As of late, I can’t help but keep touting how much Blumhouse Productions have contributed to the horror genre in this decade alone. In addition to thrilling audiences with new franchises such as Insidious and Ouija, they impressed me with Sinister, which is easily my favorite horror flick of the past ten years or so.
To say that last night's episode of Arrow was an emotional rollercoaster is an understatement. Not only did we have a fractured Team Arrow failing to procure Cayden James' bomb, but we thought we'd finally seen the first hints at Black Siren redeeming herself - but then she had to go and kill Vigilante, someone who was actually on the path to redemption.
After appearing in a litany of films both live action and animated, TV series and video games, the average Joe may think there's not much else that can be done with the Dark Knight. Fortunately, the folks at Warner Bros. Animation have begun branching out in recent years, successfully mining the character's 79-year comic book history. A couple years back, we saw the Bat Family generously fleshed out in Bad Blood and, now, we've been treated to something drastically different in the form of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.
Much like the currently incarcerated Barry Allen, I'm trying to retain my sense of optimism. Really, after The Flash seemingly got back on track after starting off its fourth season with a handful of farcical episodes, Clifford DeVoe decides to take a vacation for a few weeks and our titular hero remains behind bars with no immediate light at the end of the tunnel. I'm being 100% serious when I say that the writing this year makes Arrow season 4 look as good as iZombie season 3 by comparison.
If being attached to certain characters for a number of years has taught me anything, it's that none of us are entirely immune to what's known as "shipping." In my case, I'm one of the many fans who believes that if anyone is a perfect fit for Batman, it's most definitely Catwoman. Of course, arguments can be made for the likes of Talia al Ghul, Zatanna, Wonder Woman and several others, but nobody really complements Bruce Wayne in the way Selina Kyle does, at least in my view.
As was to be expected, there were a variety of developments that shook up the DC Universe in 2017. But if any of them were to be singled out as being the talk of the town, it was probably Catwoman accepting the Dark Knight's marriage proposal, thus paving the way for countless new storytelling possibilities such as a hilarious double date with Superman and Lois Lane.
Not long ago, the comic book world was knocked on its collective rear upon hearing that one of Marvel’s greatest stalwarts, Brian Michael Bendis, was finally packing up and leaving town to work exclusively with DC. Granted, most big name creators hop between both major publishers at various points throughout their respective careers and we knew the day would probably come for Bendis, but the news was no less shocking.
Whenever any character exists in multiple forms of media for an extended period of time, it's only understandable that they be recast. Some, like Superman, have been around so long that the average Joe probably can't even name every actor to have portrayed him, but others, such as Hellboy, are approached with a bit more hesitation.
Whenever the next big superhero movie comes around, you tend to see the comic book publishers place more focus on characters set to appear on the silver screen. In the case of Avengers: Infinity War, it only makes sense that Thanos be given his time in the sun.
While the Saw film franchise no doubt made devoted fans out of many of us due to its memorable plot twists and riveting storyline that sometimes got a too bit convoluted for its own good, it's the traps that stood out in the minds of moviegoers. Hey, what better way to up the ante in sequels than to incorporate more elaborate ways for everyday folk to get massacred?
