In Part Three, I come to a conclusion, explore the basis of Angela’s ideology, her growth as a character, and how Angela and her generation might have come to the belief that the future could be, “inevitable.”

1977 – THE CULT OF ADAM

“It all went so wrong. Thirty years ago. A group of us came together to change to world. To fix it. And Adam had a perspective on history that was compelling and we believed in him. I did. Your father. Linderman.”

– Angela Petrelli

Enter Adam Monroe – a 400 year old man with the ability to heal himself – rapid cell regeneration, just like another “hero” we know: Claire.  And the plot thickens.

After Angela and her makeshift family from the camp buried all the bodies, including their own families, and erased the memories of any of the doctors left standing, they didn’t seem to form a group right away, even though Angela told them she foresaw them doing so.  We don’t know what tore them apart, but since we do know from an online comic that Linderman met Angela’s husband in Vietnam – war seems the most likely answer. (Although, for those who know the show my headcanon, based on personality, is that Bob Bishop ran off to Canada – while Charles Deveaux, who could change people’s minds with telepathy like Angela’s husband, felt it was his duty to serve)

All we know is that by 1969 Angela is married to Arthur Petrelli, alone with a small child (Nathan) while the literal man of her dreams is off fighting a war, a war she must have seen in her nightmares night after night. Perhaps, Angela thought she could start a normal life with a new family.  A family to replace the old ones who had left her, with the man she loved, and children she must have met in her mind before they were even born. But “the life” she saw in her dreams still came knocking on the door – literally, when Daniel Linderman, her friend from the camp, arrived on their doorstep.

Again, Angela made a choice, even if she feels the circumstances were pushed on her.

Daniel Linderman and Arthur Petrelli

Arthur Petrelli was a man who believed that sacrificing the few to save the many was a justifiable evil before he even knew he had an ability. His influence on Linderman, who finally bows to this ideology at the end of the online comic,speaks volumes about his future. But maybe Linderman met someone else first and introduced him to his friends –  Just listen to Adam’s way of thinking:

“When you’ve been around as long as I have, the patterns are clear. Constant war, disregard for the environment, and famine. And it’s only getting worse. Someone had to make the hard choice for the greater good.”

– Adam Monroe

And so it isn’t that far fetched to think Adam became a guru of sorts in Linderman and the Petrelli’s lives in a time not foreign to cults and self help thinking – just watch the last season of The Americans.

“In the beginning I helped him….”

– Angela Petrelli on Adam Monroe

We were shown in the present of season two the sharp manipulation skills Adam Monroe had developed in his 400 years on earth, first seen locked in a prison of “The Company’s” design.

A skill Angela Petrelli must have learned from his example to perpetuate her above mentioned deeds, that also by the end of the series include:  using the mommy issues of a serial killer to convince him to help find her son, using her other son’s ambition to convince him to let a bomb go off in NYC and using the truth of her husband’s own first encounter with people with abilities (Daniel Linderman’s healing properties) and his discharge under “Delusions of Grandeur”, to convince her son Peter, and later to Nathan’s wife, Heidi, that Petrelli men were crazy, as opposed to being…. you know…  evolved humans with superhuman powers.

 “You may think you can save the world, but you can’t.”

– Angela Petrelli to son, Peter

And history repeated itself when Adam uses Angela’s son Peter for his personal bidding, the same way he must have convinced his parents in 1977 that releasing a deadly virus was the only way to fix the world and start over.

“…And in the end Adam decided that the just wasn’t worth fixing and , that it needed to be wiped clean… And just before it was too late  I came to release how wrong it was.”

– Angela Petrelli

It was Kaito (Yup again… well for the first time) who was there when Adam was stopped from implementing his plan and locked away. How did he know to be there at the right time? A call from an old lover, warning him of Adam’s plan perhaps… “before it was too late”?  Did she have a dream that changed her mind? Unfortunately, due to the writers strike in season two the planned episode about what happened in 1977 will never see the light of day (Dear writers: I am happy to read the draft that was written… tweet me!)  Still, taking her husband’s philosophy regarding the few over the many, mixed with  Adam’s teaching, and you can see an echo of Angela’s season one argument to her son Nathan regarding his complicity with her plans for NYC.

NATHAN:  Do you think I’m a mass murderer?

ANGELA: Important men make impossible decisions. President Truman dropped two  atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II. Killed thousands to save millions.

NATHAN: That was different; Ma, we were at war. I can’t accept this.

ANGELA: That is your one weakness, Nathan — you have no faith. So how could you possibly believe this bomb could actually heal the world if you have no faith in the idea of destiny?

FINAL ARGUMENTS: HISTORY REPEATING: THE DEATH OF A SON

Nathan Petrelli had a destiny and it wasn’t to lead the world into a time of peace; his destiny was death. Maybe for the sins of his parents, or his own, but in every future timeline, Nathan Petrelli had died.

And in every possible present he was killed. First ascending to political office, going against his own kind (by reporting them to the government) being killed, and then being replaced by a shapeshifter.  Time and time again, in the series, time heals itself toward the same conclusion. How many times did Angela’s generation see this happen before throwing their hands in the air and acquiescing to more sinister plans?

As many times as one could guess as the underpinnings of Angela’s actions could be traced back to her need for family.  Her chase to save her family is her, and often tragically the failure of that task, is her one consistent behavior. The circumstances may have been different but the results “Inevitable”, as Angela tells Claire about the bomb event. Except when her family is involved – Angela is unable to fully “cut out her heart” to save the world, as her ex-lover Kaito Nakamura would say, oddly later traced back loosely to Adam Monroe himself.

But back on topic, when her son Nathan finally dies for good her denial is palpable, screaming “Nooo!” over his bloody body.  Half like a mourning mother and half like a woman whose entire life’s work was for nothing.

