Comic Art: Spotlight on Drew Struzan

Oh, I can hear the chorus of complaints about this post already. Drew Struzan isn’t famous for comic books or comic strips. In fact, while he did illustration work for publications and advertising that overlapped with comic and pop culture circles, he never contributed to the sequential storytelling found in comics. What he did provide […]

Looking Forward (February 2026): First Brain Inventory Since 2025

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2026. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

Comic Art: Spotlight on Jim Aparo

From junior high onward, I was a Marvel Comics guy. When I began attending South Junior High, I found myself in classes with total strangers. Most of my best friends from grammar school weren’t there, so I had to start over. My new crowd was heavy into Marvel—Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men. And, naturally, I followed […]

Comic Art: Spotlight on Tom Gauld

I discovered Scottish cartoonist Tom Gauld quite by accident. Well—“accident” probably isn’t the right word. One of his cartoons appeared on the MSN homepage of my browser. It was, in fact, the very single-paneled cartoon that now sits atop this post. I’m living in the future they used to tell us about in mid-1980s marketing […]

Comic Art: Spotlight on Chris Samnee

I always refer to myself as a reformed comic book geek. I was a committed collector—or as committed as I could afford to be—from the early 1970s until about 1983. I lost most of the books I collected early on in a house fire. I’m alive, so I’m not complaining. Then my active collecting slowed […]

Daredevil: Born Again (Disney +): Season 1 — a review

I watched Marvel’s Daredevil when it began streaming on Netflix. I watched all three seasons, in fact. I just went spelunking in my library of WordPress posts, looking for reviews I must have written for this series. My review of the third season (the last one for Netflix) is there, but not the first two […]

Batman: Caped Crusader: Season 1 (Prime Video) — a review

It’s never been a secret that, on any given day, my favorite comic book hero is Batman. Or Wolverine. I switch off occasionally. Today, the scales are tipped in favor of Batman since I just completed the first season of Amazon Prime Video’s animated Batman: Caped Crusader. Not just for that reason. I feel I […]

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) — a movie review

When I went to college, I put my comic book collecting days firmly in the past. It was a matter of necessity, really. I had zero disposable income (after subtracting the cost of alcohol and club cover charges). My roommate and I shared a single dorm room, with no extra room for boxes of comic […]

Looking Forward (June 2025): Your Perspective is My Reality

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for June 2025. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

The Brothers Hildebrandt: Bringing Fantasy to Life

Greg Hildebrandt died this past Halloween, October 31, 2024, at age 85. He was a famous artist in his own right, but I was first introduced to his work along with that of his twin brother Tim, who passed away back in 2006. Together, they were known as the Brothers Hildebrandt. If you have a […]

Looking Forward (October 2024): What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for October 2024. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

X-Men: The Animated Series: Season 1 — a review

A bit of background is in order. I was not an OG X-Men fan. The original X-Men comic, The X-Men #1, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, was published in 1963. I didn’t begin reading Marvel comic books until the mid-1970s, when I succumbed to peer pressure during junior high. Prior to that, I cut […]

Batman: The Animated Series: Season 1 — a review

I was there in 1989 to see the first Tim Burton movie, simply and obviously titled Batman. This was in Jacksonville, North Carolina, home of the Marine base Camp Lejeune. My first wife and I were living in Jacksonville at the time. I was never a Marine. But semper fi to all of my jarhead […]

The Batman Effect

I had never heard of this particular “phenomenon,” but I already knew about it on a level that was not quite subconscious but approaching it. Let me back up for a minute. I despise clickbait. Especially the type that lures you into a slide show presentation that, at times, seems unending. That said, I sometimes […]

Firewater’s Bold Statement about the MCU

Okay, this is a misleading title. Maybe you expect me to jump on that internet bandwagon. You know the one I’m talking about. “The MCU has lost its way, and, for that reason, I refuse to watch any more of the movies and television shows it keeps cranking out.” That bandwagon. Let’s be real. You […]

The Batman: Season 1 — a review of the animated series

Like most guys of a certain age, my introduction to Batman came in the form of a wacky, go-go era television series called Batman. It starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Batman’s ward and sidekick Robin the Boy Wonder. Famed auto customizer George Barris had built the ’66 Batmobile, which became […]

Looking Forward (October 2023 Update): The Noble Pursuit of Entertainment

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for October 2023. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, by Tom King (writer) & Bilquis Evely (artist) (DC Comics) — a review

I admit to being a former comic book geek in my bio on this site. The heyday of my comic book collecting years was the 1970s until the early ’80s. Even then, I wasn’t what you think of as a “collector.” No bags, no boards, no long boxes. I was a comic book “enjoyer.” I […]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — a movie review

There often seems to be an inverse relationship in critics’ movie ratings to that of the movie-watching public. For instance, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. On the Rotten Tomatoes review site, the critics—as of June 10, 2023—gave the movie a disappointing 46%, based on 393 professional reviews. Meanwhile, the audience score is an overwhelmingly positive […]

MCU: Phase 4 — thoughts and reflections

After Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released in the theaters, I heard that it was the final movie of the MCU’s Phase 4. Final Phase 4 movie? What?!? How could this possibly be? I’ve defended Phase 4, time and again. And I’ve watched every movie and Disney + streaming series. Back in October 2022, my […]

Looking Forward (February 2023 Update): Music Soothes the Savage Beast

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2023. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

Paper Girls: Season 1 (Prime Video) — a review

I’m not big on labels. I am a writer. And if I’m pressed on the issue, I’ll cop to being a reviewer but never a critic. Here’s the main difference between a reviewer and a critic, according to me. Critics get paid to finish watching things, even movies and television series that they don’t like, […]

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Season 1 (Disney +) — a review

Way back in 1980 (maybe late 1979—you know how comic book publication dates work), I purchased The Savage She-Hulk #1, a Marvel comic book written by none other than Stan “The Man” Lee and illustrated by legendary artist John Buscema. The title lasted for twenty-five issues, but I never bought another after the first. Honestly, […]

Looking Forward (October 2022 Update): How I Spent My Summer

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for October 2022. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And, then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

The Flash: Season 8 — a review

The CW has announced that Season 9 of The Flash will be the final season. I will watch it as it airs. It’s that completist pathology—the collector’s curse—that drives me to watch all of something. If you share even a portion of the genome sequence that causes this, you understand what I mean. The first […]

firewatersite

Read. Play. Watch. Listen .

comic books