Charles Moss

Charles Moss is a writer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He holds a bachelor's degree in Secondary English Education. When he's not writing press releases and articles for his day job, he writes about the many aspects of pop culture.

Recent

Comics

How Popular Culture Helps keep us Human in "Key of Z"

In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, or any emergency for that matter, or heck, even life in general, we take comfort in various forms of escapism, our popculture. In the case of the surviving humans in Key of Z, sports and music provide that need.

Charles Moss

Comics

Hill and Wheeler on Encountering Grandpa

Little Golden Books have been around since 1942. They originally sold for 25 cents and are now considered classic staples of childhood. Grandpa Won't Wake Up is a parody of the Little Golden Books that have filled children’s bookshelves for decades.

Charles Moss

Comics

It's All About Putting on Appearances for 'Superman #1'

It’s ironic that in Superman #1 a main character who, for decades, has struggled with ways to stay relevant and fresh to younger audiences, is the one who resents it the most.

Charles Moss

Comics

When We Knew the Apes Would Rise

Jane Goodall at her most frightening writes, "During the first ten years of the study I had believed […] that the Gombe chimpanzees were, for the most part, rather nicer than human beings. […] Then suddenly we found that chimpanzees could be brutal -- that they, like us, had a darker side to their nature."

Charles Moss

Comics

The Death and More Still of the Malignant Man

At its heart, Malignant Man is not a horror comic. Nor does it try to be. It’s a dark thriller that combines action, suspense and a bit of fun into a tale that ends up reminding as a combination of The Matrix and Alien. But…

Charles Moss

Comics

Lewis Carroll Goes Kaboom!

This book is the comics you and I grew up on where once the story was over, there was still plenty of things to do to keep you entertained. You don’t see much of that anymore in kid-friendly comics.

Charles Moss

Comics

Education Is Power: BOOM! Studios’ Planet of the Apes #3

As the people of Skintown struggle to hold on to their humanity on the outskirts of the ape-populated city of Mak, an education is taking place among the youngest generation of the ghetto.

Charles Moss

Comics

Star Wars and the Art of Parody: KaBoom's 'Space Warped'

For many people, Star Wars is sacred ground, especially for those fans that grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s. While the entire film franchise is open to parody (especially the prequels) it takes a special kind of precision, a special kind of care, cleverness and panache to properly pull it off.

Charles Moss

Comics

Casus Belli: BOOM!'s 'Planet of the Apes' Prepares for War

Daryl Gregory proves supreme in his handling of the hugely popular Planet of the Apes, offering a deep and sincere meditation on a society in the throes of avoiding that has already begun.

Charles Moss

Comics

Once More, With Feeling: Stan Lee's Soldier Zero #8

The real question for Soldier Zero, flagship title of industry legend Stan Lee's new line of comicbook heroes, is not whether the character can compete with Lee's classic Marvel creations like Spider-Man, Hulk and Iron Man, but how.

Charles Moss

Comics

Peter Parker in Space: Stan Lee’s 'Starborn' #6

The character of Benjamin harkens back to some of Lee’s greatest creations. He’s insecure, a daydreamer, and yearns for the woman he can’t have. Sounds a lot like Peter Parker. It sounds like a lot the best of the Marvel universe.

Charles Moss

Comics

Thus to Tyrants: The Struggle for Power on the Planet of the Apes

Like the original movie, Planet of the Apes #1 explores the relationship between apes and humans in the speculative fiction of other apes having ascended the food chain. But at its heart, this is a parable for power corrupting even the ostensibly incorruptible and a humankind that will, never go away.

Charles Moss

Comics

Testing Our Limits: Soldier Zero and the Struggle for Balance

Unlike Charles Xavier, Oracle or Doom Patrol's "The Chief", Stewart Trautmann’s wheelchair is only a part-time gig. The Soldier Zero suit provides him with temporary relief from his paralysis, enabling him to perform extraordinary feats.

Charles Moss

Comics

Black Out or Fade Away?: It’s Difficult to Die Hard in '77

Willis’ portrayal of John MClane helped make him a box-office star and set the bar for action hero stars. Chaykin’s dialogue and Andrade’s renderings of a full-haired Willis is spot-on; so much so that I could hear and see him acting out each panel in my head. But the character just doesn’t seem to qualify for a Year One scenario.

Charles Moss

Comics

Happiness Is This Graphic Novel: Charlie Brown and the Human Condition

After literally decades of innovation, Peanuts takes its first step into the graphic novel format. The result, is the Charlie Brown and the Gang we've always deserved.

Charles Moss

Music

What's Going On: Marvin Gaye's Liberation from the Motown Sound

When Obie Benson of the Four Tops brought him a song he had co-written with Al Cleveland, Marvin Gaye found something that had reflected the way he had been feeling ever since Tammi Terrell's death -- anger, sadness, and disillusionment about his friend's death and the chaotic world around him.

Film

Will Eisner’s Dual Identity: The Spirit of an Artist

A biography of Will Eisner, perhaps the greatest cartoonist in the history of American comics. Eisner used The Spirit as his vessel for unexplored creativity with story elements not commonly found in comics.

Charles Moss

Comics

After 9/11: America’s War on Terror (2001 - )

The authors paint a portrait of the Bush Administration as fear mongers caught up in their own selfish quest to capture and execute Saddam Hussein.

Charles Moss

Comics

The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation

Before Obama is sworn in as the next U.S. President in January, let Hennessey and McConnell’s The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation be your refresher course.

Charles Moss

Comics

What the World Needs Now: Society’s Desperate Need for Superheroes

Hollywood has finally discovered what comic book fans have known all along: superheroes serve as brightly-colored, two-dimensional extensions of ourselves.

Charles Moss

Comics

Krazy! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art

These art forms are so commonplace in popular culture that it is easy for the general public to take advantage of what actually went into creating them.

Charles Moss

Culture

The Transformation of Generation X

The fascination with the shape-shifting toy may have something to do with a metamorphosis this nostalgic cohort wants to forestall -- the change to adulthood.

Charles Moss

Reviews

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Features

Coronavirus Tunes: A Brief Playlist for Our Times of Self-Isolation

The Road to Murder in Love and War: Three Films from Claude Chabrol

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