And again she made a choice –  to become an accomplice to how the shape shifting serial killer previous mentioned, Sylar, becomes the son she lost – prophecy fulfilled. It is the final desperate act of a mother who has lost her child, her reason for fighting… all her actually reason. Talk about greek tragedy. It of course all blows up in her face, by the way.

Maybe Angela was even dreaming of her son’s death(s) since the day they…. he was born. Even his own father joined in on the game.

Believing his  own son was getting in the way of “The Company’s”, year in the making bomb event plans, Arthur Petrelli orders his son killed (unsuccessfully). And Angela is once again on the front lines of her family’s demise, once again given a choice.  This time by her childhood friend Daniel Linderman. He can heal the scars of her husband’s foul deeds to her brain, know the truth, or forever be in the dark. A human decision if there ever was one. Her choice is truth.

“Nathan!” she shouts, in despair, upon learning of her husband’s betrayal.  And how traumatic must it have been to have all those bad memories flooding back at once. You suddenly get the woman in that second scene in the pilot, who warned the son to watch his heart from the brother she compares to her husband.  Her coldness may not just be a facade or a mask of protection, but perhaps the literal scars of abuse that had been healed  from her mind, only to be replaced by those on her heart. And in a way Angela “re-healed’ her own agenda. She chose her son over her husband and he ran for office because her husband couldn’t – plan back on course.

Same outcome – different circumstances.  It all just keeps happening again and again.

“You were a great man, a visionary, but somewhere along the way, you lost your soul.”


– Angela Petrelli to her husband, Arthur

IN CONCLUSION….

In conclusion, Angela, a woman who forged lies for a greater good, kept secrets to shield her family from her own sins, (all while looking fabulous and having a great manicure) went from an insignificant character in the pilot to in my opinion the only character from the original series to have a complete arc.  (It doesn’t help that the show was canceled without a finale) After spending the entire series using every tactic at her disposal to keep her family from the “madness” she fought in, she finally relents. Angela accepts her son’s Nathan’s death and with Peter does what all mothers and fathers must do with their children, let them go off and make their own mistakes and have their own choices. Her son Peter, her only son now, tells her he is going off to fight the same war she once fought in and she does nothing to stop him.

“You have no idea the lengths a parent will go to ensure the safety of their child. Something I hope you never have to find out for yourself”

– Angela Petrelli to granddaughter, Claire Bennet

In the Heroes Reborn miniseries, that aired in this past season, we find Angela with a small, but pivotal role in the series. She is no longer a villain, but a woman barely treading water and seemingly drowning in her own mistakes. She is once again Cassandra, only it is he own deeds that has caused those around her to denounce her warnings. And with no resources, no sons by her side, she scrambles, putting her faith in the wrong person. But the world must be saved and once again her family is a crucial part of it.

History has once again re-healed itself, the cheerleader is dead (In childbirth; long story), but saving her may have not been for naught as Angela foresees that Claire’s children, twins,will be the one to save the world.  Does Angela do everything in her power to change that ending? To do everything possible to shield them from the fight?  Does she resort to manipulation to bend other’s will?

No, she helps hide the twins herself, taking one of them to be trained for their destiny to “save the world.”

And when it is almost time to do so, she looks upon her great-grandson’s hope to save the world and remarks: “He really is a Petrelli, isn’t he?”  And maybe she sees her sons in the boy, or the husband she fell in love with before his soul was lost to the madness, but I say she’s wrong.

Her great-grandson, Nathan,  isn’t a Petrelli, but a Shaw. Like his mother Claire, and his great uncle Peter before them and deep down maybe even his name sake, his grandfather, Nathan. Still, without giving away a big moment in the mini-series Angela Petrelli is the last character from the original series we see on screen – making her quite possibly the last one standing.

Angela Petrelli simply is the survivor she always was and her consistent behavior is what showed us who she truly is as a character.

I think the line that best sums up Angela Petrelli is something she says to her husband before his supposed death at her hands (Oh, yeah didn’t REALLY die until later, a story for another day) ….“So, am I gonna kiss you, or am I gonna kill you?” The not knowing is where this character’s charm lies. And this is a true testament to the actress herself. I can cut and paste lines and talk ideas all day, but it is what lies underneath those words, the emotion of Angela’s truth that made Angela the character I love.

One that in lesser hands would have made her a cookie cutter villain who drew no sympathy.  And you may be thinking you’re turning her into some martyl for her evil deeds, she may have only confessed to Kaito’s murder to put herself behind bars while Adam was killing all the founders who betrayed him and so on and so forth. But the point is juxtaposition is interesting and Angela had it in spades. If this was about a heroic character I would have focused on his or her darker qualities.

Listen, I know that Heroes became a problematic series to those who watched past the first season (a glorious piece of TV) and I have to warn those who haven’t seen it and are about to crack open that netflix account. And the miniseries is very, very hard to sit through. (And if not for my love of Angela I would have stopped watching halfway in)

But the highlight for me for the entire run was The Petrelli Family (Hiro and HRG are pretty damn great also) And it kills me that that we missed what happened to Angela and her friends back in the  1970s due to the writer’s strike. I mean imagine it; A young Angela Petrelli like in the film American Hustle, going through all the trials and tribulations that we saw her children’s generation go through. I have ideas. Call me Hollywood. Big Finish, I’m talking to you  – do an audio releases like you do with Doctor Who; Heroes: 1977 – starring Cristine Rose (And all the amazing actors who played The Founders)

Or maybe it is not knowing that drives my fascination?  Her mystery.  Either way, I guess i will just have to leave it all to my dreams…

“Can you believe? Can you be the one we need?”

– Angela Petrelli

Favorite Angela Petrelli Episodes

• Season 1: Genesis, Don’t Look Back, .07%, The Hard Part
• Season 2: Lizards, The Kindness of Strangers, Powerless,
• Season 3: Villains, Cold Snap, Into the Asylum, 1961

Following up on the critically acclaimed Batman ’66 Meets The Green Hornet, Dynamite again pairs two icons in an all-new series set in the television heyday of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman and Lindsay Wagner’s The Bionic Woman, written by Andy Mangels (Star Wars, Star Trek, The X-Files) and illustrated by up-and-coming artist Judit Tondora.

