2021-03-25 03:09
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The Brooding Blogger Of Bespin Blog
thebroodingbloggerofbespin.wordpress.com
A deep-thinking blog for pondering, debating or just enjoying pop culture and geek-dom: from Star Wars and film talk to comic books and mythology...
2020-02-09 18:00
Whether it’s the journey from Trevorrow’s ‘Duel of the Fates’ to Abrams’ ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ or the vetoed prospects of George Lucas’s ow… Read More
2020-02-06 16:36
Among all the various ‘controversies’ to surface concerning the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy and The Rise of Skywalker – from the alleged ‘J.J cut’ to George Lucas… Read More
2020-01-29 17:00
So, I don’t necessarily like doing this sort of thing.
Even if I don’t like a film, I would rather respect the filmmakers/writers vision and deal with the story they’ve gi… Read More
2020-01-22 11:00
It’s a weird, difficult time to be a Star Wars fan. And it’s become really difficult to even react to or review a Star Wars film. Letalone this one.
There are many reasons for t… Read More
2019-12-19 15:39
Here is my YouTube video, discussing what Episode IX needs to do – and needs to NOT do – in order to succeed as a fitting finale to both this Sequel Trilogy and the St… Read More
2019-12-15 16:00
Do Luke Skywalker and Tony Stark essentially get the same death – the same end-point – in their respective stories…? Do they share the same story arc…? Are The La… Read More
2019-12-13 11:00
Somewhat frustratingly, Journey to Rise of Skywalker: Allegience is a difficult one to gage.
I was really excited for these books, because I’m excited for The Rise of Skywalker: and a… Read More
2019-12-11 15:25
Following on from Marvel’s Age of Republic and Age of Rebellion series’ (all of which were reviewed on this site) and their one-shot books on various Star Wars characters, we in… Read More
2019-12-10 10:29
I always thought The Mandalorian would be good. While I wasn’t necessarily as excited for it as a lot of other people were, I always had an optimistic expectation about it.
When you p… Read More
2019-12-09 09:05
I am so, so saddened by the news about Rene Aubjerjonois’ passing, at the age of 79. It’s really hit me by surprise.
I know, of course, that Auberjonois had a rich and varied ac… Read More
2019-11-05 17:00
There are few, if any, MCU movies that I dislike.
I enjoy most of them: obviously some more than others. Some have been fairly forgettable – which is to be expected in a franchise tha… Read More
2019-10-27 16:50
House of X and Powers of X have been, without question, the biggest event in X-Men comic books for years.
Just the fact alone of Johnothan Hickman taking the reins for a wholesale reinventi… Read More
2019-10-25 16:17
As trailers go, the final trailer of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is pretty damn good.
A bit messy, maybe. But, man, does it get the excitement level up. Which is really what it needed… Read More
2019-10-12 16:00
As monumental a cinematic achievement as Avengers: Endgame was, one thing that definitely left me scratching my head on second viewing (and all subsequent ones) was trying to work out the i… Read More
2019-10-06 15:00
Aron Eisenberg’s sad passing is something of a sorry milestone, in that he is the first major actor of the 90s Star Trek era (DS9, Voyager, TNG) to pass away, at least as far as I&rsq&helli…Read More
2019-09-28 17:00
As I didn’t write anything about Avengers: Endgame at the time of its release, I figured that now – upon my second viewing of the film – would be a good time to reflect on… Read More
2019-09-19 17:09
As a long-time Captain Marvel fan, I’ve been waiting for years for a Captain Marvel book to hit top-form again. Over the last few years, it’s almost happened – but never q… Read More
2019-09-15 17:38
It’s been a while since I’ve committed to an ongoing Doctor Strange book.
Which is no reflection of my affections for Doctor Strange as a character or for the tapestry of mystic… Read More
2019-09-13 16:00
Wrapping up my Age of Rebellion reviews, I figured I would save Luke and Leia for last and review them together.
You would kind of expect the Luke Skywalker entry in the Age of Rebellion se… Read More
2019-09-11 15:32
It’s pretty well established that conclusions to big, epic story events are usually either a disappointment or an anti-climax – or both.
There are some exceptions. Age of X-Man:… Read More
2019-09-06 17:35
I’ve had a mixed relationship with Guardians of the Galaxy books for a few years (see my review of the All-New Guardians of the Galaxy series here): no GOTG run since the Brian Michae… Read More
2019-09-02 16:51
As there isn’t a great deal to say about either of these books, it makes sense to lump the Age of Republic Special and the Age of Rebellion Special together into one overview.
Simon S… Read More
2019-08-30 17:02
If the Age of Republic series was a mixed bag, the Age of Rebellion series is proving to be very much the same thig.
