John’s 10 favorite TV characters at the moment (Commentary)
As we wind down the traditional season and gear up for some summer shows, here’s a look at 10 TV characters who have my attention:
The 10 best short stories in ‘The X-Files: The Truth is Out There’ (Book review)
“The Truth is Out There,” the February follow-up to last year’s “Trust No One,” serves up another mixed bag of “X-Files” short stories that’s on par with the first collection. It’s not “The X-Files” at its finest, but it’s a fun assortment that will tide fans over between comic installments.
The golden age of TV prequels: ‘Bates Motel,’ ‘Gotham’ and ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ (Commentary)
At first blush, prequels should be a boring form of storytelling, because we already know the end point. Of course, there are many examples that prove out-of-sequence storytelling can work – the “Star Wars” prequels and “Smallville” have plenty of fans, for example. But three current series – A&E’s “Bates Motel,” Fox’s “Gotham” and AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” — have […]
10 summer movies John wouldn’t mind seeing (Commentary)
Here are the 10 movies I think look the best out of the summer lineup: “Elstree 1976” (May 6) – This Kickstarter-funded documentary features interviews with “A New Hope” (and “The Empire Strikes Back,” as Jeremy Bulloch is featured) supporting actors, convention clips, re-enactments and archival footage. It looks like a treasure trove for Lucas-era “Star […]
‘X-Files: Deviations’ one-shot a pointless take on a gimmicky concept (Comic book review)
IDW’s Seasons 10 and 11, despite initially being canonical, ended up being an interesting “what if” story when Chris Carter changed his mind and wrote a new story for TV. The one-shot comic “X-Files: Deviations” (March) is an alternate-universe story right from the get-go. In the spirit of Marvel’s “What If?” and Dark Horse’s “Star Wars Infinities” […]
Supergirl does the minimum, but somehow is seen as a role model
TV commentary: The self-centered Supergirl does the minimum of superhero work, but somehow is seen as a role model.
Joe Harris wraps up Gibson Praise saga in truncated ‘X-Files: Season 11’ (Comic book reviews)
IDW’s “X-Files: Season 11 comic series (August 2015-March 2016) is the latest epic story to get truncated due to outside commercial forces. Usually, those outside forces are bad (see the cancellation of TV’s “Angel” and “Dollhouse” due to low ratings, or the cancellation of the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe – two years ago to this day […]
‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s 2015 Annual and X-Mas Special (Comic book reviews)
While the 2014 Annual and X-Mas Special featured multiple standalone yarns in each issue, IDW takes a different tactic with the 2015 installments, part of the new Season 11 banner. Both issues feature one double-length story, and while the Annual’s story is a standalone set during the heyday of the TV series, the X-Mas Special heavily ties […]
‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s 2014 Annual and X-Mas Special (Comic book reviews)
Resurrecting a tradition from the old Topps comics, IDW’s “X-Files” Season 10 comics have also featured special issues alongside the regular series, starting with 2014’s Annual (April) and X-Mas Special (December), both of which feature two stories. While Joe Harris, the writer of the main title, writes one story, he mainly gives other wordsmiths a chance to […]
‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s ‘Millennium’ miniseries (2015) (Comic book review)
While “The X-Files” was spun off into novels as far back as 1994 and into comics in 1995, its sister series, “Millennium” (1996-99), didn’t transition to another medium until 2015, 16 years after it left the airwaves. The fact that it’s written by Joe Harris, who also meticulously pens the “X-Files” title, makes the five-issue “Millennium” series […]