Believe it or not, this week marks the 10th Anniversary — or, is it Birthday? — of the “Heroes and Aliens” blog! (This was the first blogpost.)
I somewhat pride myself on getting a post out every Wednesday night, and you could count on one hand the number of times I’ve had to skip a week — due to hurricanes and possibly health issues. When I know I’ll be on vacation for a week, which often means traveling on Wednesdays, I rush to prepare one or two “extra” posts and schedule them ahead of time. And, on rare occasions, I have put out an extra post sometime during the week. All told, then, I have posted 520+ articles. Whew!
I thank you for indulging my (more than) occasional trips down memory lane, as well, listing my first this or favorite that. In that spirit, I have a “Top 10” list of prior posts for you. They are not the ones with the most traffic, nor did I force myself to pick one per year. They are simply my ten favorite posts that I wrote over the last decade.
When reviewing potential candidates, I mostly stayed away from other “Top X” lists, straight-up industry news, TV & film reviews, fan-casting, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I was quite happy with how most of them turned out. But, the posts I got the most satisfaction from focused more on my own experiences, observations, assessments, and opinions — sometimes on rather controversial topics. I re-present them to you now (in chronological order) in hopes that you might find a couple of interest. To pique that interest, I have provided a sample from the text of each one…
“My Top 5, All-time Favorite Marvel Superheroes” (pub. 8/7/2014)
“I grew up almost exclusively reading Marvel comics. I eventually got subscriptions, so they were delivered directly to our mailbox. (How I loved seeing those plain, brown wrappers!) I even wrote a brief letter to a title or two and was proud to sign off with “Make Mine Marvel!”… I answered a survey — via snail-mail, of course — from Marvel, asking about their subscribers’ reading habits. I don’t remember much at all about the rest of the survey questions, but I do remember needing to decide who my Top 5 favorite Marvel characters were. And they haven’t changed…”
“Write What You Know” (pub. 1/14/2015)
“Write what you know. That’s what “they” say. That’s what my publisher wants, and that’s what my editor, Frank, keeps pushing for — more “capes-n-tights”. (Technically, what I wore was spandex and a mask, no cape. Well, except for that one time. But, who’s quibbling?) My first two books were full of it, and they sold a ton. So, I don’t blame them for wanting more of the same. The public seems to eat it up. But, I really want to write something different for a change.”
“Proposed Guidelines for Superhero Movie Franchises” (pub. 4/2/2015)
“Sure, the studio, producers, and directors probably all feel pressured to put out the next “action-packed blockbuster” film-of-the-year. And, that’s fine. But, it shouldn’t be at the expense of a coherent story or believable characters, particularly when it comes to respecting the source material. So, here is what I would tell a studio exec who (for some odd reason) asked my advice about what elements — besides good acting, directing, etc. — would make a successful superhero movie franchise: …”
“Superman and the Question of Diversity” (pub. 9/20/2018)
“Remember how some people were pushing for an Asian actor to star in Netflix’s “Iron Fist”, or how many are calling for Idris Elba to be the next James Bond? Well, now there are suggestions of Black (Michael B. Jordan, Idris Elba), Asian (Henry Golding), and Latino (Oscar Isaac) replacements for Superman, among others. Sigh! All fine actors, but c’mon! Should we have a Black Tarzan next? (No, that wouldn’t work, ‘cuz his being white was part of what made the character an outsider in Africa. Besides, that whole “Ape Man” thing would be seen as racist….) Or, how about an Asian Sherlock Holmes? Would that make sense, especially given the era and locales in which the character operated? (Less of an issue for a modern-day take, I suppose. Still…)”
“Why People Resist New Treks” (pub. 9/12/2019)
“I think one of the biggest factors that holds people back from liking a new show or film reboot is precisely the fact that it’s new. Whether we were weaned on the Original Series (TOS) (with subsequent films) or grew up with the TNG/DS9/VOY series, THAT is what Star Trek looks and feels like to us. We generally prefer what is familiar, so when a new show or film introduces new actors, new ships, new looks for “old” things, we balk. It doesn’t look right. Doesn’t feel right.”
“Three ‘New’ Novel Series Worth Checking Out” (pub. 11/26/2019)
“Yeah, we got zombies — tons of ’em! Well, we call ’em “exes”, ‘cuz (as I was told) “zombies” makes ya think of movie monsters, and ya can’t afford to underestimate these things. One bite and yer infected, which pretty much means yer a goner. But, unlike in the movies, we got superheroes, too! … Unfortunately, there are also some not-so-nice non-ex survivors out there. And, guess what? A few of them have super powers, too!”
“Hey, I’ve Got An Idea… or Three” (pub. 12/11/2019)
“I’m sure that you, like me, sometimes get exasperated with the decisions made by TV and studio executives, especially when they cancel series we like, make unnecessary changes to characters, write stories that most of us have no interest in, etc. Well, I came up with a few ideas that I thought might increase the likelihood of fan-satisfaction and successful productions, which I figured I’d share with you all….”
“The First Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books I Read” (pub. 12/2/2020)
“You all know how I like to wax nostalgic at times, right? Well, I’ve been thinking about how I got into sci-fi/fantasy, action/adventure, and related stuff. Sure, there were all the comic books, which were in turn related to the “Superfriends” and other superhero shows I watched Saturday mornings as a kid. Later, there were TV shows like “Star Trek”, “Batman”, “The Six Million Dollar Man”, and some cop shows. But, besides comics and TV shows, what sorts of books did I first read in those genres?”
“Can a Real Trekkie NOT Be ‘Woke’?” (pub. 11/30/2022)
“A while back, I was (briefly) part of a FB discussion in a Star Trek group, where one or more of the newer generation of shows was the topic. A few people were complaining about “woke” aspects being heavy in these new shows, and I also made some comment indicating I was concerned about that stuff. Others clapped back, stating that Star Trek was always “woke” and essentially declaring that anyone who objects to the progressive values Roddenberry instilled in the show from the beginning — sometimes represented by the IDIC (infinite diversity in infinite combinations) concept in Vulcan philosophy — wasn’t a true Trekkie (i.e., Star Trek fan).”
“Three Things I Don’t Understand” (pub. 2/22/2023)
“My real issue here is with books that are tossed, bent, rolled, left outdoors, and otherwise carelessly treated. Barbaric behavior! Part of the reason I am bothered by this is my collector mentality. (In all the years that I collected comic books, you would never find me folding or rolling one up to stuff it in my back pocket — unlike those horrid children one sees doing this in films and TV.) But, more generally, I just hate to see a book mistreated for no good reason.”
It was very hard to narrow it down to ten posts, so I also have a bonus list of six honorable mentions (also in chronological order, of course). Again, I hope you find a post or three that give(s) you a chuckle or that you can in some way identify with:
“You Might Be a Supervillain If….” (pub. 5/7/2014)
“Soon I Will Be Invincible” (pub. 2/11/2015)
“If I Could Have a Superpower…” (pub. 10/7/2016)
“Real-Life Superhero Gear on a Budget” (pub. 7/22/2021)
“Review of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (pub. 10/20/2022)
“Delving Into Superhero Novels” (pub. 7/26/2023)
Regular readers know I try to maintain some variety of topics and formats, though I am somewhat limited by time, availability, my own likes and dislikes, etc. With that understanding, I hope to continue what I’ve been doing to keep you (and me) informed and entertained for the foreseeable future. Deal?
Heroes and Aliens 