By Michael Sangiacomo Dark Phoenix was the subject of so much trash talk in the years before it was released that overcoming such low expectations was pretty easy. That being said, the last gasp of the Twentieth Century Fox version of the X-Men franchise (soon to be reborn under the auspices of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) is better than expected. I give it a B. It’s … [Read more...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Godzilla, King of the Monsters. And also King of the Dark. And the Rain, Too.
by Michael Sangiacomo A young boy clutching his dad’s hand as they exited the critic’s screening of Godzilla: King of the Monsters excitedly squealed, “That was awesome!!” Ah, the exuberance of an eight-year-old. While the boy was clearly thrilled about seeing mountain-sized monsters clawing and tearing at each other amid ear-splitting shrieks and roars, older members … [Read more...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Freedom, Iron, and New Shoes for the Flash
by Mike Sangiacomo There are a lot of good comics out there, a few great, and some that just aren’t worth reading. It’s easy to blow off some comics right off the bat because of the writer, the art, or style. But then there are comics that could and should be good: comics with a great premise or those written by authors we trust. For me, anything by Geoff Johns, Mark … [Read more...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Wham-O Giant Comics #1!
by Mike Sangiacomo Wednesday means New Comic Book Day. You walk into your favorite shop, where everyone knows your name, and start rooting through the new releases: Batman, another Batman, another Batman; Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, Miles Morales Spider-Man, the Spider-Man: Hunted… Didn’t I already buy this? Hmmm. You go home, start digging into the stack. Read … [Read more...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Boxes of Stuff and the Best Boy Ever
by Mike Sangiacomo Following my retirement from the Plain Dealer, I took home a huge box of stuff I had squirreled away around the office. The box contained dozens of my early comic columns from the 1990s. I was nervous to read what the much-younger me had to say, but was happy to find that, for the most part, I agreed with him. I mean, me. I was a lot tougher … [Read more...]




