significant portion of his adult life trying to unravel the complex relationship between nostalgia and history, I found Mautner’s rant [...]

Sometime back in the summer of 1985, I came home from a D&D all-nighter to find my little brother hovering over a massive pile of funnybooks stacked in the middle of our bedroom’s orange shag carpet. The bewildering haul was a gift from my uncle, who’d discovered Jesus and/or the realities of married life and [...]

AM Goldfinger, he’s the man The man with the unctious touch. A mellow touch Such a polyester soul singer Beckons you to enter his custom van Resist if you can Bubblegum he will pour in your ear But his house musicians can’t disguise what you hear For a music fan knows easy listening Means the [...]

There was a time when I used to post long rants about current trends in superhero comics, but that era has long since passed. Complaining requires caring, and I stopped giving a shit somewhere around the Civil War and Identity/Infinite/Final Crisis debacles. As my dad is fond of saying, “when something gives you more headaches [...]

I can take the trash-talking about Boston by outsiders. No matter how nasty their put-downs may be, I’ll still wake up in the nation’s last bastion of sanity the next morning while they are stuck in some backwards shithole. Or someplace even worse, like Portland, Williamsburg, or Austin. What I can’t take is the willingness [...]

Some comics are remembered for being good, some comics are remembered for being terrible, and some comics are remembered solely because of a stategically placed house ad. Oh, sure, it’s possible to find the planet’s biggest and only Slash Maraud or Electric Warrior fan with some extensive digging, but good luck finding someone who will [...]

Featuring… …and… …and… …and… …and… …and… …finally closing out with… How’s that for a dystopian future, kids?

1985 2004Any questions?