Such is evidenced by these three books: Boba Fett, Han Solo and Lando Ca… Read More
2019-08-29 17:44
The Age of X-Man event, which dominates the X-books in the first half of 2019, was an ambitious, imaginative and large-scaled occurrence: with five different titles carrying the story for f… Read More
2019-08-29 16:10
Wrapping up (almost) this Age of Republic series of books, I saved these two offerings for last. Padme Amidala and Obi Wan Kenobi are of course two of the four central characters of the pre… Read More
2019-08-28 18:53
As generally fantastic as all the lead-in to the massive Age of X-Man event was (see previous reviews here), even I was rather stunned by how good this run of Uncanny X-Men has been; partic… Read More
2019-04-15 13:49
Well, obviously, I wouldn’t be asking the question if I thought the answer was a straight or easy ‘yes’.
Obviously, it depends on the precise nature of Palpatine’s p… Read More
2019-04-14 12:58
Wow. So the much awaited teaser for Episode IX did something I wasn’t quite expecting – it has made me genuinely excited for this final film in the Skywalker saga.
Which is no s… Read More
2019-03-22 17:00
I’ve already published a proper review of the Captain Marvel movie – a movie that I didn’t think was magnificent and didn’t think was a disappointment either, but wh… Read More
2019-03-20 17:00
It’s become quite difficult to approach or review Captain Marvel without suffering the influence of all the bullshit, propaganda and counter-propaganda nonsense that’s been surr… Read More
2019-03-09 16:00
With various comic books I’ve been trying to keep up with, I wasn’t managing to keep up month-to-month with the Star Wars title: instead I waited to read a bunch of them in bulk… Read More
2019-03-06 18:00
What never ceases to amaze me about the Star Wars films is that, no matter how many times I’ve watched them, I still notice things I’ve never noticed before or have realisations… Read More
2019-03-03 16:00
Kelly Thompson’s West Coast Avengers is a series I was shocked by: that is to say I was shocked by how much I fell in love with it and by how instantaneously it seemed to happen!
I me… Read More
2019-03-01 17:00
Of all these one-shot books in the Age of Republic series, the Anakin Skywalker book was perhaps the one I was most looking forward to, to see what new spin on the legend we would get here… Read More
2019-02-28 17:09
So, on we go with our Star Wars: Age of Republic series of one-shots – and on we move to one of the most enigmatic and charismatic figures in the Star Wars universe, the one-time Jedi… Read More
2019-02-26 16:00
As these ‘Age of Republic’ books are so short, I’ve decided to review some of them two at a time. In this instance, I’ve chosen to put the Darth Maul book and the Ja… Read More
2019-02-24 17:00
I’ve made it a point to review every single issue of Charles Soule’s stunning Darth Vader run these last 24 months: a series that I have been absolutely spellbound by.
I’v… Read More
2019-02-23 17:15
I already posted up a review for the Star Wars Adventures: Tales From Darth Vader’s Castle books – which I really enjoyed. I jumped into this Destroyer Down book as well, becaus… Read More
2019-02-22 16:00
With Marvel naturally cornering the market on Star Wars comic book material, I was surprised when IDW announced its own group of Star Wars comics. And having read a few of these now, I&rsqu&helli…Read More
2019-02-20 16:00
Um, it’s really hard to write a ‘review’ of this book.
It’s hard to write a review when you don’t really even know what’s going on yet. It’ll be di… Read More
2019-02-19 16:00
Uncanny X-Men Annual #1 is pretty much essential reading, given how much it ties in to so much else that’s happening in the X-Men books: including the Extermination saga (reviewed her… Read More
2019-02-18 15:00
As often proves to be the case, I sometimes feel like we’re in X-Men overload: in terms of how many different books and titles there are to try to keep track of.
There’s only so… Read More
2019-02-15 18:00
If I haven’t been clear about it here, here and here, I have been loving this series. And I’m kind of traumatised that it has to end. But all things must end – and these f… Read More
2019-02-15 16:00
So, a series of very big event stories happening in the X-Men world: and Extermination came packaged as a pretty big deal. I’m a little late with this review: but I wanted time… Read More
2019-02-13 16:02
It’s hard to overstate just how much I’ve been enjoying this second volume of Marvel’s Darth Vader series. The level of quality is so high and so consistent that it really… Read More
2019-02-09 16:09
We’ve been waiting for the proper return of the Fantastic Four for some time now. While I was (mostly) enjoying the Marvel Two-in-One series with Ben and Johnny – and which was… Read More
2019-02-07 16:02
Being, as I am, a big-time Carol Danvers head, The Life of Captain Marvel sounded like something that should’ve been manna from heaven to me.
