A look back at the last 14 years of HoboTrashcan

On August 23, 2005, HoboTrashcan was launched. Like any 14-year-old raised in the spotlight, it has gone through some radical changes over the years. Here’s a look back at a few of our favorite articles and features …

10. Getting to Know … Bane

To help prepare fans for the release of The Dark Knight Rises, we tracked down the writer and artist who created Bane to reveal how the villain came to be. In addition to interviews with some comic book greats, this piece features some really fantastic original artwork, including a Graham Nolan sketch of Bane wielding a hobo trash can.

9. Hobo Radio – Star Wars: Remorse Awakens

This Hobo Radio promotional video imagined what would happen if Joel Murphy and Lars Periwinkle got working lightsabers … and Molly Regan was there to egg them both on.

9. Overrated – Bob Dylan

When Ned Bitters wrote a column saying that people don’t actually like Bob Dylan’s music, they just pretend to like it to seem sophisticated, it opened the floodgates. Dylan supporters flocked to the site to take umbrage with Bitters’ claim. Whether you are pro-Dylan or anti-Dylan, the entire debate is highly entertaining to read.

8. One on One with Patton Oswalt

From his epic Star Wars filibuster on Parks and Recreation to his reoccurring role on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, Patton Oswalt has a knack for showing up in every nerdy place his fans would hope to find him. In 2016, we talked to Oswalt about balancing acting with stand up, living in an Elmore Leonard novel as Constable Bob on Justified and his thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

6. Positive Cynicism – Steven Spielberg’s entire career in one word

Aaron R. Davis’ friend Harlan came up with the following theory while watching Steven Spielberg’s films: “Penis symbolism is everywhere. Spielberg is terrified of not being able to measure up, so it’s all about either conquering it or mastering it. And that’s it.” Davis applies this theory to wide variety of Spielberg’s films in this fantastic column.

5. Murphy’s Law – In which I attack a nationally-syndicated movie critic

Joel Murphy reached out to a nationally-syndicated movie critic asking for some advice. The response he got back was an angry tirade. So Murphy decided to devote an entire column to tearing film critic Roger Moore apart. The column itself is great, as are the comments from readers, but the best part is that Moore himself was actually foolish enough to comment.

4. Hanging Around … Archer Live!

For the final stop of their four-city tour in 2013, the cast of FX’s Archer made their way to Irving Plaza in New York City. The live show featured readings of episodes from the cast members, plenty of teasers from the upcoming fourth season (including hints at their plans for Bob’s Burgers and Sealab 2021 crossovers) and lots of fan interaction. We were there with a complete breakdown of and photos from the live show.

3. Poppin’ Molly’s Handy Guide to Navigating Your Facebook Page in the Midst of the Baltimore Riots

In 2015, riots broke out in Baltimore after Freddie Gray died in police custody. Molly Regan was able to write about the riots – and people’s reaction to them – with grace. When most news outlets were making sweeping assumptions and generalizations, this piece by a longtime Baltimore resident was a welcome counterpoint.

2. Hobo Radio Cafe – Kevin Conroy’s thoughts on Batman’s voice

For Joel Murphy, getting to interview Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman, was a childhood dream come true. Thanks to this Hobo Radio Cafe animation, we can see the interview the way it played out in Joel’s head, with him sitting across the table from Batman shooting the breeze. (If you click the link above, you can also listen to the entire Kevin Conroy interview.)

1. One on One with Michael K. Williams

When HoboTrashcan launched in 2005, it featured this interview with Michael K. Williams, who at the time was playing Omar on The Wire. This interview set the tone for every interview to follow and helped legitimize the site. Eleven years later, as Michael K. Williams continues to do amazing work, now on The Night Of, it’s still one of our crowning achievements.

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