Nerd in the 'Noke

Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Omnibus -  Collecting: House of Secrets (1956) #92, Swamp Thing (1972) #1-24, and The Saga of the Swamp Thing (1982) #1-19, Annual 1. Swamp Thing is a character that I have had some awareness of since I was a little kid, thanks primarily to the two 1980's film adaptations.  It wasn't until much later that I really got into the character thanks to Scott Snyder's New 52 run.  My enjoyment of Snyder's collaboration with Yanick Paquette caused me to seek out more Swamp Thing, and as one might guess, Alan Moore's classic run was what was unanimously recommended to me.  That run quickly became one of my personal favorites and since that time, I have tried to fill in the gaps of Swamp Thing's history by reading the works of Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughan, and Charles Soule.  All of which have helped to my developing a healthy appreciation for the character.  So when this Bronze Age Omnibus was released last fall, I was ex

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), PG-13, 1h 58min - Much like its predecessor  Ant-Man (2015) , Ant-Man and the Wasp is the rare MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film that I wasn't counting down the days to.  That's not to say that I didn't want to see it, I just wasn't nearly as stoked for it as I usually am for a Marvel Studios release (especially coming on the heels of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War).  However, just like Ant-Man before it, I found this film to be one of the most fun MCU installments to date. Ant-Man and the Wasp follows the events of both Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War, and precedes the events of this year's Infinity War.  Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is serving his final days of house arrest after his involvement in Civil War and is trying to get his security consultant business - X-Con Security - off the ground with fellow ex-con associates Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (Tip 'T.I.' Harris), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian).  Meanwh

Incredibles 2 (2018), PG, 1h 58min - I haven't had the opportunity to get out to many movies recently, but on the Fourth of July holiday I was able to check out my most anticipated Pixar sequel to date: Incredibles 2.  The original Incredibles (2004) is probably my favorite Disney/Pixar film and the story lent itself so perfectly to a sequel that it's been a little frustrating that it has taken fourteen years for this follow up to come to fruition while other Disney/Pixar franchises have churned out multiple sequels over that same time. Incredibles 2 takes place not too long after the events of The Incredibles, with The Parr family - Bob/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner), and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) - trying to adapt to 'normal' family life as superhero activity is still illegal (despite the Parr's heroics at the end of the first film).  Bob and Helen are working undercover for a governme

Dakota North: Design for Dying TPB (2018) - Collecting Dakota North (1986) #1-5, Web of Spider-Man (1985) #37, Power Pack (1984) #46, Daredevil (1998) #107-110, and material from Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) #3, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Update '89 (1989) #5, Marvel Age (1983) #40 and Marvel Age (1983) Annual #2. If may be asking yourself "who the hell is Dakota North?", especially if you haven't read the Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark run on Daredevil.  If you have read that excellent run, then you already know that Dakota North is a bad-ass, head strong, private investigator.  Think Jessica Jones without the self-loathing or super powers (and created fifteen years earlier).  She has ties to the worlds of both fashion and intelligence, having previously been a model and having a CIA agent of a father (the former being an original character trait from the mid-80's that is much less relevant these days). Introduction by Martha Thomases/Cover to

Luke Cage (2016), Season 2, TV-MA, 13 episodes - It seems as though season 2 of Luke Cage snuck up on the world.  I'm not sure if it is due to the lack of promotional hype leading up to its release last weekend or if it has just been overshadowed by all of the talk of the impending Disney acquisition of Fox.  Whatever the reason, it's unfortunate because this second season is even stronger than the first . Season 2 takes place not long after the events of The Defenders .  Luke (Mike Colter) has become a local celebrity thanks to his actions in protecting/helping those around Harlem.  There's even a crowd-sourced app that shows people where Luke Cage has been spotted!  Although that's not always necessary as everyone knows that Luke is operating out of Pop's old barber shop.  Bobby Fish (Ron Cephus Jones) is functioning as Luke's manager, negotiating endorsement deals in order to cover the shop's rent, and D.W. (Jeremiah Craft) has appointed himself as L