Growing up the only knowledge I had of anime was Dragonball. My best friends and I would go to each others houses and spend time together watching Dragonball and Dragonball Z. Going outside and pretending we could do the Kamehameha and thinking we knew how to fight just like Goku. Many many years later Dragonball Super comes out and I begin watching that and revisiting the world of anime. Eventually Dragonball Super ends leaving me feeling sad and with a Crunchyroll account with nothing to watch on there until I started browsing. Which leads me to my next love… Haikyu.

“It’s a sports anime it automatically means it’s not good” A phrase I have been told many times. A phrase that I have ignored many many times and I am glad I did. Haikyu is an anime and a manga series about a high school boy’s volleyball club that goes to achieve a longtime goal. The chance to win the tournament and play in Nationals.
Its full of humor, volleyball references, and lovable relationships. Following the newcomers of Karasuno High, Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama, and how they become the best duo of setter and hitter. Showcasing the unbelievable talent they bring forward to Karasuno High along with other First -year students, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

I finished all of the 3 seasons available on Crunchyroll in 2 weeks. A decision I regretted almost immediately because now I can’t continue on this journey with them. That is when I found out that the manga series is a lot longer and I can find out what has happened after the finale of the anime series. Haikyu the manga has 32 volumes published in English, 37 volumes in Japanese and still many more that are not included in the volumes. Haikyu began as a one-shot story and has expanded into a weekly release in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since February 2012. I hope it continues for as long as the story can hold.

Haikyu is a story that can make you laugh and see the fun of playing volleyball.

Many people may see manga and comics as the same, but in actuality these two forms of literature are more different than one would imagine. They both come with their own unique and distinct styles in the form of story, direction, characters, and art style. There are obvious differences such as manga’s Japanese influence and comic’s American influence, or that you read manga backwards instead of forwards like a regular book. One big difference from the two is that manga is sold as a book or weekly magazine, while comics are mainly colored magazines. Manga is usually not colored, but just white and black print.

Another difference are the characters. The thing with comics (mainly super-hero comics), is that the characters share the same universe with other characters. For example, what Batman does can affect what Superman does. Within manga, there aren’t too many character crossovers. Manga tends to be its own story with its own characters. Although many characters may be alike from both manga and comics, their stories are very different.

Baki the Grappler is a manga series about martial arts and over-the-top muscles. Like many other series, it takes influence from all around the globe. There is influence from Russia, China, and the U.S. involving their characters. An example is a character named Muhammad Ali Jr. The character I am going to talk about is Biscuit Oliva who is based on a real-life person named Sergio Oliva.

Sergio Oliva was a bodybuilder who was a 3x Mr. Olympia and had also won numerous bodybuilding shows. He was mainly known for his size or what they say in the bodybuilding world “mass”. Now in the manga there is a character named Biscuit Oliva. Like Sergio, Biscuit is a mountain of muscle and shares a same background as Sergio. The manga is so over the top, that Biscuit’s muscles can withstand shotgun bullets point blank and can also break blades that try to pierce his skin. He is a prisoner who has the luxury to leave whenever he wants but in order to do so he has to catch bad guys. He does no use fighting techniques but he use his muscle size and strength to overpower his opponents. The primary influence of Biscuit Oliva is the design and the background of Sergio “The Myth” Oliva.

Baki the Grappler is a series that I would recommend. Especially if you like fighting and brutality. You will come across a lot of characters who are influenced by real life people.

We have come a long way when it comes to diversity in superhero films, but we still have a long way to go. Characters who were originally drawn as white in classic comics have been portrayed by people of color without much opposition in recent years. Nick Fury being portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe is an excellent example of this. But many fans today would still be opposed to having a non-white portrayal of an iconic headliner such as Batman or Superman. Why is this?

