It might be a bit apples and oranges to compare the current comic-book-blockbuster landscape to the last century of science fiction magazines. Nonetheless, as I worked my way through New Eves, an anthology of lady-penned science fiction from decades past, this is the comparison that came to mind.

I was supposed to be so excited to see Iron Man 3 — and not just because I owned Iron Man on DVD before I moved…

I think I was somewhere in the third (the third!) Iron Man movie when I finally wondered “Why am I here?”

If you asked me who my favorite Avenger was, I’d say “Tony Stark”. But I was completely unable to articulate why I liked him. When all was said and done, there wasn’t much about him to like-- canonically, he’s an alcoholic playboy, and even the more cleaned-up version Robert Downey, Jr. plays…