Paco Taylor

With all the hubbub over DC Comics’ newest sensation Naomi taking up so much of the nerdversations® on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere over the last couple of months, it’s been super easy to forget how much of an impact newish Teen Titans member Crush had previously been having on the minds of both comic book collectors and retailers.

In a shade-filled tweet by a fan that promptly went viral in the fall of 2017, Rosario Dawson's Marvel TV character Claire Temple is referred to lovingly as one of "the four Defenders." And it's a positioning that's well deserved. (Sorry, Iron Fist.)

"Oh my god, Becky, look at her butt!" exclaims an awestruck blonde to her BFF in the opening of Sir-Mix-A-Lot's 1992 hit song, "Baby Got Back." Over the course of the wiggle-inducing track, the rapper from Seattle waxes poetic on the endless allure of the "bootay," producing what has ultimately become one of the most popular and enduring rump shakers in the known universe. Perhaps it was only by cosmic coincidence that May 2017 — which marked the 25th anniversary of Sir Mix-A-Lot's still remarkably popular song — also saw the theatrical release of the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Though one might seemingly have nothing at all to do with the other, a promotional image for Guardians 2 somehow brings Sir Mix-A-Lot's song to mind. The image to which I'm referring is a pulse-pounding panorama that features seven members of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2's extremely colorful cast. Featured at its center, next to a stylish and heroic-looking Star Lord (Chris Pratt) is the green-skinned and gorgeous Gamora (Zoe Saldana), with her little leather-clad buns turned tantalizingly toward the viewer.

When it comes to someone of Samuel L. Jackson's immense stature in American pop culture, I should probably be saying "the" geek god, not "a" geek god. Seriously. Don't let this man's fear-inducing yells, those uber menacing facial expressions or the embroidered, 70s-style "Bad Mother$#&@er" wallet fool you. Samuel L. Jackson's geek cred is staggering. As an only child growing up, Sam was a devout comic book reader. Invincible Iron Man and Nick Fury and His Howling Commandos were among his many favorites. Go figure, right? But his appreciation for the medium didn't fade when he grew up to become one of the world's most famous film stars. Heck no! Even at the height of his fame, Jackson could still be found visiting his friendly neighborhood comic shop to browse the eye-grabbing goodies. With his roles as the Jedi Knight Mace Windu in the StarWars prequel trilogy and as Colonel Nick Fury in films and TV shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jackson has also become quite the familiar face on the comic book rack as well. From titles like Star Wars: Jedi and The Ultimates to Ultimate Spider-man and his own 2010 comic book ColdSpace, his distinctive mug has the comics medium covered.

It’s astounding to think now that the violent, sexy, and…[ahem] sexually violent 'Bubblegum Crisis' anime Parasite Dolls was released way back in 2003.

In 1973, in a head-spinning eight month span that ran from March of that year to October, six Hong Kong martial arts films captured the #1 spot at the US box office. The collective spectacle sparked a martial arts mania that spread from downtown movie screens to comic book racks at the neighborhood drug store.