The Golden Age of Comic Books (1938-1950) happened before the civil rights movement (1954-1968). This means that while we were seeing our first versions of Batman and Superman, segregation was still a thing. Needless to say, superheroes during this era were white. Despite this fact, nothing in their origin stories suggest that current versions have to be. Let me clarify. The first black superhero to appear in comics (1966) was Black Panther. His African heritage is central to his narrative. Having someone who isn’t black portray him wouldn’t make sense. In contrast, there are no such cultural aspects written into the storylines of Batman or Superman. Superman is Kryptonian, not white. The main details of Batman’s origin story are that he’s rich, afraid of bats, and that his parents were murdered. Not that he’s white.

While Aquaman is usually portrayed as a blonde-haired white man, he is currently being portrayed by an individual of multiracial descent. Jason Momoa has proven that the struggling DC Cinematic Universe made the right decision in going with a non-traditional portrayal of Aquaman, with the film becoming a tremendous box office success. Another casting selection that DC got right is that of Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot caught some initial fan criticism for being “too slim,” but she proved these critics wrong with her wonderful performance (pun intended). Hugh Jackman isn’t Canadian, and he’s way too tall (6’2″ as opposed to 5’3″) to play a “comic book accurate” version of Wolverine. But you’d have a tough time convincing any fan that he isn’t the perfect incarnation of Logan. These examples prove that while the physical appearance of actors and actresses in superhero films may have some importance, what really wins fans over is their actual performance.

As you can see, there has been a definite increase in diversity in recent superhero movies, albeit initially in supporting roles. And it has been proven that an actor or actress who may not appear identical to the comic version of a superhero can still convincingly play that character, even to the point that you picture them in your mind when you hear that hero’s name. So why is it that so many are opposed to a person of color playing an a-list hero such as Batman or Superman? Maybe it’s because we’re so used to them being portrayed as white. Maybe it’s time that changed. The world is ready for a black Batman.

Now let me start off by saying I am a huge DC fan. I love the animated films like Son of Bad, Batman vs Robin, and Flashpoint. I always loved the animated series of Justice league and still watch Young Justice. So as you can expect I was really hopeful for this team build up, but I was sadly disappointed with the end result. I feel like it a great idea and concept was but was rushed together to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel took the time to develop each character with a standalone film with small entangles between each film. Where as DC tried to force new characters in a movie where they didn’t belong. If you have seen “Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice” you can see what I am talking about. DC has seen success in there other movies like Aquaman and Wonder Woman films. But the future is unsure for the DC’s cinema with the Ben Affleck leaving as Batman. How will this change effect the current universe. I personally would like to see a complete reboot of the entire universe myself. That way we could try and get a Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and maybe even give Green Lantern a second chance. so it could get the proper justice Justice League deserves. Please comment and let me know what you think should happen to the future of the DCU.

If someone were to ask you about the origin story of Spider-Man what would say? You would probably say bitten by radioactive spider, Uncle Ben dies, and the infamous phrase of “With great power there must also come – great responsibility!” These are the most common things we associate with when talking about the origins of Spider-Man.

In 1962, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko introduced the world to Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15.

In 2002, Spider-Man featuring Tobey Maguire was released.

With the introduction of Spider-Man in different formats you would think the origin story would be the same but it’s not. There are some similarities but there are also big differences as well.

Let’s begin with Amazing Fantasy #15 with the first time we see Peter Parker/ Spider-Man. The first panel starting with our beloved Peter and showing his characteristics, a professional wallflower. Despite how he is treated by others he stills asks a few classmates if they would like to see a new exhibit at Science Hall. He ends up going alone, while their Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider. Almost immediately he notices changes, the ability to climb walls, strength, and walking along cables effortlessly like a spider. Moments later Peter uses his power in a wrestling ring to test them. Then, something we are all not familiar with in a Spider-Man origin story is Peter being approached by a TV Producer promising him to be a TV star.

Up until this moment the comic origin story and movie origin story were similar in a way. Now we have our first major difference, something I was surprised by the first time I read it. Peter Parker becoming a TV star by being Spider-Man. In the movie, we see Peter going against many opponents in the wrestling ring instead of becoming a TV star. However, the next part of the story we are all to familiar with was the death of Uncle Ben by the hands of the thief Peter had let get away from the security guard. The way it is shown in the comic is different than the movie. Unlike the movie, in the comic we don’t see the crime scene instead we are informed about it by a police officer. Peter runs off and finds the thief in an abandoned building. Yet another difference we have come to, in the comics the thief is apprehended and turned into the police. While in the movie the thief trips and falls out the window to his death.

