Matt D. Wilson
‘Arrow’ Post-Show Analysis: Season 4, Episode 10: ‘Blood Debts’
It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City.
This week’s episode, “Blood Debts,” finds Team Arrow, particularly Ollie, seeking righteous revenge on Damien Darhk, who has all but disappeared after an attack that left a major character fighting for her life. Of course, they get a little sidetracked, because there’s still like 13 more episodes this season. Jesse Warn directed the episode from a script by Oscar Balderrama and Sarah Tarkoff.
Drawn Into What You’re Drawing: A Birthday Tribute to Frank Quitely
Born on this day in 1968, Vincent Deighan isn't a name a lot of comics fans know, but few artists are as instantly identifiable by their work. Working under the pen name Frank Quitely (a not-as-obvious-as-it-seems play on "quite frankly") for the past quarter century, chiefly with writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, the Scottish artist's highly detailed, deeply stylized work has offered a fresh perspective on Superman, the X-Men, Batman and more, and brought personality and depth to a range of original characters.
Face Front: A Birthday Tribute to Stan Lee
Comic fans have debated about just how much Stan Lee contributed to the creation of Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer and the Avengers for decades. Most likely, it'll be a point of debate for many more, considering that his collaborators --- artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Bill Everett, to name three --- have said all they'll likely say on the matter.
But this point is inarguable: Stan Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber on this day in 1922, co-created some of the most enduring, popular and beloved superheroes in popular culture. He is as responsible as anyone for the success of Marvel Comics. And he's still going strong as a cultural force.
Threat or Menace: Celebrating the Brilliance of J. Jonah Jameson
On this day in 1962, one of the most important characters in comics history made his debut; the greatest fictional newspaper editor and publisher in the superhero genre (sorry, Perry White): John Jonah Jameson. Making his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (cover dated March 1963, but released in December 1962), J.J. is such a fascinating and complex part of the Spider-Man mythos that to refer to him as just a newspaper editor is to do the man a disservice.
You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly: An Anniversary Tribute to ‘Superman: The Movie’
Superheroes have been all but inescapable at cineplexes so far this century, and if the big plans that extend into the foreseeable future pan out, they won’t soon be going away.
You could credit a lot of films with kicking off the superhero movie trend. Iron Man gave birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man and the X-Men films proved massively successful in the wake of a number of flops. Blade blazed a trail for bigger, higher-budget films. The 1989 Batman movie was a cultural touchstone. But it’s hard to dispute that one film, Superman: The Movie, which premiered on this day in 1978, served as the progenitor of the modern superhero movie.
Ye Gods! A Birthday Tribute to Chester Gould, Creator of ‘Dick Tracy’
It's safe to say that cartoonist Chester Gould, born on this day all the way back in 1900, is well known because of one strip: Dick Tracy. Though he did other work over the course of his long career --- much of it about his adopted home city of Chicago --- it's hard to deny that creating arguably the most famous fictional police detective and drawing a comic about him for 46 years is a whole career in itself.
Mixing Paranormal and Practical: Jen Van Meter Talks ‘The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage: Second Lives’
Valiant's Dr. Mirage is returning with a new miniseries next month, and in the yearsince the end of the last miniseries focusing on paranormal expert and ghost-talker Shan Fong, a whole lot seems to have changed. For one thing, her deceased husband has returned to the land of the living — or at least, his spirit has.
That alone changes a lot of the dynamics of her life, and it shows in the new series, The Death Defying Dr. Mirage: Second Lives. Some things haven't changed, though. Namely, the creative team of writer Jen Van Meter and artist Roberto De La Torre. In advance of the first issue's December 23 release, we spoke with Van Meter about finding Shan in a very different place in her life, the book's relationship themes, ghost research, the new series' tone shift, and much more.
So Much More Than Spider-Man: A Birthday Tribute to Steve Ditko
If Steve Ditko's only accomplishment in comics had been co-creating Spider-Man, he would still be one of the medium's most famous creators. But that's not all he's done. In the 60-plus years since he started drawing for Key Publications and Atlas --- the company that would become Marvel --- Ditko put an indelible stamp on comic books, while remaining something of a mystery; he's one of comics' most notoriously reclusive creators.
Ditko was born on this day in 1927 --- though judging by his reputation, he probably won't make that big of a deal out of it. He got his start drawing romance and science-fiction comics, but he would find his wheelhouse while working at Charlton, where he drew mystery, science fiction and horror stories.
‘Arrow’ Post-Show Analysis: Season 4, Episode 4: ‘Beyond Redemption’
It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City.
In this week’s 'Beyond Redemption', Ollie ramps up his new mayoral campaign, a new Arrowcave opens for business, some dirty cops make their presence felt, a deception is revealed, and a character’s return from the grave causes some family turmoil. Lexi Alexander directed the episode, and the teleplay was by Beth Schwartz and Ben Sokolowski.
‘Arrow’ Post-Show Analysis: Season 4, Episode 3: ‘Restoration’
It’s time for another installment of Pointed Commentary, the feature where grizzled Arrow watcher Matt D. Wilson and newcomer Chris Haley dig into the details of Team Arrow cleaning up the filthy, crime-ridden streets of Star City.
This week’s episode, 'Restoration', divides its time between Nanda Parbat, where someone may just be coming back to life, and Star City, where the team takes on a metahuman while Dig investigates the death of his brother (maybe he should take him to Nanda Parbat, too). Plus, more island stuff than we’ve seen in other episodes! Wendey Stanzler serves as director, and Wendy Mericle and Speed Weed (yes, Speed Weed) turned in the script.