Guardians of the Space Opera—How Marvel Just Kick-Started a Venerable Genre

*insert breathlessly positive review of Guardians here, plus Rocket joke* There, that’s done with. It’s becoming more and more clear that the great mass of reviewers and fans have decided, yup, we like Guardians of the Galaxy. And that’s good. The film unquestionably earns it, Read More …

Otheredbots: Windblade and the Issue of Gender Representation in The Transformers

 Female Autobots?  I thought they were extinct! – Shockwave, “The Search for Alpha Trion” (aired 1985) The problem began very early. Hasbro had enlisted Bob Budiansky, a prolific writer and editor at Marvel Comics, to provide profiles and backstory to a series of toys they Read More …

Transformers: Age of Extinction Is Not Great, but Well-Intentioned

I learned something about Michael Bay while watching his latest opus, Transformers: Age of Extinction. Michael Bay will never be a great filmmaker, but he’s a real mensch. Particularly to fans of the multi-billion dollar property that has been entrusted to him. So why do Read More …

“Dinosaur Squadron Beastranger”: How Six Jurassic Superheroes Took the US by Storm

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise in the United States. On August 28, 1993, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers first aired, capturing the imagination of millions of children, myself included. We had seen nothing like it before: too young to understand Read More …