Government agents Jamie Sommers and Diana Prince team their respective powers against a threat to national security in this series too big for the small screen!

In this action-packed miniseries, the two television titans team up to fight a rogue cabal bent on wreaking havoc and stealing deadly weapons. Can CASTRA be stopped before their real targets are revealed and lives are lost?

With super powers, bionic enhancements, surprise villains, and an invisible plane, just about anything is possible!

“The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman television series were some of the most exciting of their time, and these two characters perfectly complement one another,” says Dynamite CEO and Publisher, Nick Barrucci. “To finally see them together is a historic event for an entire generation of fans. This is going to be one of the most exciting crossovers we’ve done yet!”

“DC is thrilled to partner with Dynamite once again on a crossover of classic pop culture characters,” says Hank Kanalz, SVP, Editorial Strategy and Administration for DC Entertainment. “I can’t wait for fans to see what happens when these two iconic heroines meet in December.”

“For forty years, fans have been wondering what would happen if their favorite television heroines got to meet,” says bestselling author Andy Mangels, acknowledged as one the world’s top experts on Wonder Woman. “I’m thrilled to get to mix these two feminist icons into a massive story that respects not only the characters themselves, but also the magic that Lynda Carter and Lyndsay Wagner brought to their history-changing roles. The 10-year-old Andy would never have believed that instead of running around in his backyard making ‘wonder leaps’ and ‘bionic runs’, he’d actually get the opportunity to craft stories that mix the best of these two worlds into one!”

Andy Mangels is the USA Today bestselling author and co-author of over twenty fiction and nonfiction books – including Star Trek, Roswell, Iron Man, and Star Wars tomes – and is an award-winning comic book anthology editor. As a pop culture historian, he has also contributed to international magazines and newspapers, and has scripted, directed, and produced over forty DVD documentaries and Special Features projects. In 2012, he was awarded the prestigious Inkpot Award for Achievement in the Comic Arts at Comic-Con International.

Wonder Woman ’77 Meets The Bionic Woman #1 features covers by Alex Ross, Cat Staggs, and series artist Judit Tondora. This fan-favorite mash-up will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ October 2016 Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release on December 7th. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies with their local comic book retailers. Wonder Woman ’77 Meets The Bionic Woman will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

Diehard professional wrestling fandom…. Well, it’s complicated.

Action packed matches, awe-inspiring interviews, and that soap opera style of drama are all designed to fit into one unique package that keeps people coming back for more. However, it’s not just the end result of a particular storyline, but it’s the journey along the way that needs to be carefully crafted, or done “right”, in order to satisfy.

And if you don’t get both of them right, the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) will call for your head on a pike.

On Raw this past Monday, Kevin Owens emerged victorious in a Fatal Four Way match to become the new WWE Universal Champion. The closing moments of the match saw a down-and-out Owens receive an unexpected assist from longtime villain, Triple H, who’s been MIA since he lost at WrestleMania almost five months ago.

Triple H dropped his arch nemesis, Roman Reigns, with his signature maneuver, the Pedigree, which allowed for his protégé, Seth Rollins to eliminate Reigns from the match. Then, in a surprising twist, Triple H turned on Rollins and laid him out with the Pedigree as well. Owens, like everyone else, looked on in shock and then seized the opportunity to pin Rollins for the 1-2-3.

This would make fans happy under normal circumstances, but standard fare in wrestling is subjective at best. While some are indeed happy with the finished product, there are a lot of wrestling fans who believe that the help Triple H gave Owens to win the title stripped away any legitimacy that the moment would have had otherwise.

It doesn’t matter that Owens’ cut-throat, heel persona has made him a fan favorite for years.

It doesn’t matter that this 32-year-old accomplished performer is arguably the best heel in the business today.

It doesn’t matter that he was the only wrestler to eliminate one of the combatants, Big Cass, without outside interference.

It doesn’t matter that Owens’s talent and atypical physique defied legitimate backstage politics stemming from an archaic way of thinking that only an Adonis should be champion.

And it doesn’t matter that Owens’ title win made him the new top guy/series lead on WWE’s flagship television program.

Kevin Owens didn’t win the Universal Championship fair and square or in wrestling jargon, clean.

Therefore, his ascension to the main event scene has zero credibility.

In other words, Kevin Owens is a fake champion in a sport that isn’t real. Do you see the irony here?

Wrestling has never been about the match, but about the story the match tells. Kevin Owens is a bad guy, which means he is supposed to break the rules and be the ultimate opportunist. The Québec native will become a more popular character in this new spotlight not only because he’s the champion, but because of his new found association with Triple H. Plus, Seth Rollins, who was screwed over by his mentor, is getting his long overdue babyface/good guy turn. This new element of having Owens vs. Rollins matches, that are sure to be nothing short of spectacular, couldn’t have happened if Owens won clean.

Some of the most recognizable names in the wrestling business such as The Rock, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and others cheated to win their first world title. It didn’t hinder their characters one bit and it won’t happen to Kevin Owens either. This 16-year veteran is a master at working crowds in arenas around the world like a fiddle in order to get the desired result, which is to get people to boo him while paying to see him get his ass kicked.

A heel in wrestling, winning straight up will never accomplish that.

Continuing its commitment to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture, Shout!  Factory is proud to announce the launch of a new home entertainment series, Shout Broadway. Spotlighting musicals and performances that deserve a place on your shelf, Shout Broadway features some of the greatest stage and screen productions ever captured. From recent hits to all-time favorites and Hollywood gems, Shout Broadway celebrates the best in theater and beyond.

