I am a Sucker for Coming of Age Romantic Comedies...
This is why I watched the Netflix original movie He's All That this week. The film is a remake of 1999's She's All That, which I have somehow never seen, and is actually pretty fun. Yes, it plays into all of the tropes of the genre, but that is not necessarily a bad thing? Sure it has some really ridiculous situations, including a very Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo-esque dance-off, but it's fun, the villains are totally hatable, there's a good message, and the main characters have great chemistry. Is this great cinema? God no. Is it a fun little film about falling in love and growing up? Absolutely! Also, the male lead of the film, Tanner Buchanan, is a dead ringer for a 20-year-old Rider Strong. Seriously, the resemblance is uncanny.
The Return of Steve
Did you realize that Blue's Clues turns 25 this year? I didn't until I saw this story about the show's original host Steve Burns and the video he made explaining why he left the show for college all those years ago.
My kids grew up watching Blue's Clues and I distinctly remember the episode where Steve said goodbye and his brother Joe moved in. We kept watching but the show was never really the same after that. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Blue, Steve, Mailbox, Sidetable Drawer, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Shovel and Pail, Magenta, Periwinkle, and all of the other characters that lived in this fun little world. So I probably shouldn't be that surprised by the fact that Steve's video really hit me. Its message was so thoughtful and caring and supportive and loving and exactly the kind of thing this world needs right now.
And because this wasn’t tear-inducing enough…
Thank you, Steve, Nick Jr., and all of the Blue's Clues family for this much-needed beacon of light and for the years of entertainment.
Infinite Frontier (*mild spoilers ahead*)
DC Comics’ latest event Infinite Frontier just came to an “end” earlier this month setting the stage for the next big event. This isn’t the first time the comics giant has done this. In fact, for the last few years, this has been their modus operandi. Case in point, the 2017-2018 event Dark Nights: Metal lead into the New Justice line which included Justice League: No Justice. The events in No Justice were continued into the ongoing Justice League title which was also followed/continued into Year of the Villian, which then moved into Dark Nights: Death Metal which then transitioned to Generations then to Future State, and then to Infinite Frontier. And now we find out that Infinite Frontier isn’t even the end either. Talk about frustrating…
Obviously, I understand that things in comic books, especially superhero comics, never really end. But there was a time that the big events did have conclusions and out of those, new stories were born. For the last four years, nearly everything the DC has put out is simply setting you up for the next thing. The events that these are trying to mimic--Crisis on Infinite Earths, Legends, Infinite Crisis, etc.--all had distinct endings. Yes, many of them had endings that caused drastic changes to all ongoing titles, but none of them just continued the same basic story from one event into another, into another, into another.
All this having been said, Infinite Frontier is a fun read that digs deep into the weeds of the DC Comics cosmology. Unfortunately, none of the big happenings feel all that important or impactful and that makes me sad.
Speaking of DC Comics...
I follow a number of different comic book related podcasts. I've noticed that pretty much every DC-focused show that I listen to is hosted by Zack Snyder marks that buy into and believe every conspiracy theory and negative allegation regarding WB, DC, and any/everyone that was involved with the debacle that was Justice League. Now just to be clear, I do think Snyder was done dirty by the incompetence at WB and that some really bad things happened on the JL set (that entire fiasco would make for an intriguing documentary). That said, I know that there is a whole lot more to the story than what has been leaked to or talked about in the press, so I'm not going to take a lot of this as gospel or fact because we do not have all of the information and probably never will. Thus, it always bothers me when I hear people calling for the heads of those involved with this situation based on nothing more than the stuff they've read on the internet.
Anyway... I find this entire situation so strange. While I do like the Zack Snyder DC films (his version of Justice League is far superior to the theatrical cut), I do not think he truly understands what makes these characters great (especially Superman). He makes beautiful-looking films and does a tremendous job in casting, but if your foundation for Superman and Batman is The Dark Knight Returns and the Injustice games, then you are really missing the point. But be careful if you speak such things on Twitter otherwise the #RestoretheSnyderVerse crew might come for your head. Heck, I was lucky that the only response I got on this tweet was a "No."
There's so much tribalism in the world. Is it too much to ask that it not be so pervasive in the comics community?
One Band, 5 Songs
The podcast took a break this week because I was busy with homework and helping my daughter move. Which makes this the perfect time to catch up on the episodes you might have missed!
To date, we’ve posted 11 full episodes and two bonus episodes, all of which are available on Spotify. Here’s the rundown —
Episode # 1: John Moreland
Episode # 2: Iron Chic
Episode # 3: The Donnas
*Bonus: Covers by The Donnas
Episode # 4: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
*Bonus: Covers by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Episode # 5: Lucero
Episode # 6: Descendents
Episode # 7: Jawbreaker
Episode # 8: The Cure
Episode # 9: The Menzingers
Episode # 10: Dinosaur Jr.
Episode # 11: Billy Idol
So Long For Now
Be safe out there and remember…
Dave