I came to it with great enthusiasm. With… Read More
2019-02-06 15:00
Having fairly enjoyed the Phoenix Resurrection story (reviewed here), I was always going to be watching with interest to see what would now be done with the resurrected Jean Grey.
In truth… Read More
2019-02-04 12:36
It’s taken me a while to get all my notes together for the Infinity Wars series: but I finally have, so here’s my big retrospective review.
While it’s obvious that this b… Read More
2019-02-02 15:00
I got quite excited when the Age of Republic series was announced by Marvel: the chance to read more stories set within richness of the prequel era and the Republic.
To my thinking, there a… Read More
2019-02-01 16:27
I can’t overstate how much I’ve enjoyed reading this volume of the monthly Darth Vader title. It isn’t just consistently the best Star Wars title out there, but it’s… Read More
2019-01-30 12:00
This is not a review of Star Wars: Resistance.
I don’t have a great deal to say about the series I’ve seen so far: other than that I really like the animation style. Apart from… Read More
2019-01-20 13:00
‘If time is a circle, then everything must happen all at once’. That is the sentiment that opens Rogue & Gambit #1, accompanied by a vast collage of different scenes and era… Read More
2019-01-12 16:00
I thought the first run of installemnts in the X-Men Gold title were a mixed bag: but with the positives mostly outweighing any negatives in the broad reckoning.
I was enjoying the characte… Read More
2019-01-07 08:10
Instead of going through The Phoenix Resurrection #1 – 5 sequentially, as I usually do in my reviews, I’m just covering the whole story as one: which is fine in this case, as th… Read More
2019-01-04 04:30
This is a belated review of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
I’ve only just watched the movie for the second time. I tend to prefer to see the movie at least twice or more to really get a fee… Read More
2019-01-03 12:41
Marvel’s Two-in-One: The Thing & the Human Torch is bascially a very extended set up for the inevitable return of the Fantastic Four, with Reed and Susan Richards having been lost… Read More
2018-11-15 15:25
I said here recently – and a number of other times – that bringing Carol Danvers (and the Captain Marvel mythology) to the big screen was probably the thing I’ve been most… Read More
2018-11-14 07:31
First up, the great Stan Lee’s best MCU cameo appearance by far for me was his appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
It was the funniest. It was definitely the most expensive to pr… Read More
2018-10-30 17:00
I’m a big fan of Batwoman in general: and of Batwoman comic books, which have a tendency to lend themselves to highly absorbing, stylised visual experiences as well as engaging detect… Read More
2018-10-24 15:00
So I’ve just rewatched The Last Jedi for the fifth time now. And I want to talk about why it may be… time for the (Last) Jedi (hate)… to end.
And why this film flourish… Read More
2018-10-20 15:00
The announcement, a month or two ago, that Patrick Stewart is set to return to the role of Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series, was met with great enthusiasm and excitement by a huge… Read More
2018-10-15 15:00
The recent announcements that Disney/Lucasfilm are ‘slowing down’ production of Star Wars movies for the foreseeable future was a curious one.
On the surface of it, there doesn… Read More
2018-10-12 15:00
The online harassment of actress Kelly Marie Tran (who portrays the character Rose Tyco in The Last Jedi) has been perhaps the most unforunate symptom so far of the mass backlash over The L… Read More
2018-10-11 12:00
The upcoming introduction of Captain Marvel (aka formerly Ms Marvel, aka Carol Danvers) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is something I’ve been excited about for a couple of years now… Read More
2018-10-10 14:00
I’m been a big Guardians of the Galaxy fan for the last seven years or so. It’s been one of my favorite comic books in general.
And I was particularly a big fan of the Bendis er… Read More
2018-07-27 14:10
The announcement that the Clone Wars is back in production – and is set to make a return to our lives – was naturally greeted with ripples of enthusiasm throughout Star Wars fan… Read More
2018-07-25 16:27
To mark the Teen Titans Go to the Movies cinema release, I wanted to just post quickly about why I love the Teen Titans Go cartoon show so much.
Or, more accurately, try to work out why I l… Read More
2018-07-13 12:00
Like a lot of people, I was left very unsure about The Last Jedi: and very conflicted.