Debuting this November, Shout Broadway boasts a captivating lineup of beloved shows featuring some of Broadway’s biggest stars.  Initial titles include the 2015 West End production of  Stephen Sondheim’s eternally appealing musical, Gypsy; a colorful and catchy production of  Leonard Bernstein’s Candide In Concert  starring Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Kristin Chenoweth; and the 2001 production of Sondheim’s macabre musical masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street In Concert  , starring Tony Award winners Patti LuPone, George Hearn, and Neil Patrick Harris.

Shout Broadways inaugural release is 2015’s four-time Olivier Award-winning West End production of Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, and Stephen Sondheim’s eternally appealing musical, Gypsy.

Available for the first time on Blu-ray and DVD on November 1st, 2016, fans can order their copies by visiting ShoutFactory.com

Loosely based on the memoirs of world-renowned striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy follows the journey of the irrepressible Rose (Imelda Staunton, Harry Potter), the mother to end all stage mothers, as she balances the challenges of parenthood with the joys and heartbreaks of a life in the world of show business.

Featuring a collection of songs that have grown to become American standards, including “Together (Wherever We Go),” “Some People,” “Let Me Entertain You,” and “Everything’s Comin’ Up Roses,” Gypsy is a true treasure of musical theatre… you’ll have a real good time, yes sir!

It’s the best of all possible worlds when Leonard Bernstein’s Candide In Concert makes its Blu-ray debut on November 4^th, 2016.   

Bernstein’s fantastically funny operetta springs to life in this concert production of Candide, recorded live at Lincoln Center in New York City.  Based on Voltaire’s classic tale of an innocent young man’s comic odyssey, Candide is a colorful and catchy delight, featuring Tony Award winners Patti LuPone and Kristin Chenoweth along with a top-notch cast, including Paul Groves, Janine LaManna, Sir Thomas Allen and the Westminster Symphonic Choir.

This extraordinary cast is accompanied by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Marin Alsop. With Bernstein’s impeccable hand behind the music and a parade of legendary lyricists – including Dorothy Parker, Stephen Sondheim and Lillian Hellman – this musical comedy classic is essential for all fans of the Great White Way! Fans can pre-order their copies now at ShoutFactory.com

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd! On November 1^st, 2016, Stephen Sondheim’s macabre musical masterpiece, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, receives one bloody delicious production in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street In Concert, a 2001 concert presentation of Broadway’s black-humored thriller of revenge, razors, murder, and meat pies.

Available for the first time on Blu-ray, the release also includes a “Making Of” featurette. Fans can pre-order their copies now at ShoutFactory.com

Returning to Victorian London after a long exile, the unhinged barber, Sweeney Todd, seeks violent vengeance on the unscrupulous judge who separated him from his family, freedom… and sanity. Teaming with the Sweeney-smitten, pie-making Mrs. Lovett, Todd reopens his tonsorial parlor to lure the judge in… and then practice his murderous desires on the throats of Fleet Street’s citizenry!

Tony Award winners Patti LuPone (Evita), George Hearn (La Cage aux Folles), and Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) headline this special concert presentation of one of the theatre’s tastiest triumphs.

For more details, visit shoutfactory.com.

This weekend, the Portland Film Festival is in full force and I wish I were there.

In addition to the festival programming the show has both Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke) and William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run) in attendance as well as screenings of such beloved films as Aliens, Blue Velvet , The Fly, The Man Who Fell To Earth, My Own Private Idaho , Stand By Me and Short Circuit.

Here are the 10 films that I wouldn’t miss.

1. The Middle Man

Director: Ned Crowley
Cast: Jim O’Heir (Parks & Rec), Andrew J. West (The Walking Dead)

Lenny Freeman’s dream of being a famous comedian is about to become a nightmare. Not only is he stuck in a dead end accounting job, Lenny has a bigger problem — Lenny is not funny. When his mother suddenly dies, he quits his job and heads to Vegas in search of fame. But along the way, a mysterious hitchhiker lures him into a desert-town killing spree with dark and twisted result – as the bodies pile up, Lenny actually becomes funnier and funnier.

2. Wizard Mode

Directors: Nathan Drillot & Jeff Lee Petry

In the game of pinball, there is no bigger accomplishment than flipping your machine into ‘wizard mode’. And of all the pinball players in the world, there’s nobody more dedicated to unlocking ‘wizard mode’ than Robert Emilio Gagno, who also happens to be an autistic savant whose parents just want him to get a job.

3.  Neil Stryker & the Tyrant of Time

Director: Rob Taylor
Cast: David Ogden Stiers, Rob Taylor, Nic Costa

The greatest secret agent must race through time to rescue his son from the clutches of his infamous former mentor.

4.  6 Love Stories 

Director: Michael Dunaway
Cast: Ashley Williams, Ross Patridge, Carrie Preston, Matthew Lillard, Stephen Tobolowsky

Six locations. Six couples. Six conversations. This ensemble drama explores the many facets of love from six unique perspectives, sometimes finding laughter, sometimes finding tears, but always finding truth.

5. Spaghettiman

Director: Mark Potts
Cast: Ben Crutcher, Winston Carter, Brand Rackley

After gaining powers from radioactive spaghetti, Clark Kant learns that with great power comes great opportunity.

6. Girl Flu

Director: Dorie Barton
Cast: Jade Pettyjohn, Katee Sackhoff, Heather Matarazzo, Jeremy Sisto

Bird, 12, has to become a woman whether she wants to or not when – in the worst week of her life – she gets her first period, is ditched by her impulsive, free spirited mom, and learns that you can never really go back to The Valley.

7. Dark Harvest

Director: James Hutson
Cast: James Hutson, Cheech Marin, A.C. Peterson

A successful grow operation plans to transition to legalized marijuana sales but tripped up by a murder and a shady narcotics officer.

