PopCult Reviews

31 Days of Character Creation #5 – Flabbergasted!

Today we will be making a character from the unique comedic tabletop RPG Flabbergasted! This is the game as described on its official website:

Flabbergasted is a rules-lite and narrative-driven tabletop RPG set in the roaring 20s! Comedic scenarios and light-hearted adventures are at the heart of Flabbergasted, drawing inspiration from the likes of Jeeves and Wooster and Fawlty Towers.

Comic Book Review – Daredevil by Frank Miller Part One

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume One (2021)
Reprints Daredevil #158-167
Written by Roger McKenzie with Frank Miller
Art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson

Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Volume Two (2021)
Reprints Daredevil #168-182
Written by Frank Miller
Art by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson

I knew at some point I would read this seminal run of Daredevil. As a kid, I first heard about it on the pages of Wizard Magazine, piecing together a rough version of it in my head. One of my favorite things about finally reading a book or comic or seeing a film I’ve heard about for decades is that the preconceived idea about the piece is destroyed and replaced with what it actually is. The result is that I now understand why the thing had such a profound influence on a noticeable portion of the culture. I felt the same when reading Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men or watching the films of Fellini. It’s the sense of “Now I get it,” which must release some dopamine or something because it feels pretty nice. Reading Miller’s Daredevil was one of those, where I could see how comics were being changed as I read through it.

31 Days of Character Creation #4 – Over the Edge 3rd Edition

Today’s game is Over the Edge 3rd Edition, a very evocative premade setting & game. I was a big fan of the 2nd edition and supported the Kickstarter for this one years ago. I have yet to play it though, so I thought to add to this character creation marathon. Here’s the game as as described on its official website:

Over the Edge is the classic RPG of counter-culture conspiracy, weird science, and urban danger. For its third edition, the game comes roaring back in a completely reimagined relaunch by its original creator. Everything old gets a new take. Nothing is a retread. Every conspiracy, every neighborhood, every major gamemaster-character is portrayed with a new spin. It’s not “25 years later.” Everything on the Island is reborn to surprise new and existing players alike.

Movie Review – The Ascent

The Ascent (1977)
Written by Vasil Bykaŭ, Yuri Klepikov, and Larisa Shepitko
Directed by Larisa Shepitko

Two years after the release of The Ascent, writer/director Larisa Shepitko would be dead at age 41. She would leave behind her husband, Elem Klimov, the writer-director of Come and See, and Anton, their six-year-old son. Throughout her life, Sheptiko had struggled with her health. While filming her first movie, she contracted Hepatitis A. Her work was repeatedly censored, which caused her to have a mental breakdown. During her hospitalization in a sanitorium, Sheptiko had a fall that damaged her spine, and that caused Anton’s birth to be tremendously more painful for her than the average labor. Strangely, her death was just an accident. She and three crew members were driving home after scouting locations northwest of Moscow. The driver fell asleep at the wheel. Doctors ruled that all four died instantaneously when the car crashed. There is a plaque bearing her face and name on a street in Lviv, Ukraine, where she grew up. Her husband finished her last film, made one more himself, lived to be 70, and died in 2003.

31 Days of Character Creation #3 – Cyberpunk Red

Today we create a character in the game of Cyberpunk Red which has a neat lifepath system that fleshes out your character’s backstory. The system as describe on its official website:

The 4th Corporate War’s over and the big dogs have retreated to their corners to lick their wounds. That leaves everyone else to fend for themselves in a shattered world.

And that’s just fine. ‘cause you’ve got interface plugs in your wrists, metal in your limbs, and chips in your skull. You’re wired in, loaded with chrome, and ready to take it to the Edge.

There’s a world full of opportunities out there. Maybe this time you can do more than save yourself. Maybe.

Cyberpunk RED is the latest edition of the classic roleplaying game of the Dark Future, featuring updated mechanics and new lore set in 2045, midway between the events of Cyberpunk 2020 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Movie Review – The Ice Storm

The Ice Storm (1997)
Written by James Schamus
Directed by Ang Lee

In our series “Hazy Shades of Winter,” we’ll be looking at films set during winter that also exude the cold, lonely feeling that the season can often bring about. Winter has often been seen as a necessary time of death in many cultures, with the spring being a renewal period. As a result, wintery films often feature themes of grief and desolation or even more interesting, deep self-reflection. As you’ll see in this series, characters often come to significant revelations about their current status; this may be the realization that a marriage is over or the recognition that a person has lost their religious faith. In the winter, the leaves have all fallen away, trees are laid bare, and there is nowhere to hide your secrets.

PopCult Review – The State of the Blog 2025

2024 was an excellent year for PopCult Reviews. It also had me thinking about the span of 2020 – 2025, where each year has brought in more & more views, changing the average range per month.

In 2024, my per-month average was over 15,000 views/per month. The peak was in January with 21,404 views and the lowest point was February with 10,974 views. Compare that to 2023, where the peak was December with 17,464 views, with the low point being February with 4,222 views.

31 Days of Character Creation 2025 #2 – Outgunned

Today’s character comes from Outgunned, a cinematic action tabletop roleplaying game. Here’s the description from the official website:

Outgunned is a cinematic action RPG inspired by the classics of the action and heist genre, from Die Hard to True Lies, passing through James Bond, Lethal Weapon, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, and the latest John Wick.

In Outgunned, Players take on the role of action Heroes facing terrible odds. They will be constantly surrounded by enemies while trying to carry out their mission, be it robbing a casino or saving the day.

January 2025 Posting Schedule

Film Series
[Hazy Shades of Winter – 2 Jan thru 20 Jan]
The Ice Storm, The Ascent, Ikiru, Winter Light, Fireworks, My Night at Maud’s, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Landscape Suicide, Stranger Than Paradise, Ariel

TV Reviews
19 Jan – Northern Exposure Season Six
26 Jan – The Prisoner (2009)

Comic Book Reviews
4 Jan – Daredevil by Frank Miller Part One
11 Jan – Daredevil by Frank Miller Part Two
18 Jan – Superman by Geoff Johns Part One
25 Jan – Superman by Geoff Johns Part Two

Solo Tabletop RPG Reviews and Actual Plays
12, 19, 26 Jan – Under Ashen Skies

Podcast Episodes
5 Jan – Wicked: Part One/Y2K
12 Jan – The Order/A Real Pain
19 Jan – TBD
26 Jan – TBD

31 Days of Character Creation 2025 #1 – Dungeons & Dragons 5e

I’ll be participating in this challenge which gets a good explanation at this blog post. I’ll be making a character from a different tabletop RPG system each day for the 31 days of January. First up is a system I have never made a character in or played at all, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.