We’re hitting the halfway mark on the season, and the word of the day is: TemPad (for some unfathomable reason).
Loki Tries (and Fails) to Get Personal in “Lamentis”
Screenshot: Marvel Studios
Emmet Asher-Perrin
Luca Should Have Owned Its Accidental Allegory and Become Pixar’s First Queer Film
Screenshot: Disney
Made during the 2020 quarantine, Luca is Pixar’s next attempt to make adults and children alike cry with tender tales of family, friendship, and love. The story of a young sea monster named Luca (Jacob Tremblay) and his unlikely friendship with fellow sea monster Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), Luca had the opportunity to do beautiful and unexpected things. But the Pixar method is wearing thin these days, and there’s not enough uniqueness in the film to make it stand out among their offerings.
Loki Turns Up the Heat as We Meet “The Variant”
Screenshot: Marvel Studios
We’re back and we’re still trouncing Odin’s namesake with chaos. The second episode is here, and the word of the day is: Roxxcart.
[Spoilers for Loki below.]
Okay, Do Superheroes Bone or Not?
Screenshot: Warner Bros.
If you’ve been avoiding the discourse over on superhero Twitter lately (which I understand and applaud you for), you may have missed the latest dust up around a cut scene in the upcoming third season of the Harley Quinn animated series, and the resultant resurfacing of the age-old question: Do heroes do that?
And before we get bogged down in colorful euphemisms: Yes, we’re talking about sex.
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Moving Pictures, Part III
Wanting to be the most famous person in the world is probably bad, right? Right?
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
Loki Premieres to Poke Holes in the God of Mischief’s “Glorious Purpose”
Screenshot: Marvel Studios
It’s Odin’s Day, which means it’s time for Loki to take the wheel. The very first episode of the eponymous show has dropped, and the word of the day is: Kablooie.
[Spoilers for Loki below.]
Can Loki Overcome the MCU’s Comics Problem?
Screenshot: Disney
The big comics houses, Marvel and DC, have been going for the better part of a century, and through it all, they’ve kept a large portion of their character rosters open and available for new adventures. There have been on-going tales for the Avengers, and the Justice League, and all their adjacent friends for decades. So how do you keep these stories fresh and interesting while moving these beloved characters forward?
Here’s the problem: You don’t. And now that more of these heroes have made the jump over to the big screen, their film equivalents are showing the same strain, particularly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and Avengers: Endgame caused a problem.
[Spoilers]
Here Are the Winners of the 2020 Nebula Awards
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have just announced the winners for the 2020 Nebula Awards.
This year’s awards were presented in a virtual ceremony hosted by writer and performer Aydrea Walden, and including presenters Tobias S. Buckell, Jeffe Kennedy, Nisi Shawl, Carrie Patel, Mallory O’Meara, Mark Oshiro, Troy L. Wiggins, and Adam Savage. The awards ceremony took place during the 2021 Nebula Conference Online, which is open to SFWA members and nonmembers.
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners! You can find the complete list below, with winners bolded.
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Moving Pictures, Part II
Everyone wants a talking dog for an agent, right? It’s part two of Moving Pictures.
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Moving Pictures, Part I
Lights! Imp demons! Action! It’s time to star in some Moving Pictures.
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Eric, Part II
This is not the face that launched a thousand ships because that’s hyperbole, kids. It’s time to finish up Faust Eric!
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Eric, Part I
Let’s get Faustian. (Literally.) It’s time to meet Eric…
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
These Are the Embarrassing Star Wars Scrapbooks I Made as a Teen
The thing about being a teenage nerd is… you do a lot of awkward stuff. This is not so much because you’re a nerd, but because you’re a teenager and teenagers are generally awkward, unfinished human beings. In my case, I devoted a downright silly amount of time to Leslie Knope-esque scrapbooks and collages of things I loved. For history’s sake, of course. Action figures were never an obsession of mine, but if it was on paper? That made it into a dearly important record.
And I had clippings, folders, and binders for the Star Wars prequels, friends.
You wanna see them, don’t you?
Terry Pratchett Book Club: Good Omens, Part V
A nightingale is about to sing in Berkeley Square. It’s time to finish Good Omens…
Series: Terry Pratchett Book Club
We Need to Talk About Bucky Barnes’ Awful Date in Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Screenshot: Marvel Studios
Okay, so The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is over now. And it did some things well, and it tried to do some things well, and it did certain things terribly while wholeheartedly believing that it did them well. This is the nature of the Beast—the “beast” in this case being the MCU and pretty much every other franchise owned by a megacorp like Disney.
But now that it’s over, I have a bone to pick with James Buchanan Barnes, and everybody’s gonna hear about it.
Some spoilers ahead.