BY DENNIS R. UPKINS Originally published at 30UpTV: “I am a woman, a mutant, a thief, an X-Man, a lover, a wife, a queen. I am all these things. I am Storm and for me, there are no such things as limits.” —Storm Nine years old. That was the age of this Catholic Altar Boy … More The Perfect Storm: An Analysis of Marvel’s Most Important Superheroine
“The path of the One is made by many.” —The Oracle, The Matrix films Be it a social media post, an academic essay, a news article, or a novella, many of my readers know that I am very prone to include profound quotes in my work. A number of those quotes have guided me and … More And I Quote
It’s always awesome when a work assignment requires you to pen a think piece that is ultimately a love letter to your favorite superhero. Battle on, Windrider!!!!!!
So recently Rose McGowan made headlines expressing outrage over the X-Men: Apocalypse billboard ad that showcases Ivan Ooze, I mean Apocalypse, choking Mystique, claiming that it promotes violence against women. Fox has since issued an apology for the billboard. Which I think was the right call for the studio. The right call would also be … More The Inconvenient Truth In Advertising
X-Men Apocalypse. I swore I wouldn’t write a review for the film. Primarily because any review I penned would pale in comparison to the excellent piece penned by my buddy and fellow N.O.C. colleague, Valerie Complex. Seriously if you haven’t read it, go do so now. Val snatched so many wigs and edges, you would’ve thought Director … More Review: X-Men Apocalypse
Recently Fearless Leader (known to some of you as Keith Chow), informed the N.O.C. collective that legendary comic book writer Greg Pak had a new Kickstarter campaign and wanted to see if anyone would be interested in interviewing him. My response to Fearless Leader: I’ve been a fan of Pak’s work for many years. From … More Kickstarter Secrets With Greg Pak
“I’m always fascinated when white geeks go on and on about how accepting and wonderful geek culture is. I don’t question their experience, I just can’t personally relate. For me, I have to be cautious of what venues of fandom I venture in, because it’s not unlike walking through gen pop, where you constantly have … More Don’t Buy Black Panther Graphic Novels During Black History Month
It’s always honoring and humbling to know that my writing (even my musings on comic books) touches people in a profound way or inspires them. Last week my buddy Derpetta V. Greene penned this piece based on some thoughts I shared on Facebook regarding three cornerstone characters in X-Men: Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm. … More X-Trinity
Over on Latin Negro, yours truly has a guest post discussing how a storyteller’s inspiration can often come in the unlikeliest of forms. I won’t lie, this is probably one of my favorite pieces I’ve penned this year. Have a gander…..
So last week, I was reviewing the solicits for upcoming comics and saw this gem above: An all female X-Men team being led by none other than the First Lady of Marvel, Storm. And note said all female team consists of not one, not two but three women of color. Then I read about the … More Marvel, You’ve Got My Attention
DENNIS R. UPKINS 