On Hiatus (ish)

So I've been planning on taking a break from this blog for a while, since my interest in superhero comics has been sorely tested lately, and if you read this blog you can probably guess why.  (It's Civil War.)  Now it looks like that break is going to happen a bit sooner than I planned--Marvel isn't letting me log into their website, so I can't finish the next Avengerous Tale I was working on, which really stinks.  It was gonna be awesome.

Once I do manage to get back in, I'll probably post sporadically, i.e. when I feel like it and not every weekend like I've been doing.  My interest in this blog will probably peak again someday--it's waxed and waned in the past--but for now I think I need to take a step back.  In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy what I've already posted and thanks so much for reading!

New Reviews

will begin on January 12. :)

Just a quick note to let you all know that tomorrow's edition of Avengerous Tales will be the last one I post for the year.  I'm going to be busy with holiday stuff from now through the end of the year, plus I'm going to try to put together a special Christmas post for December 19.  If I don't post on the 19th, then I won't be posting at all until after New Years', when I resume Avengerous Tales.

Whatever you celebrate, or even if you don't celebrate anything at all, stay safe and have a good time!

A friendly reminder that this Saturday marks the last time I'll be posting twice in one week.  I'll make one post a week until I finish Avengerous Tales 1.0, and then I'll take a short break, and then I'll either post sporadically or once a week, depending on how busy I am.  Don't worry, though, I'm determined to get through all of the Avengers comics eventually, so I won't be gone too long. :)

Some extra Avengerous Tales for you all

So I've actually been writing my Avengerous Tales reviews a lot faster than I thought I would and now I have a backlog of about fifteen of the suckers on my laptop.  I'm going to try to get rid of some of them by posting two a week--Saturdays and Sundays--for a while, if it's all the same to you. :)

Oh, and what a coincidence, if I do that, we'll get to Ultron's first appearance just in time for the movie.  My excitement for Age of Ultron has waned considerably since I learned it's all leading up to that crapfest Civil War, but hey, if you're still excited about it, now you'll get an extra dose of evil robot goodness.  Er, badness.

Hey look, I'm posting!

Hello to anyone reading this!  This is just a quick note to outline some future plans.  I will definitely be making a winter/holiday post in December--either an episode of Smallville or maybe a Batman comic, I haven't decided yet.  Maybe both.

I've also been thinking about changing the format of this blog a little bit and just reviewing every Avengers comic I can get access to, starting with Avengers #1 from the early '60s straight on through to however long I can keep it up.  I've been reading through them myself and have quite a few thoughts about them (especially the one where Hank Pym infamously slaps his wife--dear ODIN do I have thoughts about that, and they're probably not what you think), and what's the point of having a blog if you don't inflict your thoughts on the internet, right?

I'm not sure when I'd start that, if I choose to do it.  I'd probably want to read a bit more on my own first, and maybe read some of the team members' solo comics (I've read only one issue of Captain America--can you believe that?) to get some background, before I do anything.  I've kind of missed ranting about superheroes, but I've been busy writing other things, so hey, whatcha gonna do?

Just wanted to let you know. :)

Hiatus

Hey all.  Real life is starting to pick up a little now, so I'm not going to make regular posts to this blog for the foreseeable future.  I might post something once in a while, but the biweekly reviews are out.  I hope you enjoyed and continue to enjoy what I've already posted. :)

Please Stand By...

In my last post, the teaser I gave for the upcoming review was for Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.  Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, I've had to reshuffle my schedule a bit, and that particular review will have to wait for another day.  Nut bunnies.

But fear not!  I'll still be posting again in two weeks, and to prove it, have a shiny new teaser!

Next Time: *sings* Spider-Man, Spider-Man, whines a lot and Doc Ock’s a ham…

What time is it? Shameless plug time!

Can it be?  A Cracked article cowritten by yours truly?

The 6 Creepiest Sexual Encounters in Comic Book History

It actually took me a second to recognize it on the site, since my original title was "Six Comic Books That Tried to Be Romantic and Failed Horrendously."  Actually, they changed most of what I wrote, and while that's kind of an ego-deflater once you've poured your heart and soul into something and thought you did a real bang-up job of it, that's the way things work in the real world, so you just have to shrug your shoulders and move on with life. 

