ABC ended its upfront presentation with perhaps its most buzzworthy show, the Joss Whedon-produced Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show talks about protecting the “ordinary from the extraordinary” but there appears to be at least one superhuman on the team. J. August Richards, a regular on Whedon’s Angel, is showing off some serious strongman feats. The more »

Oh yes, it is time to get our Marvel Comics and Joss Whedon geek on. ABC showed a little Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D during Once Upon A Time Sunday night. The pilot about the super spies behind The Avengers is coming to ABC this fall, starring Ming-Na, Elizabeth Henstridge and Clark Gregg. Yes, that’s the same more »

Billy Joel turned 64 this week (Tablet) Do women hate Game of Thrones? (The Frisky) Remember the ’80s band OMD? Apparently they were more influential than we remember  (New York Times magazine) Yes, the “Donna Martin Graduates” episode of Beverly Hills 90210 is 20 years old (Vulture) 20 overused movie shots that should be retired more »

Disney went through a bit of an identity crisis in recent years, as arguably the world’s most famed animation division struggled to stay relevant. Adding the Marvel Comics catalog and its incredibly bankable heroes couldn’t possibly hurt. Disney’s first animated flick based on a Marvel project is a bit of a shocker, though. It’s not more »

Soccer legend Lionel Messi’s story is the stuff biopics are made from. He displayed incredible skill from an early age but was among the smallest boys in his class. Doctors later learned he had a hormone deficiency that stunted his growth. Messi’s talent was so great FC Barcelona agreed not only to train him, but more »

Orson Scott Card’s bestseller “Ender’s Game” is coming to the movies this November, with a star-studded cast. Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and Viola Davis are all on hand. But this is a story in which children are the true heroes. Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) plays Ender Wiggin. Oscar nominees Abigail Breslin more »

Those who are fixtures in our local comic shops already know Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow. To the rest of the world, I’m imploring you to stop by a nearby shop and experience what they have to offer. It is free, after all. Diamond Comics estimates retailers will give away 4.6 million books tomorrow.The more »

The John Hughes/hockey connection (Grantland) The many, many unanswered questions of Saved by the Bell (Pajiba) An opinion piece arguing that The Big Bang Theory is an offensive minstrel show about nerds (Sick Chirpse) A real-life quirky lady resents the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” trope (Rookie Mag) Speaking of which, the creator of MPDG, Nathan more »

Remember the essays you wrote in high school? The ones for which you were assigned a topic and a certain number of double-spaced pages of text, all backed up by laborious MLA Style notes and bibliography? No, I’m not actually asking you to recall the subjects of any such essays. You’ve almost certainly forgotten them more »

  There’s a big shakeup at the AV Club, with longtime staffers Nathan Rabin, Tasha Robinson and Genevieve Koski are leaving, to join former staffers Keith Phipps and Scott Tobias to form “a film-specific project” at another media company. (AV Club) Naming a rock band is harder than you’d think (The Morning News) Welcome back, more »