8. Hunter Gatherer

Director: Joshua Locy
Cast: Andre Royo, George Sample III, Kellee Stewart, Ashley Wilkerson

Ashley Douglas gets out of prison and goes to great lengths to get his ex-girlfriend back.

9. Some Freaks

Director: Ian MacAllister McDonald
Cast: Thomas Mann, Lily Mae Harrington, Ely Henry, Marin Ireland

When Matt meets Jill, they both are forced to confront who they were, who they are and who everyone thinks they’re supposed to be.

10. Those Left Behind

Director: Maria Finitzo
Cast: Daphne Zuniga, Jack Griffo, Debra Mooney, Jack Hogan

25 years after her brother’s suicide, a women returns to her childhood home with her 16-year-old son to help her mother recover from surgery, opening up new wounds.

For more information, screening times and tickets, visit pdxff.com

DC Entertainment announces a brand-new miniseries with an invigorating twist on the Supergirl we know and love! The Girl of Steel returns in a story not only about being super, but also the trials and tribulations of being 16. A coming-of-age story with superhero flair, SUPERGIRL: BEING SUPER comes from the creative minds of Caldecott Honor and Eisner Award winning young adult author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and superstar artist Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer).

“I’ve had so much fun working on this project with DC and Joëlle,” says Tamaki. “Clearly, I’m a writer with a devoted interest in adolescence, so it’s been a thrill having the opportunity to explore the alien side of 16.”

Jones, who is creating content solely for DC and Vertigo after being announced at San Diego Comic-Con, will be providing both interiors and covers for the series.”Working with Mariko on this book has been great! The format is giving me a chance to do something very different and I feel lucky that DC is giving us the freedom to really play with this character,” says Jones. “I hope fans have as much fun reading it as I have had drawing it!”

Imagine this: You’re an alien. You have super powers. You are SUPERGIRL. But you’re also 16, a teenager just trying to survive the day-to-day life of high school. The upside is, yes, you can fly, you can crush diamonds with your bare hands. The downside is that being super can be a super complicated and super confusing thing to be, especially when the whole being super thing is a secret.

This is the story of Kara Danvers, known to her home planet of Krypton as Kara Zor El. On the one hand, Kara is a typical teen, navigating relationships, friendships, and classes, on the other she’s a being with immense power and potential, with the added responsibility of managing her developing super powers. As if transitioning into adulthood wasn’t hard enough!

As Kara turns 16, her powers begin manifesting in bizarre hot flashes, glowing zits, symptoms that are becoming harder to control. That’s right, two words, ALIEN ZITS. This new series is more than just heroics. It is the action-packed and heartfelt story of Kara Danvers and her attempts to balance the roles of teenager and hero.

This is a fresh take on Supergirl full of passion and ingenuity, with some added teenage irony. The first issue of the new series will debut December 28^th, with subsequent issues being released every other month. Each issue is super-packed with 48-pages of story, in prestige format.

Beyond Fest, the highest attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its full slate of 2016 programming featuring 27 events and 23 West Coast premieres of mind-bending movie madness. Presented by Shudder, Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre for 12 days of movies, music and mayhem spanning Friday, September 30th – Tuesday, October 11th to generate funds for co-presenter, the nonprofit American Cinematheque.

With a diverse slate that includes films from all corners of the globe Beyond Fest is proud to open with movie icon Paul Schrader presenting his new feature DOG EAT DOG and a special 40th anniversary screening of TAXI DRIVER. Other hotly-anticipated titles making their West Coast bows include the hyper-explosive coming-of-age cannibal drama RAW, Ana Lily Amipour’s much-anticipated follow up to her alt-cult debut, A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE, the stunning, sonic desert trip THE BAD BATCH, the terrifying adaptation of M.R Carey’s post-apocalyptic horror THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, and the Mo Brothers’ outrageously hyper-violent action epic, HEADSHOT.

“We really wanted to focus on blending the iconic with the emerging this year” said Beyond Fest Co-Founder, Christian Parkes. “To champion brilliantly provocative films like Julia Ducourna’s RAW and Ana Lily Amipour’s THE BAD BATCH whilst celebrating established heroes like Paul Schrader and Kurt Russell is a primary reason for Beyond Fest’s existence.”

The most beloved genre films are highlighted with four event screenings over the course of this year’s festival. The legend himself Kurt Russell takes center stage with James Gunn moderating for a very special 30th anniversary screening of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA projected on glorious 35mm. The “ultimate trip” receives the ultimate treatment as Stanley Kubrick’s existential epic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY screens in 70mm with a 2001-scored Laserium cosmic laser concert and Q&A featuring the film’s two astronaut leads, Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. The Tall Man returns with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot meticulous restoration of Don Coscarelli’s cult classic PHANTASM: REMASTERED. Coscarelli will be joined with members of the original cast before the West Coast premiere of the series’ final entry PHANTASM RAVAGER. In keeping with the restoration theme, producer Richard P. Rubenstein will be on hand to present the U.S. Premiere of DAWN OF THE DEAD 3-D. Romero’s cult nightmare has never looked better and will be the first laser 3-D feature projected at the famed Egyptian Theatre.

Once again, music features prominently with two seismic re scores taking center stage. Furiously blurring the lines between music, film and art, Beyond Fest welcomes a new disciple and an old friend with two seismic re scores. Director, producer, actor, Wu Tang Clan founder and the all-together mythic RZA enters the fray with a roundhouse kick for his epic takedown of a martial arts masterpiece. 18 months in the making, RZA: LIVE FROM THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN is a mammoth live re scoring of Lau Kar-leung’s Shaw Brothers classic featuring over 40+ tracks culled from RZA’s monumental catalog. Instrumental tracks, beats, samples and vocal tracks amplify the narrative and Gordon Liu’s revelatory performance.

