Changing of the Guard on "Action Comics" and "Superman"

So, it's weird that Forbes.com is where DC announced that Brian Michael Bendis is taking over both of the main Superman titles, right?

I mean - just that tidbit alone is probably worth a full blog post about comics vaulting their way into mainstream culture and something something what is happening at Forbes.com which is supposed to be a business and economics interest site?

It's also weird that Bendis is taking over *both* Superman and Action Comics, right?  I mean... he's just getting to DC.  You'd think he'd want to putter on a couple of diverse titles or something, get his feet wet... but, nope.  Both bi-weekly Superman titles.  (One expects we'll continue to get Supergirl, Super Sons, New Superman, and Superwoman...  or something.)

And while I am more than game for Bendis on one or both titles, or some Super-title, I am also a bit crushed to be losing Dan Jurgens on Action Comics and Tomasi & Gleason on Superman.  They've put so much love and effort and imagination into those comics the past 18 months or so, I genuinely wish they'd spin up Man of Steel and Adventures of Superman again and just keep giving us more Superman.

Classics Watch: Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Watched:  01/30/2018
Format:  Alamo Drafthouse Village (for free!)
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940's

Writing about Sullivan's Travels (1941), one of the most cited, most referenced movies in Hollywood history, is something that's unnecessary and probably foolish at this point.  But here we go!  (I'll keep it brief)

First Amazon Order

Seems this is a thing we're all doing, so here goes.

I very much remember placing this order (or these orders).  Half of my friends were totally excited about this new Amazon thing, and half of them were convinced Amazon would just take my credit card and drain me of money.  Both were right, as it turns out.

Creature Watch: The Shape of Water (2017)

Watched: 01/28/2018
Format: Drafthouse, S. Lamar
Viewing: First
Decade: 2010's

Noir Watch: Act of Violence (1949)

Watched: 01/29/2018
Format: TCM/ Noir Alley
Viewing: first
Decade: 1940's

Western Watch: Silverado (1985)

Watched: 01/26/2018
Format: Home/ Amazon
Viewing: oh, who knows?
Decade: 1980's

Fifty Shades and Fifty Shades Darker: THE PODCAST (with AmyC!)

BEHOLD!

The Signal Watch launches a new media experiment! Join us for our inaugural podcast as AmyC and I sit down and discuss the movies Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker!

FAIR WARNING:  There is a whole lot of non-Family-Friendly chatter in this podcast, so use your best discretion before tuning in.  



Runtime:  50 minutes (so get comfortable)

Regret Watch: Fifty Shades of Grey/ Fifty Shades Darker

Watched: 01/22/2018
Format: Home/ Amazon
Viewing: Second/ Second
Decade: 2010's

We re-watched the first two movies.  Blog content forthcoming.

That Took Longer and Way More Failed Attempts Than I Figured, But The Red Trunks Are Back in Action 1000

I always thought the teeth-gnashing over Superman's red trunks was a sign of some deep and unwarranted insecurities at DC Comics.  But it looks like DC has decided, at very long last, to restore Superman to trunks-status with Action Comics #1000.

Yeah, yeah... I know Superman's red trunks were inspired by pre-WWII-era America acrobats, who were more or less covering up their junk.  (Look, if you've been to the ballet... you can most absolutely see what grapes those guys are smuggling under their danskins.) 

I'll always argue that the red of the trunks balanced the outfit, allowing it to remain sleek, but keep the solid blue from a certain visual dullness between the cape and boots.  From a design and visual appeal, and at least on the comics page, red trunks just work better to balance the complete outfit.

Movies in 2017 (for me)

In 2017, at the height of my "oh, who cares?" moment, I made the decision to stop posting on every movie I'd watched.  But I've found it's sort of weird to me, personally, that I can't go back and see a list of everything I watched in a year or refresh my memory from my notes when a movie comes on.  Thus, in 2018, I'll be at least dropping the name of the movie and some info for my personal reference.  That's what you can learn from the change in format that started at the beginning of the year.

When I was writing up every movie I'd seen, I said it allowed me to spend more time with a film, and that's still true.  In 2017 I leaned into writing more of my personal experience, dropping some notes on how I engaged with the movie, and rarely got much into straight up attempts at criticism.  There's enough of that out there, and you can Google any movie and find reasonable reviews and critiques.