“With great power there must also come – great responsibility” a phrase that was told to Peter by his Uncle Ben…. in the movie at least.

When I mention that Damian Wayne is over-powered, I’m talking about the Damian Wayne in the New 52 DC animated movies. Now Damian Wayne is the son of Batman and Talia al Ghul which makes Damian the grandson of Ra’s al Ghul. Damian was first introduced on-screen in 2014’s Son of Batman where the OP abilities begin. I’ll only mention a few OP moments involving the little rascal.

First and foremost, I’ll admit that he’s probably a genetic freak in the making since he has two beast parents but come on now. At the beginning of Son of Batman, Damian has a scuffle against Deathstroke where he stabs out Deathstroke’s eye. How is a little kid going to do that to a monster like Deathstroke? Maybe he underestimated little Damian so I’ll somewhat ignore that. His next moment involves Damian taking on another grown man, Ubu, who is a big muscle himself with claws. Here I thought he would use skills to take on Ubu, but no. Damian overpowers Ubu like how I would beat up a little kid. I could understand Damian outsmarting him but manhandling him? No way. Then as Damian is about to kill Ubu, Nightwing comes in to save the day. The scuffle isn’t shown but Nightwing takes the win but obviously took some damage. Nightwing maybe underestimated him because he was a little kid so I’ll ignore it.

Now I’ll skip to the end of the movie where he has a final showdown against Deathstroke. They battle and the OP moments occur once again. Damian has two blades that pierced both arms and somehow rips through one and pulls out the other. What?! The craziness doesn’t end there though. He throws some batarangs at Deathstroke which results with one landing against Deathstroke’s head. They clash swords and Damian lands a “lucky” slash on his opponent. Damian loses his sword at one point and Deathstroke throws a downward slash on Bruce Jr. and catches the blade! Damian eventually wins in the end by “outsmarting” a combat expert because he’s Batman’s son.

Now I could go way more into detail on the little tyke but that’d go on for a while. I do like the New 52 DC movies, even the ones with young Damian, and I recommend them. I just wish that DC would tone down on the OP grandson of the demon.

The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite television series and it is no stranger to the topic of comic books. The main male leads are nerds in every sense of the word: three out of the four have PhD’s in some type of science, cannot throw a ball even if their life depended on it, are socially awkward, and spend their free time browsing their local comic store. My point is that this show feeds into a stereotype that comic books are for the neighborhood nerd.

Growing up the only thing I heard about comic books was that they were read by nerds and if you read one that’s a category you could end up under. It was reinforced in the movies I watched, the books I read, and the people I grew up around. As a kid and pre-teen, the idea of being seen as a nerd or dork or geek was detrimental to my social standing and so I avoided doing anything that would associate me with such a stereotype. However, I grew up. Being called a nerd became something I didn’t care or even think about. Why worry about something so trivial? I knew who I was and reading comic books wouldn’t have changed that.

I do want to address something else. There are people who have read comic books their whole lives and pounce on people who want to check them out and that’s also annoying. All of a sudden comic books are off limits to curious people. It’s like how metalheads will try to one-up each other and if anyone else claimed to like a band or an artist they will try to prove how much more knowledge they have than the other. This is a common theme with any group of media fans and that in itself is a way that these stereotypes are reinforced. Why can’t we just enjoy what we want to enjoy?

I know there are people out there who still see reading comic books as a negative thing, but who cares? Do what you want and don’t let social ideas or constricts keep you from doing or reading something you are interested in. I know this was everywhere, but I waited till the day this was due to write it up and I am tired. I understand that The Big Bang Theory uses the stereotype just as a humor tactic and I really appreciate that. Anyways, no. Comic books are not for nerds. Comic books are for whoever wants to open them up and enjoy some fun reading.