Returning to Los Angeles is legendary composer Fabio Frizzi and his seven-piece orchestra to perform THE BEYOND: COMPOSER’S CUT. This bold, new take on Lucio Fulci’s gothic masterpiece features a live re score featuring a completely new composition and will play with all original dialog intact. THE BEYOND: COMPOSER’S CUT will be accompanied by an uncut 35mm screening of GATES OF HELL and a very special secret screening with surprise guests.

Celebrating LA filmmaking remains a priority for Beyond Fest with Ti West receiving this year’s ‘LA Spotlight’ for his transformative western, IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE. Beyond Fest alumni West will be joined by cast members Karen Gillan, Taissa Farmiga, Toby Huss, James Ransone, and the film’s four-legged star, Jumpy. LA also represents en masse with a midnight blast of animated anarchy as Chris Prynoski’s NERDLAND also gets its LA premiere. The first feature from Prynoski’s Titmouse Animation Studios is a wild descent into LA’s soul-destroying entertainment industry and will feature director Prynoski, writer Andrew Kevin Walker, actor Patton Oswalt, plus others in attendance.

Beyond Fest welcomes the return of genre streaming platform Shudder as its Presenting Sponsor, a partnership that provides 13 screenings (9 West Coast premieres) absolutely free to film fans. Every night, the 90-seat ‘Shudder Theatre’ will feature a brand new film selected from across the world including

Emile Hirsch’s super creepy THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, Japanese scare-fest SADAKO VS KAYAKO, Morgan Spurlock’s stomach-churning doc RATS, the revelatory Kubrick doc S IS FOR STANLEY, the hands down craziest film of the year THE DWARVES MUST BE CRAZY, and two Cinematic Void double bills featuring a premiere screening of Arrow’s 4K restoration of Romero’s THE CRAZIES paired with MARTIN on 16mm and an American Genre Film Archive fundraiser featuring a 35mm monster mash up of NEON MANIACS and STREET TRASH.

If that wasn’t enough, virtual reality engulfs Beyond Fest for the first time with Dark Corner Studios showcasing three of their most terrifying experiences. Led by wunder-director Guy Shelmerdine, guests will be able to watch his breakout VR horror smash CATATONIC, in addition to his new film MULE and Justin Denton’s BURLAP. The Egyptian Theatre will be housing Dark Corner in the hidden reaches of its 90 year old architecture.

See below for the full lineup of newly announced film titles for Beyond Fest 2015.

BEYOND FEST 2016 PROGRAM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY on 70mm
United States, 1968
70mm, 161 min
Director – Stanley Kubrick
wi. actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood in person and Laserium laser concert before screening

THE BAD BATCH
Co-presented with Vice & Etheria
United States, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 115 min
Director – Ana Lily Amapour
wi. director / writer Ana Lily Amipour in person

THE BEYOND: COMPOSER’S CUT (wi. CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD)
Italy, 1981
West Coast Premiere, 89 min
Director – Lucio Fulci
wi. live re score by Fabio Frizzi + seven piece orchestra and special secret screening before performance

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA – 30th Anniversary Screening on 35mm
United States, 1986
35mm, 99 min
Director – John Carpenter
wi. actor Kurt Russell, moderated by James Gunn in person

CALL OF HEROES (wi. HEADSHOT)
Hong Kong / China, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 120 min
Director – Benny Chan

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (wi. THE BEYOND: COMPOSER’S CUT)
United States, 1983
35mm, 93 min
Director – Lucio Fulci

DOG EAT DOG (wi. TAXI DRIVER)
United States, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 93 min
Director – Paul Schrader
wi. Paul Schrader in person

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS
United States / United Kingdom, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 111 min
Director – Colm McCarthy

GEORGE A. ROMERO’S DAWN OF THE DEAD 3-D
United States / South Korea, 1978 / 2016
West Coast Premiere, 127 min, Unrated, U.S. Theatrical Cut
Director – George A. Romero
wi. producer Richard P. Rubenstein in person

HEADSHOT (wi. CALL OF HEROES)
Indonesia, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 117 min
Directors – The Mo Brothers: Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto

HOLY MOUNTAIN on 35mm
Mexico / United States, 1973
35mm, 115 min
Director – Alexandro Jodorowsky

IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE
United States, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 104 min
Director – Ti West
wi. director Ti West and actors Karen Gillan, Taissa Farmiga, Toby Huss, and James Ransone in person

NERDLAND
United States, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 85 min
Director – Chris Prynoski
wi. Director Chris Prynoski, writer Andrew Kevin Walker, actor Patton and cast in person

PHANTASM: REMASTERED (wi. PHANTASM RAVAGER)
4K Restoration
United States, 1979 / 2016
LA Premiere, 96 min
Director – Don Coscarelli
wi. director Don Coscarelli and cast in person

PHANTASM RAVAGER (wi. PHANTASM: REMASTERED)
United States, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 87 min
Director – David Hartman
wi. director David Hartman and producer Don Coscarelli in person

RAW
Co-presented with Etheria
France, 2016
West Coast Premiere, 95 min
Director – Julia Ducournau

RZA: LIVE FROM THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN
Hong Kong / United States, 1979 / 2016
West Coast Premiere, 119 min
Director – Lau Ker-leung
features live re score by RZA

TAXI DRIVER 40th Anniversary Screening (wi. DOG EAT DOG)
United States, 1976
114 min
Director – Martin Scorsese
wi. Paul Schrader in person

THE WOLF MAN
United States, 1941
71 min
Director – George Waggner
wi. Ron Chaney in person

SHUDDER THEATRE

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE (Free Screening)
United Kingdom, 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – André Øvredal

BEYOND THE WALLS (Free Screening)
France 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Hervé Hadmar

THE CRAZIES – 4K Restoration (Free Screening)
United States 1973
US Premiere
Director – George Romero

DOWN UNDER (Free Screening)
Australia 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Abraham Forysthe
wi. director Abraham Forsythe in person

THE DWARVES MUST BE CRAZY (Free Screening)
Thailand 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Bhin Banloerit

MARTIN (Free Screening)
16mm, United States 1977
Director – George Romero

MONSTER (Free Screening)
United States 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Bryan Bertino

NEON MANIACS (Free screening)
35mm, United States 1986
Director – Joseph Mangine

RATS (Free screening)
United States 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Morgan Spurlock

S IS FOR STANLEY (Free Screening)
Italy 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Alex Infascelli
wi. director Alex Infascelli in person

SADAKO VS KAYAKO (Free Screening)
Japan 2016
West Coast Premiere
Director – Kôji Shiraishi

STREET TRASH (free screening)
35mm, United States 1985
Director – J. Michael Muro

THE VOID (Free Screening)
Canada 2016
West Coast Premiere
Directors – Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski

Tickets for Beyond Fest 2016 are will be made available for purchase through Fandango and the American Cinematheque on September 8th.

