Recent Comments

1. about 8 hours ago on Gary Varvel

   One of the reasons for the strike is that the auto workers are concerned how the directive to begin producing EVs will affect their jobs.

   Hence the cartoon.

2. 3 days ago on Baldo

   The origin story has been recounted a few times, with the death of Baldo’s mom happening before the start of the strip when he and Gracie were still younger.

3. 3 days ago on Bear with Me

   Are you familiar with a historical weapons expert known as Shadiversity? He’s got his own channel on YouTube.

   Shad did almost an hour-long video noting how terrible the fight choreography was in Star Wars Episode 8, including pointing out how the studio had to digitally alter one scene because the choreography was so bad that in real life Rei would have been shanked because they had her do an arm bar – style hold on someone who was dual-wielding.

   Other competent experts (re: not Lindsay Ellis, who is the exact opposite of “competent”) in other fields have done similar-length videos noting critical failings of different movies.

4. 5 days ago on Bear with Me

   I’m an entertainment writer IRL, with my material appearing in a family of local-level newspapers. I also have social media accounts I’m active on.

   I’ve been accused of all sorts of horrible things just because I go at it from the perspective of an everyday person who wants to be entertained for a while rather than some “artist” judging if a work is “worthy”.

   For example, consider the first “Captain Marvel” film. In the scene where Carol Danvers is riding the motorcycle through the desert, pay close attention and you’ll see that she’s wearing a helmet with full face shield during the long shots in spite of the fact that the close-ups have actress Brie Larson not wearing a helmet at all. Not only is this an old-school continuity error, it’s a poor lesson to teach kids.

   There are actually helmets which are street-legal but which don’t have full face shields (not recommended, but still legal), and having both Larson and the stunt driver from the long shots wearing one would have kept continuity while allowing Larson to have a helmet on even during the close-up shots.

   People tried lighting me up for noting that and other issues with the editing & effects work.

5. 5 days ago on Wallace the Brave

   Gannett purchased the Austin-American Stateman, a major regional daily here in Texas. They’ve made a lot of really random changes, like refusing to print a physical edition on Saturdays and making everyone read the digital edition instead. “Mallard Fillmore” and a few other strips are gone (previously, controversial comics like that, “Doonsebury”, and “Prickly City” had been off in a separate section), several other features have likewise been removed, and the new “games” section somehow features a word search from Australia.

6. 5 days ago on Matt Davies

   The actual truth of the matter is that folks across the political spectrum are asking questions as to how our money is being spent, especially given the supposed inability to fund other projects here domestically.

   Until such time as there’s a paper trail and receipts made public, some folks just don’t want another cent going out.

7. 5 days ago on Bear with Me

   Conversely, my own personal experience is that whenever I point out an issue with a film (such as a period piece making reference to a historical event that wouldn’t happen until after the movie is set or a song with risqué or questionable subject matter being inserted into a kids’ film) there’s a chance someone will go off on me saying that the film is perfect and that I must be a hater for daring to be critical of it.

8. 7 days ago on Zack Hill

   If that was a link, it didn’t come through.

9. 7 days ago on Heart of the City

   Have you seen what’s in today’s mainstream comic books?

   Marvel has actually had two instances over the last five years where their editors failed to notice anti-Semitic materials and imagery hidden in their books. That’s on top of everything else Marvel, DC, IDW, and others have put in their books.

   It would actually be a miracle from on high for the Comics Code Authority to return and once again monitor the mainstream all-ages titles, as they’d clamp down on the increasingly bizarre, heinous, and often inexcusable content being pushed out.

10. 7 days ago on Heart of the City

    Most mainstream United States comic publishers are so out of touch with what the comic-reading public wants that people are going elsewhere, including to foreign titles. A number of Western indie publishers are seeing a boost off of this, but that’s about it.