by Michael Sangiacomo ROCKY RIVER – Valentino Zullo said the first reference to homosexuality in his beloved superhero comics was negative. “It was an issue of The Hulk from 1980 which explained that the Hulk’s alter-ego, Bruce Banner, was almost raped by two men in a YMCA,” Zullo said. “That’s a pretty harsh way to introduce the subject to a mainstream audience.” It … [Read more...]
THANOS, The Concerned Titan
Comics and Philosophy Episode #002 In the new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos joins a long list of consequentialist villains – those who are willing to justify the barbarity of their actions by the perceived goodness of their envisioned results: think Adrian Veidt’s gambit against nuclear annihilation at the end … [Read more...]
Comics and Philosophy, Episode #001: The Spider, the Symbiote, and the Id-Machine
Throughout charted geekdom, there are multiple instances of id-machines, from the mysterious planet in Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972) to the Mirror of Erised in the Potterverse. Id-machines are instruments which grant a character the usually fleeting appearance of achieving their greatest desire, whether being reunited with a long-lost lover or with estranged parents or being able … [Read more...]