The Geek Beat has returned after a well deserved vacation, and you know what that means – sentimentality!

Actually, it's an awkward time to resume pondering all things geek because there's not much out there to talk about this week. It's like everything is taking a breather before Watchmen, Wolverine, and all the madness that will follow the filming of Iron Man 2, Thor, Scott Pilgrim, and Captain America. In weeks, we're going to be bombarded with Terminator: Salvation, Star Trek, and Sherlock Holmes – and maybe, just maybe, a glimpse of Avatar. I can't wait for that stuff to hit the web so we have something to really tear into.

It's also an awkward day to write because today is also my birthday, a day which never fails to leave me somewhat depressed. I think only Wolverine hates his birthday more than I do and, frankly, he does have me beat in the drama department. (Was there ever a more sadistic backstory to dump on a tortured Canadian? Why did they have to ruin his birthday?! And will that be in the movie?)

But this year I can't bitch and moan about advancing age too much because this week is actually the one year anniversary of my being brought on to write here at Cinematical. (Commence groans.) I can't stress enough what an amazing opportunity this has been, and how lucky I am to be here. There are thousands of people, maybe even millions, who are better suited for this gig than I am. There are people in our comments who I just want to hand my job over to 99% of the time. I will forever wonder (and so will you) how I landed a gig which allows me to blather about Wolverine for thousands and thousands of words. Every day is an adventure – hell, logging into my e-mail is now an adventure.


I also feel incredibly lucky to be the writer of the Geek Beat right now, when it's never been a hotter topic. I firmly believe 2008 will go down as the Year of the Geek – the year that it did become chic, when Nick Fury became a household name and every one was starting to watch the Watchmen. Even our new President came out as a guy who quoted Star Trek and collected Spider-Man comics. (That's right – we're in the White House now! Watch out!) The pessimist in me says it's all downhill after Iron Man became A-List and The Dark Knight was nearly an Oscar contender -- but I want to believe there's a lot more fun to be had.

Because oh, how we need that kind of fun. I can't think of anything more relevant right now than superheroes. People need that bright escapism and blind hope of childhood, and while I complained about the hysteria that surrounded The Dark Knight, I understand the need to be swept away in sacrificial heroics. We want to be kids again – yet at the same time, longtime comic readers are complaining of fatigue. The crossovers and events don't pay off, our favorite heroes are in too many books, the cost of keeping up is high, and the interest is waning. Ralph Mathieu recently lamented the lethargy that's taking hold of fans. "Unless you're going to accept that DC and Marvel aren't going to change any of their characters, age them, or keep the ones that "die" dead, well, you're going to be increasingly frustrated with superhero comics. I think in regards to superhero comics, everything has been done, and we're not going to have another Alan Moore come along to reinvent the superhero wheel."

Yet the blind excitement lacking in the readers is alive and well in the moviegoers. Perhaps it's because the films are stripping away years of mythology and ret-cons to give us back what we liked most about superheroes. Maybe it's because visual technology finally caught up with the books, and we can finally see Wolverine pop his claws. Perhaps the movies simply make those old stories and characters feel fresh and new again. Or maybe this is the swan song of the superhero, and the last moment of cultural relevance. Who knows – but we all know, deep down, that it won't be long before we're groaning at the spin-offs, the reboots, the endless sequels, the dark and gritty deconstructions, and the character crossovers.

Whatever has caused it, and however long it lasts, I think it's a fascinating moment of pop culture. We need to believe a man can fly, just as we need to believe in change, and hope for the future in these uncertain times. It's the kind of cultural crossover Marvel and DC wish they could write.

Really, this was all a big, rambling excuse to say thanks -- I love being part of the zeitgeist, even if I'm on the very edge of it. To paraphrase a rather popular movie, I may not be the writer my audience or my topics deserve, this gig was the hero I needed one year ago. Now, I'm off to eat some cake, and come up with something less mawkish and clumsy for next week ... and in the meantime, I hope you share your thoughts on the past, the present, and the future of cultural geekdom.