As any medium evolves, elements that once were common inevitably fall by the wayside. That’s certainly the case for comic books, which have changed considerably over the decades. Below are just a few things once common in comics that readers no longer see. Inventory Stories In the present day, publishers…

So many recent entertainment franchise failures boil down to a simple failure by creators to respect characters. Across movies, television, video games, books and comics, long-time fans of franchises have seen familiar and beloved characters badly mishandled. Newer writers decide the work of those before them is outdated or uninteresting…

1993 saw the releases of several notable rock and alternative albums from female solo artists and female-led bands. What have been the legacies of those artists and projects 30 years later? The Cranberries: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? (March 1993) The Cranberries made an immediate impact…

Sale numbers of new comic books aren’t good. Marvel, DC and other North American publishers of traditional comics have seen unit sales drop dramatically, while losing significant sales ground to manga collections and YA graphic novels. …

Discovering new music can be a random process. With the sheer volume of options and different barriers (both external and self-imposed), mere exposure to a song you might like requires a variety of factors to align. …

In the early 1980s, The New Teen Titans emerged as a comic book industry juggernaut, a groundbreaking series whose legacy remains vital for DC Comics more than four decades later. The brainchild of the team of writer Marv Wolfman and artist/co-plotter George Pérez, New Teen Titans took a concept that…

Interesting point and agreed, when the characters are so powerful that even the apocalypse isn't a challenge, it robs the stories of a lot of drama. That was what was so smart about what Marvel did back in the '60s: by limiting how powerful the characters were, their battles seemed like real challenges. Even a Norse god like Thor had limits.

The comic book industry is in a bad place. Sales are terrible and continue to trend toward the inevitable bottom of the current cycle. Few books are generating any excitement or engagement among fans or critics. …

Kate Bush is having a moment with her classic 1985 album Hounds of Love. The fourth season of Stranger Things has prominently featured that album’s signature single “Running Up That Hill.” The exposure has propelled “Running” back onto various charts, while creating a burst of interest in Bush’s classic work. …