The Flash Makes the Case Against the Multiverse
A listless, cynical wrap-up to a decade of chaotic superhero storytelling.
Comics
Peter Bagge: From Adam Smith to Punk to Grunge
The libertarian creator of alternative comix Hate and Neat Stuff explains why he's fond of the invisible hand and individualism.
Comic: The Revised Adam Smith
The ghost of the so-called father of economics chastises those who would use his words for their own misbegotten ends.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Does Cinematic Diversity Right
The Little Mermaid was a dull exercise in box-checking. Spider-Verse uses its diverse cast as an opportunity for narrative delights.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Is a Marvel Superhero Movie Made in Poor Taste. And It's Better for It.
In 2018, director James Gunn was fired from the film for gross tweets. But this comic book sequel shows the value of his gross-out sensibility.
Graphic Novels Bear Brunt of New Library Wars Over Access to Books
One of America's richest art forms suffers for seeming realer than other literature. But the war against "graphic imagery" is really a war against certain truths.
Comic: Maria Montessori and the Freedom To Learn
Maria Montessori valued independence and experimentation in a time of authoritarianism.
Feds Say A.I.-Generated Art Is Ineligible for Copyright
Copyright law is just one area that must adapt to account for revolutionary A.I. technology.
Copyright Is the Latest Battle in the War Over A.I.
The U.S. Copyright Office determined that images produced by artificial intelligence cannot be copyrighted, even though they are generated by user-written prompts.
Prattle, a Shakespearean Version of Wordle, Won't Let You Guess 'Slave'
"This anti-free speech, anti-intellectual, anti-common-sense action deserves all the scorn it can get," says Roy Thomas, former editor in chief of Marvel Comics.
The Best Ever Libertarian Gift Guide
Until next year's, because capitalism is always making things better.
Comic: Robert A. Heinlein in The Moon Is a Hot Babe
An aeronautical engineer considers writing a novel about a new start on the moon.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Is Ambitious but Disappointing
There's real grief in this superhero sequel. But it falls prey to too many Marvel movie problems.
Black Adam Is a Dreary Superhero Slugfest
The new DC Comics-based film wants to critique the superhero status quo. Instead, it ends up supporting it.
Review: The Sandman and the Joys of Being Human
The series deals with themes of fate, freedom, and choice.
Brickbats: August/September 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brian Doherty: From MAD Magazine to Maus
A new history, Dirty Pictures, explores how underground comix revolutionized art and exploded censorship once and for all.
Comic: Roger Williams in Crazy Talk!
Williams believed the government had no authority to meddle in religious beliefs. Blasphemy!
The Dirty Pictures That Revolutionized Art
Brian Doherty's history of underground comix chronicles how Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and others challenged censorship and increased free speech.
Zap Comix Were Never for Kids
Disreputable and censored comix improbably brought the art form from the gutter to the museums.
The Perpetually Canceled Ludwig von Mises
"Hold on, now, you're starting to sound like an anarchist..."
Review: The Batman
The movie's whole idea seems to be that if Batman truly wanted to make Gotham a better place, he'd find some other way to do it, perhaps involving politics.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Isn't Strange or Mad Enough
A Sam Raimi fun house burdened by the Marvel universe's not-so-glorious purpose
Morbius Is a Superhero Vampire Movie That Really Sucks
Jared Leto stars in a not-quite-Marvel film that inadvertently demonstrates the strengths of the MCU.
The Batman Wrestles With a Gloomy, Problematic Billionaire Version of Batman
It's a Batman movie that seems distinctly uncomfortable with the idea of Batman.
Tennessee School Board Pulls Maus From Eighth-Grade Curriculum
A grim sign of the bureaucratic mentality controlling public education
Spider-Man: No Way Home Is a Spider-Man Movie About How Much You Enjoyed All the Other Spider-Man Movies
It's the two Spider-Mans meme in $200 million movie form.
Loki
Even the most powerful cosmic demigod can be foiled by the even-more-powerful machinations of bureaucracy.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Might Be the Worst Movie of the Year
It's a crude, ugly derivative of a crude, ugly film.
James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Is a Movie About Being Canceled (by a Giant Starfish Monster)
The most subversive thing about the movie is that the director was allowed to make it at all.
Trots and Bonnie
Shary Flenniken portrayed her comic strip characters "with a complete lack of adult-world moralizing or editorial restraint."
Black Widow Is a Step Back for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Is the biggest brand in movies better off on the small screen?
The Overly Examined Life of Henry David Thoreau
Cartoonist Peter Bagge looks at Henry David Thoreau's life at Walden and beyond
The Snyder Cut of Justice League Is an Internet Fan Theory Come to Life
It’s a victory for fans made possible by the evolution of streaming technology.
Even Voldemort Masks Up in New Public Service Announcement
WarnerMedia, the Ad Council, and the CDC are infantilizing us and insulting our intelligence.
Milton Friedman in 'It's A Miracle'
How did Chile avoid becoming like Cuba? Milton Friedman's economic policy has something to do with it.
Watchmen
The new HBO show explores how systems of authority fail those for whom they are ostensibly responsible.
HBO's Dazzling Watchmen Was a Show About the Limits and Dangers of Power
Damon Lindelof’s remix of Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel took on race, policing, and political power in an alternate-present America.