It’s actually been a dozen years since the controversial former model and early reality TV star’s death. — During her tragically short life, I was something of a fan of Anna Nicole Smith (November 28, 1967 — February 8, 2007). I liked the woman, I did. But in my defense— since I still feel the need even now to steel myself for making such a declaration — I…

There’s something oddly familiar about this. — It was a day or two after an online discussion last month in which I’d participated––a casual chat on Ariana Grande’s May 28, 2018 TIME Magazine cover — that I finally realized what bothered me most about it. Well, aside from the very obvious fact that the image was bleached…

In 1957, she turned her back on an industry that virtually worshipped her. A witch-hunt sparked by horror comics was largely to blame. — Three years before Page’s quiet disappearing act, psychiatrist Frederic Wertham published the Molotov cocktail of a book, Seduction of the Innocent (1954). Within in its pages, the German-born headshrinker made an erroneously convincing case to parents that graphic depictions of violence in comic books influenced delinquency in minors.

Dip-dip-dive, so-socialize — Clean out your ears and open your eyes. — Well, filmmaker/culture writer Michael Holman had a pretty good run. For quite a few years now, hip-hop history had been at least partly corrected in Mr. Holman’s favor. His January 1982 interview with Afrika Bambaataa, published in Manhattan’s esteemed but now defunct culture rag, East Village Eye, had finally come…

What we’re gonna do right here is go back — way back. — After drafting two Supa Dupa Fly™ listicles on comic book artists who rocked hip-hop record cover art, and comic book artists who did the same for rock music records, I knew that, at some point in the not-so-distant future, I’d have to revisit one of my much earlier efforts. In…

You gon’ learn today. — By the time Five Fingers of Death, a surprising box office hit starring the late great actor Lo Lieh, was released to US theaters in March 1973, Bruce Lee was already a martial arts superstar. But not if you let one of the writers over Screenrant tell it. An article…

You’re gonna wanna see it full screen. — According to Internet number crunchers, Sabrina Salerno’s 1987 music video for “Boys (Summertime Love)” is one of the all-time most downloaded videos on the web. Before diving into it, though, a word of caution. If you, dear reader, aren’t sitting at a desktop or laptop computer (preferably one at work…

Seriously. If not for a daytime drama, this comic book anti-hero wouldn’t be stealing our collective hearts today. — Ten years or so ago, if anybody would’ve suggested to comic book aficionados that a daytime soap that our mommy’s used to watch had a big role in inspiring the creation of DC Comics’ breakout star Harley Quinn, we’d have thought they had dingbats in their belfry. Nevertheless, a remarkable…

These will, these will rock you. — Years before 3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold sang, “If I go crazy…will you still call me Superman?” the influence of comic books on the world of rock music had already been firmly established. Though maybe not as apparent as the unabashed love that hip-hop artists have always shown towards…