For the latest developments, visit the Beyond Fest official site www.beyondfest.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Vol. 1 TP
Written by Kyle Higgins, Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Hendry Prasetya, Corin Howell
Cover by Goñi Montes
Published by BOOM! Studios
Release Date: September 14, 2016
EAN 978-1608868933
Price: $19.99

Normally, a comic book series based a popular television show delivers more of the same at best while often providing a watered down version of the source material.

Kyle Higgins makes BOOM! Studios’ run of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers a compelling exception to the rule by using familiar elements to serve the narrative in a fashion that triggers nostalgia while touching on things that the kid-friendly show ignored.

Here, Higgins and company sprinkle in safety concerns and protocols that remind, or perhaps, enlightens the reader that no sane person would want to live in Angel Grove due to the amount of monster activity that plagues the city. Also, how come no one ever attacked the Rangers at home? Why is it that only Jason and Tommy’s Zords saw one on one combat? All of these things and more come into play throughout the book.

The series kicks off after Tommy Oliver aka the Green Ranger has broken Rita’s spell and joined the Power Rangers. The residual effects of Tommy’s time with Rita spills over into his personal life, which ultimately complicates missions with the Rangers.

It was a smart move to stay away from recreating the Green Ranger saga (Green With Evil) because it’s a pivotal story arc in the mythology that every old school fan has a deep reverence for.

Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly receive ample page time, while Billy and Trini are background characters who shine during their rare moments in the spotlight. Then there is Zack, and he’s got some trust issues with a particular team member.

The team’s personal lives are fleshed out a lot more, which augments their characters, giving the reader a deeper appreciation for when ‘Morphin Time’ cuts into homework time, bedtime, just being a teenager time and any other time you can think of.

Rita takes no days off.

I enjoyed the monster of the week format while watching the show back in the day, but as an adult, it can get tiresome. Goldar, the putties, and all of Finster’s monsters get their licks in as the looming threat of a new adversary named The Black Dragon casts a large shadow. He is someone who Rita fears, which is interesting since Lord Zedd played that role on the show and there has been no mention of him in this series so far.

Bulk & Skull… well, they’re here, too. In fact, they’re used sparingly in the main Ranger’s story arc, but they add a faint subtext to the narrative as opposed to being the comedy relief. Now if you’re looking for the two bumbling fools that can’t get out of their own way, Steve Orlando pens the perfect back-up story with artwork by Corin Howell whose illustrations are a zany mix of Skottie Young and Art Baltazar. There is one back story in particular that is way too hard to believe until the last page reveals otherwise.

Main story artist Hendry Prasetya’s depictions and page layouts are great at conveying various acts appropriately instead of carrying one tone throughout the book. Imagery is dialed back when the team is enjoying a meal together and the enormity of the moment kicks into high gear when the action and fighting begins. The strength of his illustrations lies in the poignant character moments such as Tommy’s hallucinations and an eerie full-page image of the Dragonzord in its underwater cavern to match Billy’s fear of examining what is originally an evil creation from the inside.

I liken this series to that of the 2002 Masters of the Universe cartoon where everything is updated to bring a fresh perspective to beloved property without stripping away its core essential values. Kyle Higgins gives fans the Power Rangers they’ve always loved while increasing the scope in a way that brings about new possibilities that thanks to a talented creative team are super fun to see come alive on the printed page.

Insight Editions, an independent publisher recognized for its innovative art and pop culture books, has announced the launch of Insight Comics, a dynamic new imprint dedicated to publishing original and licensed graphic novels. The first books of the new imprint will release in March 2017. The initial list will introduce all-new original stories; licensed comics based on popular film, television, and gaming properties; and captivating work from best-selling and critically acclaimed foreign writers and artists. These beautifully illustrated stories will run the gamut from tales of post-apocalyptic horror and sci-fi survival to epic fantasy battles, supernatural adventures, and thrilling detective mysteries for both adults and children.

“Insight Editions is thrilled to launch this new imprint,” says publisher and CEO Raoul Goff. “Insight Comics aims to bring our high-quality standards to the graphic novel universe, tell original stories, and invite readers to immerse themselves in powerful new worlds.”

Insight Comics represents a natural progression for the company, which has been become known for publishing unique illustrated fiction and high quality art books featuring the work of world-renowned artists.

“Insight Comics will be dedicated to the core tenets that guide all of our publishing—premium art, storytelling, and quality,” says executive editor Vanessa Lopez, adding that as long-time comic fans, the new imprint has been a labor of love for the Insight Editions team.

Additionally, Mark Irwin has joined Insight Editions as a senior editor to lead the imprint. Mark has worked with Marvel and DC Comics, Heavy Metal Magazine, Konami, Nickelodeon, and many others over his twenty-five-year career as an art director, editor, and illustrator. He joins an Insight editorial team hungry to bring first-rate comics to the industry.

“What’s exciting about this imprint is the incredible production and creative resources that Insight brings to the table,” says Irwin. “It’s a very exciting time in comics right now, and Insight’s contributions to the field will only increase that excitement.”

