Shawn O’Rourke is an Adjunct Instructor and Speech and Debate Coach at Orange Coast Community College. He has an MA in History and has presented papers at several academic conferences. He is on Facebook and can by followed on twitter (spo1981). Check out his blogs at www.spo1981.blogspot.com and www.futureofprint.blogspot.com.
Features
Thursday, July 19 2012
Comic Con Explores the Digital Future of Comics
Were the people downloading comics loyal fans who had forsaken their local stores for the allure of cheaper titles and ease of access? Or were they new readers who would never have stepped into a comic book store, but decided to download something directly to their smartphone or tablet?
Thursday, May 26 2011
When Superheroes Die
The death of Randy Poffo, aka Macho Man Randy Savage, once again revealed the dark history of professional wrestling. A history replete with drug abuse, murder and suicide. In this essay a writer and fan explores the varied reactions to Savage's death; a death which created more questions than answers.
Wednesday, November 10 2010
"What If Superman Was Hopelessly Insane?": Mark Waid's Irredeemable
The man who made me love Superman, now makes me terrified of someone with such god-like powers.
Wednesday, September 22 2010
The Future of Comic Stores in the Digital Era
Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics and founder of Free Comic Book Day, shares his insights into comicbooks, new media and the prospect of a world without print.
Tuesday, August 24 2010
Trail Blazers in the World of Academia
As we continue to enter this new era in which comics become more integrated into both the larger popular culture and the resulting professional areas that examine it, it is important to remember that until very recently it wasn’t always so.
Reviews
Tuesday, July 24 2012
The Exorcist: 3 July - 12 August 2012 - Los Angeles
The overall feeling of The Exorcist challenges the viewer to let down their natural defenses when it comes to being scared.
Thursday, February 9 2012
The Evolving Anthropological Tone of Star Wars in "Dawn of the Jedi"
When examining a work whose mythology is an expansive as Star Wars, it almost becomes a historiographical investigation as opposed to a literary one.
Friday, September 30 2011
Prodigal Sons and Daughters Return in Teen Titans #1
In Teen Titans #1 writer Scott Lobdell captures that youthful energy of characters both honoring a heroic legacy, and rebelling against their forebears who enshrine it.
Tuesday, September 20 2011
And… Action! It's 'Deathstroke #1'
In Deathstroke #1 writer Kyle Higgins' use of easily-recognizable action movie tropes is the farthest thing from derivative. Instead, it is a user-friendly shorthand for new readers to the little-known DC character.
Monday, September 19 2011
Terry Moore Rising?
Rachel Rising feels very much like the third runaway hit for fan-favorite indie publisher Terry Moore. But will the notoriously protracted publication schedule finally be put aside to bring a mainstream success the creator so richly deserves?
Blogs
Wednesday, July 11 2012
Jonah Lehrer and the Debate Over Self-Plagiarism
In a world where ethical systems, religions, and legal codes identify both gradations and scales between various crimes, is it fair to use the word “plagiarism” in association with what Jonah Lehrer did?
Monday, July 9 2012
Re: Digital: Thomas Pynchon (and Others) Succumb to E-Readers
Stories are composed on Twitter, fan fiction can become literature, libraries are accessible around the world, and reader’s can explore classics on their Ipad. As literary holdouts come to accept digital reality, it's important to remember that the audiobook did not kill the paperback, and that new mediums don’t always replace the old ones.
Friday, June 8 2012
Too Many Books, Too Little Time: The Synthetic Reader Solution
Audio and e-books help fill the need to get in as much reading as possible in one's limited, mortal lifespan.
Monday, May 21 2012
Dispatches from the E-Reader Wars
Amazon vs. Barnes and Noble vs. Apple. The E-Reader Wars are heating up.
Tuesday, May 31 2011
Can Viral Videos Be Art?
Is there such a thing as a highbrow viral video? We'll Never Know the Difference.