Though to be honest, I'm more miffed at the factual errors than the fact that they deleted half my jokes.  Tarantula raped Nightwing on a rooftop, not in the street, dangit!

Just What Is a Superhero, Anyway?

Hello, good citizens, and thanks for visiting Warriors!  When I was first considering putting this blog together, I knew that I wanted it to be a center of discussion for everything that has a superhero in it: comic books, movies, television shows, games, books… you name it, I’ll review it (if I can get my hands on it and if I can make it interesting).  But then I got to thinking—just what is a superhero, anyway?  I’ve geeked out over superheroes for years now, and yet I’ve never really taken the time to sit down and figure out a set definition for what a superhero is.  And since the content of this blog depends on such a definition, I figure now is as good a time as any to sort one out.

1. I suppose the most important trait of a superhero is that they fight for truth and justice and all that other fun stuff.  But that can’t be the only qualification, or else every cop, spy, and detective show ever made would have to count as a superhero show, not to mention a good chunk of the westerns and sci-fi.  And as awesome as these kinds of programs are, I don’t think anyone here would consider Remington Steele to be a superhero (although his knowledge of old movies is pretty superheroic).

2. Superheroes generally have costumes.  Spandex, masks, capes, cowls, tights, utility belts, and underwear worn on the outside are all considered to be standard superhero attire.  Standard, that is, but not necessary.  A lot of people think of the Punisher as a superhero, even though he doesn’t really have a costume in the traditional sense of the word.

3. Like with costumes, superheroes often have some kind of special power that we mere mortals don’t, or at least some kind of technology that gives them special powers.  Again, powers aren’t a requirement, but a lot of superheroes do have them.  Those that don’t generally fall into the “spiffy technology” category.  So the presence of inhuman abilities is probably a good indication of a superhero.

4. A superhero has to hide his or her identity on a regular basis, or did so at one time.  This doesn’t necessarily equal having a dual identity—I consider the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be superheroes, but they don’t usually put on glasses and pretend to be newspaper reporters.  Rather, they fight at night when no-one can see them and hide in the sewers during the day.  Additionally, there are a few superheroes who, in recent years, gave up the whole “secret identity” shtick, but that doesn’t mean they gave up being superheroes. 

5. Superheroes must have supervillains.  In other words, the hero can’t be like Indiana Jones who always stumbles into trouble without meaning to.  It sort of ties back to the idea of fighting for justice—they must be intentionally trying to help/save people.  A hero is only as effective as his or her villain, and so there must be some kind of official baddie or baddies (preferably recurring, in the case of comics and TV shows) for the hero to be super.

I think my science professors had an easier time determining the definition of life than I’m having determining the definition of superhero.  There are so many ifs, ands, and buts up there!

Okay, here’s what I’ll do.  Everything I review MUST HAVE a character that fits into Number One and AT LEAST two of the other requirements.  That probably still leaves quite a bit of wiggle room for characters I don’t consider superheroes to worm their way in.  (By my definition, the Michael Landon character from Highway to Heaven—who hides his real identity from almost everyone and has special powers—is a superhero!!!)  This may not necessarily be a bad thing, if I run across something with a semi-superhero that I really, really want to write about.  I might also include stuff that isn’t directly about superheroes but is strongly linked back to them (e.g. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay).  In short, if it’s got anything to do with a superhero as defined above, I’m willing to take a look.

In any case, what I review is going to be heavily skewed towards DC, especially towards the beginning, because that’s what I know the most about, have the most of, and feel most comfortable discussing.  That doesn’t mean I have anything against other companies’ output, however, and I’ll do my best to make the content as varied as I can.  To start out, I’ll update this blog every other Saturday (not counting random announcements, updates, or reactions to superhero-related news), though I’ve got something “special” planned for February and will update every week for that month.

Also, you might want to get used to the jokes about old and obscure television programs.