“A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.” That quote comes from the under-loved Avengers: Age of Ultron. Upon its 2015 release, we were 11 films deep and there were two schools of thought about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a sprawling epic of interconnectivity. Eager nerds like myself were excited. Comic book creators and imagination machines […]

What do superheroes mean? Everything means something, but they don’t always mean the same thing. Westerns are a nostalgic look back at a time of independence and exploration. They’re also about the subjugation of native peoples and a time of almost complete anarchy. Science fiction can be a hopeful look to the years ahead, and […]

  Let’s pretend, for a moment, that I have access to a time machine. My current self, ancient and decrepit, travels back to the Good Old Days when I was a youthful firebrand who prepared to bestride the world like a colossus. Upon meeting, Old Me says to Young Me, “Couple of things to tell you […]