Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

I've previously written on my obsession with Iron Fist, and I plan to continue my foray into analysis of later comics in that franchise, taking a look at how they changed with the introduction of Marvel's answer to the Blaxploitation genre, Luke Cage. Before that I want to explore the strange milieu of Marvel's earlier martial arts hero, Shang-Chi, the "Master of Kung Fu." He made his first appearance in Special Marvel Edition #15 in December 1973, six months before Iron Fist appeared and is one of the first heroes of the martial arts comics boom. Created by the interestingly weird team of writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin to cash in on Marvel's recent acquisition of Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu and their rights to the Kung Fu television show, he paved the way for future martial arts heroes. Shang-Chi is a Wushu master, skilled in both hand to hand combat and and weaponry. He uses both, unlike Iron Fist who tends to just use his hands and fe...

I'm listening to Damnation as I get ready to go see the new Batman film. I'm scared that it won't meet expectations. As one of the minority who believes that Batman Begins was superior to The Dark Knight , I don't know what to expect from The Dark Knight Rises . I want it to be old school. I don't want it to be anything like the Tim Burton films. Sorry, but I just can't see Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The man just played himself. He did a great job with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , but as the Joker he was subpar. Even Heath Ledger did not capture the Joker of "Death in the Family;" he explained himself too much, and gave off a decided church lady vibe. Take that, Dana Carvey. I'm hoping the new film will satisfy my youthful Batman needs. The original Tim Burton movie floored me as a kid. I never saw anything quite like it -- I collected the movie cards with relish; I still have all of them. I remember the first Batman comic that I eve...