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Sometimes, a movie that has smaller ambitions gives us a bigger payout, and that's exactly how it feels with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Rather than trying to build a whole new universe, this movie is telling a straightforward story with a relatively contained cast, and it makes all the difference for the fun, relatable narrative. 

Children's programming can be really hit or miss; sometimes it leans too crass and silly, sometimes it leans too adult and isn't entirely appealing for kids. Moon Girl, on the other hand, nails the balance perfectly. Beautifully animated, brilliantly acted, and a killer soundtrack, we are anxiously awaiting season 2! 

Graphic Novelties: Jenny Finn It's Industrial England, heavy topics, and a bunch of fish people. Sure, not something you pick up every day, but this read has that distinct Mignola flavor that brings wide-spanning themes altogether. The story isn't necessarily ground-breaking, but it's a quick, interesting read that is as much an ambience piece as anything else. 

You know, it feels really good to be able to come here and talk about a Marvel movie and actually feel really happy with the outcome. After a couple real bummer-inos, this new installment of Ant-Man introduced some really great characters, some long-lasting villain implications, and a good bit of depth to a majority of the established heroes. Heck, Marvel, it's almost like you DO know how to make a movie. 

Key Issues: Navigating Fanship Around Problematic People We hate to bring in the raincloud, but we really felt this was something that needed to be discussed. There's been a lot of discourse around how to handle loving an IP or a book or movie when it becomes unfortunately connected to someone problematic. In today's Key Issues, we share where we draw the line for our own ethical consumption. 

News Brief: The Gunnening 2: DC Boogaloo Holy heck, James Gunn just dropped a LOT of information on us about where the DCU is headed in a recent social video drop, and we've taken the time to process what it all means, decide what we're most excited about, and most importantly, pinpoint exactly which things we TOTALLY CALLED in our Coverspiracy from last December! 

Powered Gaming: Munchkin Presents Batman There are a LOT of types of Munchkin - some work better than others, for sure, but this one is a pretty solid iteration of the fan-favorite game. With custom art, the traditional playful silliness, and a deep understand of what makes Batman so weird, this is a version definitely worth picking up. 

Graphic Novelties: Chronophage This book, while definitely on the spicier side, is an excellent deviation from the more traditional sci-fi romps we've taken in recent comic titles. It's time travel, it's aliens, it's pocket universes - but also, none of those features feel like they overwhelm what's ultimately a story about love, family, and being honest to oneself. It gets pretty deep, but it's worth it, we promise. 

Powered Gaming: Marvel Dice Throne If you listened to our end of the year "Best of" episode, you know that Chris's favorite board game of the year was Marvel Dice Throne. Well, now you get to find out why it's so great! From its portability, to its quick pace, to its easy to grasp gameplay, this is one of those games you'll want to pick up for the family ASAP! 

Key Issues: The Best of 2022 It's the end of the year, and we're looking back on the best of the best in comics, graphic novels, movies, TV shows, video games, board games, and episodes. Let's get down and dirty on our top picks from 2022!

Coverspiracy: The Gunnening of DC Boy howdy, there's been a LOT of speculation around the future of the DCU! Rumors about who's in, who's out, who hates who, and what random characters may get introduced have been whirling wildly all over the internet, with only limited confirmations or denials coming from the Gunn-man himself. We're here to help clear up what's true, false, and undecided, along with our theories about what's next for the DC Cinematic Universe. 

So, this movie came out almost 3 years ago at this point, but because of the dreaded panini, it really fell under the radar for most folks. We recently had a chance to check it out, and decided to share our thoughts on this pretty decent Vin Diesel flick that should have gotten way more love than it did. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong company, wrong circumstances. 

Reel Extra: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special We're not saying this short flick is going to replace your yearly rewatch of A Christmas Story, but it is a holly jolly joyful little romp to brighten your season. With the focus on Mantis, we get a delighfully goofy and heartwarming tale about saving Christmas for Starlord. Oh, and Kevin Bacon is awesome, even if he IS just a stupid actor.

Powered Gaming: Gotham Knights Gotham's missing a Batman in the new DC video game, but that's not the only thing this game is lacking. A very mid- experience; it has some high points in interesting crafting & crime-stopping, but some really low points in villain development and boss fights. Should you spend a lot on it? Probably not. But it might be worth a pick up on a steep Black Friday sale. 

Reel Extra: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever There was a lot of speculation around how they would incorporate the loss of Chadwick Boseman and his rendition of T'Challa into the MCU, but it was done gracefully and with a lot of empathy. Beyond that, the movie itself is well done - great acting, beautiful visuals, and a solid story - even though there were some small but pronounced holes that could have made the film better with a little more fleshing out. More than anything, we're just proud the MCU has started to really figure out how to mix up the tone of their movies; we've come a long way from the Tony-Stark-ization of every character, and that's something to be celebrated, for sure.  

Reel Extra: Black Adam I wouldn't say that the rock has brought something hugely new and different to the genre, but I would say he's helped create a super fun, action-packed popcorn movie that's definitely worth seeing on a big screen. Oh, and it DOES have some implications for the rest of the MCU so, you know, be ready for that. 

Graphic Novelties: Dissolving Classroom It's our last episode for spooky season, and we're capping off with a goopy, gross, funny, and poignent title in Dissolving Classroom - the most recent anthology from one of Cover B's favorites, Junji Ito. It's weird and over-the-top, but still does a great job of calling out the ongoing trend of disingenuous apologies we see and experience a lot of the time. Get your candy, light your pumpkin, and join us for another spooky time! 

Reel Extra: Werewolf By Night It's a Halloween spooky special from your fright-night friends at Cover B! This week we're covering the recently released Werewolf By Night, a Marvel & Disney+ short horror film that does an incredible job stylizing itself after the old-school genre films. You know, except randomly for the "not-TVA" folks. Which... well, we'll tell you all about it. Time for some spooks! 

Key Issues: The Troublesome Journey from Comic to Screen It's been flop after failure-to-launch after cancellation when it comes to comic adaptations lately, and boy has it left some pretty big sticks in our collective craws. Today, we're talking about the three things that keep blocking the paths of comic IPs to the big or silver screens: a lack of marketing, good writing, and advocacy. 

Graphic Novelties: Leone: Notes on a Life As two English majors talking about media on a weekly basis, it is super exciting when we get a graphic novel like this one that gives us something to really sink out teeth into. This book is beautiful, creative, subjective, and leaves so much up to the reader. From the use of color, to the nonsequential storytelling, to the subtle weaving of music the whole way through, this title has so much to offer. Definitely not one to miss!