AvidBards
Reviews

Best Release 2018: Film

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse  It’s almost the end of the calendar year, readers! S and I have been thrilled at how this year for AvidBards has turned out. To celebrate a wonderful 2018, our next few posts will review our favourites from this year. Today, the film of choice is the new animated Spider-Man film, subtitled Into the Spider-Verse. This movie was a delight to watch, and that reflects in its critiques and movie scores online (it’s a 97% on RottenTomatoes, wow!) I’ve found in the last two years that some of the best releases come out at the end…

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Reflections

“Daredevil” Season 3 First Impressions

Warning: some spoilers for Daredevil and The Defenders ahead! With the recent release of Daredevil Season 3, I was immediately interested to see what was to come of what used to be a favourite show of mine. Unfortunately, Season 2 was quite a disappointment. Aside from the introduction of Frank Castle, who went on to have his own show The Punisher, Season 2 left much to be desired. The heavy reliance on the mysticism of the Hand gave the season a totally different, campier tone from its predecessor, which was more gritty and realistic. It was precisely the grit, coupled…

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Movies

“Venom” Movie Review: Are Critics Always Right?

Warning: major spoilers below! Though perhaps somewhat of an underdog in the Marvel comics universe, Venom has longtime been a highly cherished character, who appeared predominantly in the Spider-Man comics, especially to die-hard fans. For those of us who aren’t as much into the comic books, you might remember the titular amorphous alien symbiote from the film Spider-Man 3 back in 2007, absorbing itself first into Peter Parker’s spider suit, and later into the character journalist Eddie Brock. Essentially, the concept of the alien symbiote is that it takes on hosts; giving its host immense power but simultaneously (and sinisterly)…

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Reflections

Batwoman: Challenging Traditional Gender Norms

In lieu of the exciting news that DC Comics character Batwoman will be made into a TV series (starring Ruby Rose), I hearken back to a time when I studied Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams’ graphic novel, Batwoman: Elegy (2009-2010), in university. This Batwoman edition is part of the modernized Batwoman canon (starting in 2005), in which Kate Kane (formerly Kathy) is written as a Jewish lesbian woman. Now, this depiction is incredibly important because it takes major leaps for the LGBTQIA+ community, as queer main characters are not often found, particularly in the superhero genre. Archaic gendered notions of macho…

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Books

Is the Joker Really a Villain?

I’ve recently found myself in the mood for non-traditional forms of literature, specifically graphic novels and this got me onto thinking about one of my favourite characters in comic book history: The Joker. Real name unknown, the Joker is probably the ultimate supervillain from the Batman universe, a mastermind criminal with a slightly bizarre aesthetic, but hey, I’m not going to judge. One of Batman’s earliest foe, the Joker has developed alongside the hero, taking on layers upon layers to create the entity that he is today: a mysterious, intense, terrifying and genius killer. Knowing all this, I am still…

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