I deduce, madam, that you are naked.
Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC television series. He plays tthe role of the sociopathic consulting detective to perfection. It seems that J. J. Abrams agrees with me and has picked him to play the bad guy in Star Trek 2. I’m sure he’ll do a fine job, I just hope he can do better than Travolta in Battlefield Earth.
This dude knows what the deal is.
As one of the founders of a new pop culture blog, I’ve been doing a lot of reading through comics to ensure that I can hold my own when confronted with the convention crowd. There’s no way I want to be left dangling when some very intense individual asks me what alternate universe line-up of the Justice League would be best placed to tackle Darkseid, or minutiae regarding Doctor Doom‘s current origin. I got credibility to build.
Mostly, I’ve been bingeing through Batman trade paperbacks. Because he’s the goddamn Batman, that’s why. Yes, I’m well aware that most of what I’ve written for this site revolves around him. Shuddup.
One thing that strikes me when reading through series after series involving Gotham City falling prey to an epidemic, overrun by homicidal cults, levelled by an earthquake and generally held to ransom by a revolving door of Gotham’s most heinous is that, well, maybe it’s just time to give up. Bulldoze the lot. Salt the earth. Hang a big sign at the city limits, reading ‘CLOSED’.
There are two types of people in this world. Those who know about DC comics and your mum. Out of the first type, there are those who are aware of the soul-poundingly vivid Vertigo imprint and those who like it when Superman hits bad guys. Out of the second type, there’s still just your mum.
Forget about the JLA. Forget spandex. Forget underpants on the outside. Chances are there is a whole world of comics outside of your experience that you really, really, need to pick up.
One might wonder why on earth a review of the BBC’s 2011 adaptation of Charles Dickens‘ ‘Great Expectations‘ would dare to appear on a pop culture blog such as this. Of course, if one does wonder this chances are you are the sort of person who turns their nose up at Dickens due to a terrible experience in Year 9 english. In many ways Dickens’ stories, with their outlandish plot devices involving murder, spontaneous combustion, crime and the supernatural were the ‘Twilight’ of his generation. Sold as ‘yellow’ fiction in serial format they were sniffed at by literary critics but devoured by the masses. How times have changed! These days Dickens is widely recognized by the average person even if their own familiarity with his works comes from a childhood viewing of ‘A Christmas Carol‘.
Creepy Scottish dudes not included
So…. yeah. It was Christmas or Easter or something a couple of days ago and I got some presents. I like getting presents, mostly because I like things that I haven’t paid for.
This year somebody thought to themselves: “Adam likes Lego, games and sheep. Does anything combine all three of those three loves?” Well, yes. It turns out that something does.
Is it as amazing as it sounds? Well, it’s actually not too bad.
Elizabeth Flux
H D Thompson
Mike Stuchbery
Adam vanLangenberg
SUBTERRANEAN DEATH CULT 