I still am. But, even in my original review, I made it a point to highlight all the positives of that… Read More
2018-07-06 17:56
I have a mixed relationship with Thanos. I’m not particularly a huge fan of the character; but, at the same time, Thanos-related material usually signifies broader effects for the Mar… Read More
2018-07-03 19:00
I can’t overstate how pleased I was when I learnt that the Lucasfilm/Disney story group at Marvel was finally getting around to publishing some prequel-era books instead of just playi… Read More
2018-07-03 15:00
It is interesting to note the apparent prominence of Darth Maul in the perceived hierarchy of important Star Wars characters: at least in terms of how early Maul has been afforded his own s… Read More
2018-05-23 16:00
It’s not a rhetorical question: I’m genuinely trying to work out why I’m so uninterested in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
If you had told me many years ago, when I was younger… Read More
2018-05-21 17:00
The after-credits scene in Avengers: Infinity War, which features Nick Fury and Maria Hill and foreshadows the upcoming Captain Marvel movie, was the moment in the film that got me most exc… Read More
2018-04-06 12:52
X-Men Apocalypse isn’t quite the total disaster some reviewers thought it was.
It isn’t particularly superb either. Like the recent Batman V Superman event, it is a movie that h… Read More
2018-04-01 11:00
So Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice went down like a lead balloon when it was released two years ago.
I’ve been generally hard-pressed to locate anyone who has good things to say ab… Read More
2018-03-26 15:00
With all the focus on whether Luke Skywalker got the send-off he deserved in The Last Jedi (and it is very debatable), a lot of focus has neglected the question of whether that other &lsquo&helli…Read More
2018-03-23 16:00
Having been really impressed by the first several months of the initial Darth Vader title Marvel/Disney launched a few years back (old review here), I was quite pleased to see a new Darth V… Read More
2018-03-21 14:27
Human beings aren’t just getting greedier, but stupider. And it’s happening just in time for us to experience the AI takeover, the alien invasion and the end of the earth, among… Read More
2018-02-23 20:00
With several X-Men books currently running, it surprised me to find another X-title being put into the mix. But coming aboard for a X-Men book helmed by Charles Soule was a no-brainer: and… Read More
2018-02-21 14:00
In lieu of a review of the Black Panther movie (which I haven’t seen yet – but am excited about), I take this chance to recommend again T-Nehisi Coates’s Black Panther run… Read More
2018-02-14 19:00
So, I already posted at length previously, laying out a theory on Rey, Kylo and The Force Awakens – specifically the theory that Rey and Kylo might both be ‘Force Consciousness… Read More
2018-02-13 17:00
I laid out in the previous article what the main reason was that I didn’t take kindly to the Justice League movie: specifically, the very lazy, cavalier way in which the subject of li… Read More
2018-02-12 20:00
I wasn’t necessarily disappointed by the Justice League film a few months ago – as my expectations were low to begin with.
That being said, the film still managed to feel lacklu… Read More
2018-01-08 01:46
Recently I asked some of my favorite bloggers to choose their favorite moment – for whatever reason – in all of Star Wars.
I posted their choices in this article from a couple o… Read More
2017-12-23 21:00
As we were coming up to the anniversary of Carrie Fisher’s sad passing a year ago, I didn’t want to let the moment pass without marking it here.
And what better way to do so th… Read More
2017-12-23 12:00
Or, at least, according to me. There’s something undeniably magical about that cultural institution of the Christmas movie. There are so many of them; and most of them are terrible.
B… Read More
2017-12-21 10:00
Is The Last Jedi the ‘worst Star Wars movie ever’? Possibly. Even probably. But what does that even mean? It could be the ‘worst’ Star Wars film and still be really… Read More
2017-12-14 18:00
As Episode 8 of the Star Wars saga hits cinemas and adds a new chapter in the mythology of the galaxy far, far away, here’s a timely revisit to all the existing films in the magical u… Read More
2017-12-14 10:00
In anticipation of release of the latest Star Wars film – The Last Jedi – I thought it would be a nice way to mark this moment by asking a bunch of bloggers and writers to choos… Read More
2017-12-10 14:00
My original – and admittedly very long – review of The Force Awakens was fair and balanced, highlighting and celebrating the positives and bringing to light what I viewed as the… Read More
2017-12-09 03:10
The relaunched or rebooted Captain Marvel title was always an obligatory read for me, being a long-time, major Carol Danvers fan.
But I didn’t approach it with a huge amount of enthus… Read More
2017-12-02 02:58
If it wasn’t clear from the costume changes or the reappearance of a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, X-Men Gold really is trying to evoke or recapture the vibe of the early 90s X-Men per… Read More
2017-12-01 03:47
X-Men Blue #1 fares about the same as Gold #1, feeling largely like a retro book, but also containing just enough sense of the new to it – or at least the novelty value of having the… Read More
2017-11-26 03:57
There is something that occurred to me ever since seeing The Force Awakens for the first time. It’s a theory based firmly in the mysticism and esoteric nature of the Star Wars mytholo… Read More
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