2024 was an incredible year for professional wrestling, especially on the wrestling scene. WWE. Thanks to an announcement about a Netflix deal, a truly electrifying (and often hilarious) Rock return, and a scattered international presence, many wrestling fans will admit that WWE is great again. Most importantly, it’s the games that continue to bring fans back for more. It’s no secret that the actual fighting in the ring is secondary to the storytelling, specifically in the WWE sports entertainment environment. The most important part of wrestling isn’t always the wrestling. Typically, it’s the WWE promos or soap opera-style storytelling on…
Author: Joe Anthony Myrick
Warning: Spoilers for Poison Ivy #27!Batman may have a greater enemy than the Joker in the unexpected form of Poison Ivy. For as long as I’ve been part of the Batman community, it’s basically the Bat’s gospel that the Joker is his archenemy. I mean, when there are so many Batman and Joker comics out there where they oppose each other, it’s hard to argue with that idea, right? It is practically blasphemy to suggest otherwise. Allow me to blaspheme for a second by suggesting that Batman’s archenemy is Poison Ivy instead of the Joker, based on what I read…
Warning: Spoilers for Batgirl #1!The biggest killer ever Batman I already had to face it on Gotham soil, Lady Shiva, could be on the way to redemption. Gotham’s villains have a knack for going through redemption arcs, especially because Batman believes in giving villains a chance to see the error of their ways and change. The only question is whether Lady Shiva is willing to see the light – especially for her daughter, Cassandra Cain. Gotham’s latest supervillain who could be seeking redemption is none other than the only fighter Batman can never beat: Lady Shivaas provoked in Batgirl #1…
The year is 1954 and, in the month of October, Charles Schulz delivers some of his best Peanut to work. At this point, Schulz was publishing Peanut strips for four years. Although the brand still had a long way to go before becoming the biggest and best comic book in the world, it was already a staple in newspapers everywhere. At this point, Schulz had already hit his stride as a writer and artist on Peanutseven considering that he still had time to perfect his craft. The cast of characters that readers are most familiar with today – Charlie Brown,…
Warning: Spoilers for Little Batman: Month One #1!The new Small Batman the franchise expands with a perfect sequel to a new Christmas staple. Last year, Happy Little Batman debuted on Amazon Prime as a kids’ Christmas special for the whole family. It’s the holiday movie Batman fans didn’t know they needed, but it’s been seen as a must-see every holiday season. The special was received positively enough to warrant a sequel in comic book form. Little Batman: first month #1 by Morgan Evans, Jon Mikel and Ian Herring. Recreating the same magic from such a beloved film is difficult enough,…
Much of wrestling history reflects on what WCW was like WWE biggest competitor of the 90s, but ECW You can’t stay out of this conversation. Although ECW was not on track to beat WWE in the ratings for 83 weeks as Eric Bischoff, Extreme Championship Wrestling has largely inspired many of the sensibilities of modern wrestling. Before WWE was quick to introduce inappropriate moments in the Attitude Era that they wouldn’t pull off today, Paul Heyman was reserving even more extreme angles for ECW. Before WCW had a hardcore division ECW was unconditional. To this day, ECW leaves a mark…
A forgotten Friday the 13th The crossover makes sense with Jason’s slasher-style murder spree. It’s easy to look at Jason Voorhees’ ever-changing origin story and summarize his motivations for killing even his mother. Some will go a step further and argue that Jason’s story is about protecting children, but the bottom line is that Jason’s murder spree makes deeper narrative sense than is typically given credit for. This fact becomes painfully evident when reading Jason vs.a three-part miniseries crossover between Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacreby Nancy A. Collins, David Imhoff and Jeff Butler. The series originally hit…
One of the biggest lore changes in Power Rangers Franchise history happens in the comics. The boom! Studios Comics constantly found new ways to redefine classic Power Rangers lore, as well as reinvent classic characters from the franchise. As an extension of the show, it presented the franchise with the opportunity to recontextualize staples of the series in fresh ways. Among the classic ideas reinvented for the modern Power Rangers Franchise comes in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #4 by Kyle Higgins, Hendry Prasetya, Matt Herms and Ed Dukeshire, which puts a twist on Zords vs. Monsters. There was a time…
Warning: Spoilers for Batgirl #1!DC Comics renames Cassandra Cain, her mother, the Bat-Family and the Batgirl mantle in a new series. Although she was an active member of the Birds of Prey cast more recently, Cass hasn’t led a series of her own in over 18 years. Earlier this year, DC announced that Cassandra would star in a new Batgirl ongoing series as part of the publisher’s new All In initiative. Batgirl #1 by Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer and Tom Napolitano officially marks the return of Cassandra Cain to comic book store shelves. The issue finds Batgirl officially…
The lineage remains WWE most captivating plot, which spans four years and shows no signs of stopping. The story of Bloodline is now considered one of the longest stories in professional wrestling history and gave rise to one of the biggest factions in WWE. Most of the story was built on the legacy of the Anoa’i family. However, with all the exciting moments and compelling characters this story provided the wrestling audience, none were as well-received as Sami Zayn’s role in The Bloodline. Ironically, the only member of the bloodline without blood relations to the Anoa’i family is loved as…