Glen Weldon
Glen Weldon is a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk.
Over the course of his career, he has spent time as a theater critic, a science writer, an oral historian, a writing teacher, a bookstore clerk, a PR flack, a completely inept marine biologist and a slightly better-ept competitive swimmer.
Weldon is the author of two cultural histories: Superman: The Unauthorized Biography and The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Atlantic, Slate, McSweeney's and more; his fiction has appeared in several anthologies and other publications. He is the recipient of an NEA Arts Journalism Fellowship, an Amtrak Writers' Residency, a Ragdale Writing Fellowship and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Fiction.
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There are no dragons, no maps and no internecine family trees in this Game of Thrones prequel about an underdog knight and his would-be squire. -
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James L. Brooks' first feature film in 15 years doesn't live up to expectations. -
Dwayne Johnson certainly looks the part of the DC Universe's most powerful anti-hero, but he buries his movie-star charisma under a dour ponderousness. -
The Caped Crusader turns 80 years old on Saturday. He keeps evolving in ways other heroes don't — which is one reason his fans come from all walks of life.
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The next Batman movie will debut in 2021 — sans Ben Affleck. NPR's resident Batman expert Glen Weldon ranks the best — and worst — actors to play Batman, from Adam West to Christian Bale.
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When their 13-year-old brother (Case Walker) becomes a YouTube star, directionless New Yorkers Brooke (Heléne Yorke) and Cary (Drew Tarver) reluctantly find themselves drawn into his entourage. -
Comments about diversity in superhero comics made last week by a Marvel executive unleashed an online firestorm. But heroes who look more like the growing comics readership are here to stay.
