Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor - Our year began with the DCnU wave about to crash onto our popular culture shore. Basically, DC Comics decided to boost sales by completely revising their narrative continuity. This was a “soft reboot,” presumably meant to indicate that the changes were not as drastic as the shift the company made way back in 1986. Fans were worried. After all, fandom is a [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – The perfect game of Dragon’s Lair was moments away. I was in the zone in a way I had never been before and would never be again. Just as victory seemed assured, triumph was snatched away from me. Dragon’s Lair was unlike anything else in entertainment. In 1983, the Atari 2600 was the cutting edge of home video gaming and personal computers [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – Nerd Factor presents to you an April Fool’s Day challenge. Can you determine which of the following superhero facts are completely made up? (1) Superhero costumes that look great on the comic book page don’t always translate well into film. While the production designers of the 1990 version of Captain America stayed true to Cap’s classic costume, the mask itself used rubbery [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – ,br>An interesting argument has been making its way around the nerd circles. “Why Batman Should Kill the Joker” was posted on the Big Think website. In the article, Tauriq Moosa presents his case as to why the unstoppable Joker should meet a final, lethal end at the hands of the Dark Knight. A number of other counterarguments have followed and this nerd [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor - A little message at the beginning of every episode of Dora the Explorer explains what the viewer can expect to learn. While I’ve been watching with my son, I’ve started to realize that we’ve been getting some other lessons beyond the promised improvement of problem-solving/organization skills and an increased knowledge of Spanish language and culture: People hear what they want to hear. [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – So what’s in a name? Would a supervillain by any other name still be as evil? One of the great things about superheroes is that many of the best characters, both good and evil, come from what’s known as the Silver Age of Comics. Starting around the mid-1950s and lasting into the 1970s, this era was a time when comics’ creators proved [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communcation Studies Professor My birthday was Tuesday. I turned. . . well let’s say I turned a bit older. I started thinking back to birthday parties of the past, just to prove my brain still works I suppose. I have fond memories of many great parties, but if I had to pick one true standout, I would choose the birthday party on the boat at McDonalds. [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – Until his marriage to Lois Lane was recently rebooted away in the DCnU event, Superman had one of the most stable relationships in comics. In movies though, Superman has been a disturbingly neurotic jerk. In honor of the recent holiday, here are movie Superman’s bad relationship tips: Lie: Secret identities exist to protect loved ones, but Clark Kent is the disguise, not [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor – The release of The Dark Knight Rises is only a few short months away, but producers are still playing a cat-and-mouse game with the audience. Very little has been said about the new Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway. For a long time, the character was steadfastly referred to in the press as Selina Kyle, leaving fans to speculate why the less familiar [...]

Dr. Mike Robinson, Professor of Communications – When my daughter said, “I have a question,” my parental spider-sense went on alert. After all, you never know what a teen might ask. “If you were a superhero, would you wear a cape?” she continued. That’s my girl. She makes my nerd heart proud. It’s a tricky question. Along with colorful underwear on the outside, capes have been an important part of [...]