Seth Harris

Comic Book Review – Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby

Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby (2017)
Reprints Mister Miracle #1-18
Written by Jack Kirby
Art by Jack Kirby, Mike Royer, and Vince Colletta

Of all Jack Kirby’s DC Comics creations, Mister Miracle (along with Darkseid) has resonated the most with fans and those who would write the comics in the future. It makes sense because Mister Miracle’s comic was the most straightforward superhero book of all the titles Kirby wrote & drew for the company. The character’s design is familiar to capes & tights fans with its use of primary and secondary colors (red, yellow, green) but also different, particularly with the face mask and high-collared cape and clasps. Mister Miracle’s premise is new but feels entirely authentic for the genre, a super escape artist. It’s one of those “of course, why didn’t I think of that” ideas. Kirby does one better, though, and links this character to his grand mythos so that Mister Miracle both stands independently and operates as part of the space opera.

Movie Review – Hi, Mom!

Hi, Mom! (1970)
Written & Directed by Brian DePalma

We often associate Robert DeNiro with the work of director Martin Scorsese. Some of the actor’s best work has been under the guidance of this filmmaker: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman. However, DeNiro didn’t make his film debut in Scorsese’s work. Instead, their colleague Brian DePalma first brought the iconic performer to the big screen in 1968 with his dark comedy, Greetings. DeNiro would reprise his role of Jon Rubin, a young aspiring filmmaker. Hi, Mom! is a bitterly angry film about the time in which it was made, so abrasive that it was issued an X rating and had to make one specific cut to drop down to R territory.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Little Town Part Two

Little Town
Designed & Written by Gustavo Coelho

You can purchase this game here.
Read part one here.

Since our last post, Little Town’s creator Gustavo Coelho has updated the pdf with links. That has made navigating the book far easier and was a desperately needed quality-of-life upgrade.

Movie Review – Asteroid City

Asteroid City (2023)
Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Directed by Wes Anderson

“All Wes Anderson movies are the same,” they shout. From an aesthetic point of view, the director is exceptionally consistent these days with a particular visual sensibility. I would argue that it has changed over time. Go back and watch Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, then compare it to this film and The French Dispatch. They are very different in how they look but share similar rhythms. That’s what I find is true about all his work, the rhythm of the stories, characters, and comedy. Asteroid City is no exception, but I would argue a need to look deeper than the surface level or study how what’s happening aesthetically flows into the themes explored in the story. Asteroid City is a profound film about big emotions, particularly grief, and how we process them.

Movie Review – Watermelon Man

Watermelon Man (1970)
Written by Herman Raucher
Directed by Melvin Van Peebles

In 1965, Time Magazine published an article about the most prominent Black comedians of the era. The list was composed of names you’re likely familiar with, like Bill Cosby (what a disappointment), Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell. Also on that list was Godfrey Cambridge, and unless you are a comedy historian, I would guess that you have never heard of Cambridge before. He wasn’t so much a comedian as he was a highly experienced actor. Born to immigrants from British Guiana, Cambridge was schooled in Nova Scotia while living with his grandparents after his mother & father became dissatisfied with the options given to Black children in New York City. He dropped out of medical school after three years to pursue acting and held down various odd jobs in what we call today “the gig economy.”

Movie Review – Week End

Week End (1967)
Written & Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

I have never felt as enamored with the French New Wave directors as I thought I should have been. I love the Italian New Wave, the British films of this period, with their social realism, are fascinating, and the later German New Wave is full of movies I adore. But I still struggle to really “get” the French New Wave. No director is a perfect example of this filmmaking movement more than Jean-Luc Godard. He was born to deconstruct and reconstruct cinema as a reaction to World War II and the ripples it continues to make in the West. After a decade of writing film criticism, he kicked off the New Wave with Breathless, examining American mob movie tropes mixed with Godard’s cinematic sensibilities. Week End represents the end of the New Wave period, released at the end of a year when Godard had two other films shown in cinemas.

PopCult Podcast – Blue Jean/You Hurt My Feelings

Two new 2023 releases are spotlighted in this episode. One is a period piece about a lesbian teacher in 1980s England dealing with the pressure of staying closeted to keep her job. The other is a contemporary comedy about an author who overhears her husband saying he doesn’t like her work.

TV Review – Kevin Can F**k Himself

Kevin Can F**k Himself Season One (AMC)
Written by Valerie Armstrong, Dana Ledoux Miller, Kevin Etten, Craig DiGregorio, Noelle Valdivia, Mel Shimkovitz, Tom Scharpling, Sean Clements, Kate Loveless
Directed by Oz Rodriguez and Anna Dokoza

The television landscape has changed wildly in the last few years. When I was growing up, my television screen was filled with cheery families in sitcoms and silly high-concept procedural dramas, ala The A-Team and Knight Rider. Something shifted in the late 1990s with the arrival of The Sopranos, the idea that television could feature highly dysfunctional people in everyday settings doing terrible things. From there, this would grow into something like Breaking Bad, Weeds, Better Call Saul, and more. Yet sitcoms remained. Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens featured the trope of the schlubby idiot husband whose wife tolerates his mediocrity.

Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Supersworn Part Three

Supersworn Pre-Alpha
Designed & Written by Ben Adams

You can check out this game and many other hacks of Ironsworn here.

Read part two of our Supersworn campaign.

Here is a map of Forge City with essential locations marked that we have visited, will be visiting, or may visit in the future.

Slingshot travels to South Gardens, where he lives with his Aunt Laurie and sister Mari. He slips in through the upstairs window, which Sling leaves unlocked each night when he goes out on patrol. Stepping gingerly, he attempts to make sure not to wake anyone. It’s 4am, and now, back in his Chris Kelly persona, our hero decides to skip his first class. This is risky as he’s missed so many sessions of his MWF Investigative Journalism classes that the teacher, Professor Mercer, has given him both a verbal and written warning that he is in danger of failing. However, Chris’s body screams at him for rest. He disinfects & bandages his wounds with a first aid kit. He hides in his closet and finally collapses into the warm embrace of his bed. Sleep comes like a wave, washing over him.

(Oracle question: Is anyone in the house when Chris wakes up? 50/50 odds. Answer: No)

Comic Book Review – The Forever People by Jack Kirby

The Forever People by Jack Kirby (2020)
Reprints The Forever People #1-11
Written by Jack Kirby
Art by Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, and Mike Royer

The Forever People is the most forgotten of Kirby’s Fourth World creations. The New Gods is an epic Biblical-style chronicle of the beings that make up the worlds of New Genesis & Apokalips. Mister Miracle (which we’ll be reviewing next week) is tied into these things but ultimately the most superhero-style book. The Forever People is strange, full of ideas that don’t entirely develop, as well as moments where Kirby is forced to shoehorn in a character he didn’t want to as the title dwindled down to cancellation. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It is a very slept-on part of the larger mythos that, while certainly not perfect, offers a different experience than the other two books, something that feels more like a Marvel Comics book sneaking into the DC Universe.