The Top 5 Characters Kurt Russell Should Play in Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 began production on Wednesday, and with it came an announcement from director James Gunn stating that Kurt Russell has joined the cast! Rumors about the actor’s involvement first emerged in mid-December, so many fans are excited to have him confirmed for the role, alongside the other new additions to the cast, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, and Pom Klementieff, who will be playing Mantis.

Internet rumors have pegged the iconic actor as the father of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, but there’s no official word on that, and to throw more confusion into the mix, Gunn has previously stated that Star-Lord’s father won’t be the same as in the comics. So is Russell playing Peter Quill’s dad? If so, who is Quill’s dad? If not, what character is he playing? There are a lot of questions, so now it’s time to speculate on some likely—and not so likely—characters from the expansive Marvel cosmos that Kurt Russell could be playing.

DC Superheroes Meet Themselves and Deadpool Turns 25

Tonight CW wraps up The Flash’s two-part jaunt to Earth-Two, where Barry and his comrades will come into contact with their dimensional dopplegangers. To mark the occasion, I looked back on the storied history of DC Comics heroes doing just that, so head on over to Blastr to check it out. I run down some the best, oldest, and weirdest dimension-hopping tales in the DC multiverse, a few of which you probably haven’t heard of before.

After you’re done with that, be sure to check out my other recent Blastr article, looking back on 25 years of everyone’s favorite Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool. He’s obviously having a big week, and I loved the movie–especially the cameo by Bob–so I had a lot of fun rummaging through lots of old Deadpool comics and looking at his rise to fame. You can find that article here.

Thanks for reading!

NerdFunk Update & What DC’s Rebirth Needs to Get Right

What’s up NerdFunk readers? It’s been a little while since I last posted, but that’s for the best reason: I’m getting paid to write somewhere else! I’ve been contributing comics-related articles to Blastr (you may remember my Halloween article for them), so I haven’t had as much time to dedicate to this little labor of love. Going forward, I will be continuing to post on NerdFunk, but it will be with less emphasis on regular content, and more on doing high-quality in-depth essays on comics and pop culture that I wouldn’t be able to do elsewhere (such as my Ant-Man, Democracy, or Captain America essays). I have a large essay I’m working on about the philosophy behind Jonathan Hickman’s Marvel mega-narrative, so look forward to that soon.

In the meantime, check out my most recent article at Blastr, 5 Vital Things DC Comics’ ‘Rebirth’ Needs to get Right. Rumors of a summer line-wide relaunch coming to DC have been doing the rounds on the internet in recent weeks, and in this article I dive into how DC can improve their line going forward, such as improving relations with creators and fans, digging deeper into their catalog of characters, and learning from their competitor’s mistakes.

As always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you’d like to see from DC–or NerdFunk–going forward.

COCOA Reviews Superzero, Teen Titans Go, Lucifer, and Weirdworld

Catch up on all the latest video reviews from Central Oregon Comics Outreach Alliance!

In our last batch of regular reviews of the year, we start with Superzero #1 from brand new publisher Aftershock Comics, starring a girl who wants to be a superhero a little too much…

Then, I lament the passing of the classic Teen Titans cartoon in our review of Teen Titans Go #13…

We were divided over the first issue of Vertigo’s relaunch of Lucifer, which begins with a rather small storyline about the death of God…

And we close out the year with Marvel’s Weirdworld #1, which I couldn’t stop raving about…

That’s all for is week, stay tuned for COCOA’s Best Comics of 2015!

Also, be sure to catch up with all of COCOA’s videos at our YouTube channel and follow COCOA on Twitter @sipofCOCOA and on Facebook at facebook.com/COCOAcomics

 

Force Flashback: 19 Thoughts on Episode II

Welcome to another Force Flashback, where I provide my thoughts on the Star Wars movies as I re-watch them in preparation for Episode VII. Catch up with Episode I, and stay tuned for a review of Force Awakens at the end of the series. And now, my thoughts on Episode II…

COCOA Reviews Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Archie, and Jacked

Catch up on all the latest video reviews from the Central Oregon Comics Outreach Alliance!

We begin this week with a look at one of the most original books in Marvel’s “All-New All-Different” lineup, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1!

Then, we discuss the mysterious #LipstickIncident that is finally revealed in the rebooted Archie #4.

We round out the week by getting Jacked with the first issue of the new series from Vertigo.

Be sure to catch up with all of COCOA’s videos at our YouTube channel and follow COCOA on Twitter @sipofCOCOA and on Facebook at facebook.com/COCOAcomics

Force Flashback: 27 Thoughts on Episode I

As I’m sure every person in the civilized world is aware of at this point, there’s a new Star Wars movie coming out in a few days. In preparation, I’ve decided to re-watch the previous six Star Wars movies, one a night, leading up to the release.

There was a bit of disagreement amongst the roommates on what order to view them in. We decided on numerical order, because at least that way it gets better rather than worse.

So we began with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I have mixed emotions over this movie. As a kid, I was a fan of Star Wars, but not to the extent that I realized it was a big deal that there were new movies. Star Wars was awesome to me, but so was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers and Power Rangers, and it was about on the level of those things to me. So I had no special knowledge or nostalgia for Star Wars when I watched the prequels the first time around.

COCOA Reviews Star Wars: Vader Down, Mighty Thor, Huck, and Batman: Europa

Catch up on all the latest video reviews from the Central Oregon Comics Outreach Alliance!

I was absent this week, but Ashley, Phil and Chris gave their thoughts on the week’s books, starting with the latest from some obscure property called Star Wars with Star Wars: Vader Down #1.

Next up, they review another book from superstar writer Jason Aaron with The Mighty Thor #1!

Then they discussed Huck #1, the latest new series from Kick Ass and Civil War writer Mark Millar.

Finally, the crew debates homoerotic behavior between the Joker and Batman in Batman: Europa #1.

Be sure to catch up with all of COCOA’s videos at our YouTube channel and follow COCOA on Twitter @sipofCOCOA and on Facebook at facebook.com/COCOAcomics

Morning Funk for 12/8/2015: Blending Form and Philosophy in ‘Democracy’

In the midst of a highly-charged and unprecedentedly expensive presidential election, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking the problems that have befallen our political system are uniquely our own. But when you push aside the spectacle and the flood of media, many of the problems our democracy faces are as old as the idea itself, and certainly not unique to the United States.

The struggle for democracy is the subject of a new graphic novel—appropriately titled Democracy—by the Greek creative team of Alecos Papadatos, Abraham Kawa and Annie Di Donna, which takes readers back to the origins of democracy in ancient Athens. Democracy follows Leander, an artist-turned-soldier fighting for Athens in 490 BCE as he regales his comrades with the story of his involvement in the birth of democracy in Athens years earlier.