About Insight Editions:
Celebrated for its unwavering dedication to quality, Insight Editions is a publisher of innovative books and collectibles that push the boundaries of creativity, design, and production. Through its acclaimed film, television, and gaming program, Insight strives to produce unique books and products that provide new ways to engage with fan-favorite characters and stories. Under this program, Insight has published books covering the worlds of Star Wars, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Destiny, Assassin’s Creed, Halo, Diablo, World of Warcraft, and the Harry Potter films, among many others. Insight’s award-winning art, photography, and sports titles celebrate the artistry and history of a wide-range of subjects that include the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, the San Francisco Giants, and the Dallas Cowboys. Other divisions include a line of deluxe stationery products, as well as a children’s imprint, Insight Kids.

For more details visit http://insighteditions.com/

Finally, the world’s finest couple strikes back! Following up on MIDNIGHTER, one of the best action books of 2015/2016, DC’s new miniseries, MIDNIGHTER AND APOLLO hits back with more explosive, creative, page-bursting action than ever before. From their days as founding members of The Authority, the heroes Midnighter and Apollo have been forever linked both professionally and romantically. On October 5th, they’ll be back, badder than ever, in a six-issue miniseries to continue Midnighter’s story, written by Steve Orlando with art by Fernando Blanco, colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Josh Reed and covers by ACO & Fajardo Jr.

“MIDNIGHTER AND APOLLO is the book we need right now, as comics’ most iconic queer couple face down a new enemy and show us that we can never give in to fear, hatred, and evil,” says Orlando. “And they do it with their own brand of action movie wit… and punching. I won’t just deliver fans the much-anticipated return of Apollo. I’ll also feature the Lords of the Gun and the iconic Mawzir from DC’s seminal Hitman, as well as Underworld Unleashed‘s Neron. And that’s just the beginning. It’s a knockdown, drag out, DC Universe western revenge thriller that starts kicking from page one!”

MIDNIGHTER AND APOLLO #1 debuts October 5th, 2016. Final order cutoff at your local comic book store is Monday September 12th.

Set in Los Angeles, the story follows Walter Blunt, a British import intent on conquering the world of American cable news and the fallout from his well-intentioned, but mostly misguided decision-making, both on and off the air.

Through the platform of his nightly cable news show, Blunt is on a mission to impart his wisdom and guidance on how Americans should live, think and behave.  Besieged by network bosses, a dysfunctional news staff, numerous ex-wives and children of all ages, Blunt’s only support is the heavy-drinking, devoted manservant he transplanted from the U.K. to join him in Los Angeles.  The series is greenlit for a two-season, 20-episode commitment.

The cast is led by Patrick Stewart (X-Men franchise, Ted) in the role of Walter Blunt, Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook) as Rosalie, Blunt’s tough and motherly producer-manager and Adrian Scarborough (The King’s Speech) as Harry, Blunt’s manservant. Dolly Wells (“Doll & Em”) who was cast as Celia, Blunt’s senior producer and head writer, with Timm Sharp (“Enlightened”) who was cast as Jim, Blunt’s head writer, round out the cast.

And we’re giving away three copies!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header “BLUNT TALK” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following:

Walter Blunt was inspired by this well known British journalist?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on September 25th, 2016.

It’s been quite the summer for yours truly.

Well, likely a lack of summer is more like it. I had to cram it all into June and July, because August was gone. I spent the month on assignment working on the Rio Olympics as a researcher.

Combine my nerdlove of the Olympic Games with getting to know anything and everything about 306 events across 26 sports? Don’t mind if I do.

Do so while working 14-17 hours a day, for 21 consecutive days, while living out of a hotel room? Um, sure.

Suffice to say, I was pretty beat up by the time the cauldron was extinguished. Mentally, I feel like when Frodo and the boys returned to the Shire at the end of Return of the King, sitting in a pub with beers in their hands, staring blankly at each other while everyone around them went on blithely about their lives.

I took the next week off to recover and reintegrate myself into larger society. Got the manicure, the pedicure, the massage, the haircut. I bought a new lamp for the bedroom, walked the dog, stuff like that.

And, pop culture-wise, I saw Suicide Squad.

While it wasn’t a critical darling, David Ayer’s entry in the DC Cinematic Universe left me pretty happy. I got what I came for – something gnarly, a bit nuts, and a whole lot of check-your-brain-at-the-door stupid.

But I did walk out of the theater with some pretty wild thoughts about this garish, hyped-up thing. Let’s unpack a few, shall we?

Metahumans in the 21st century

DC Comics long has used the term “metahuman” to describe people with superpowers. (People inside a comic book look silly saying “superhero” and “supervillain,” OK? Keep that for funny books.)

It’s a pretty cool concept when you break it down, as the term describes someone beyond normal humanity, or a person with something extra to their humanity.

Superhumans are above people, or over them. The word “mutant” connotes a “normal” human changed into something else, made into something else from the outside. They are the changed ones, and the word contains a value of less-than.

Metahumans, however, are people beyond people, or people with something added. Suicide Squad leans on the concept of metahumanity as extra, as more – more human than human.

Amanda Waller, in describing metahumans, says, “The ‘human’ is the most dangerous part.” And for the members of ARGUS’s Task Force X, their lives are as some ramped-up, outsized version of humanity.

Deadshot takes a contract killer and add the idea of him being a shooter so good he can hit all head shots with increasing calibres of guns such that the metal targets are left with singular bullet holes, white-hot and smoking. But his only true motivation, his only true pain, is his daughter and his desire to be a good father for her. A good father who kills bad guys for money, but a good father nonetheless.

June Moon is the well-mannered academic, the good woman who got all the right grades, went to the right schools, looking forward to a life built exactly as she planned it. She pursued archaeology instead of an internship at McKinsey, for crying out loud. And her orderly world is ripped away from her by a predator flexing its self-entitled ideas of power, as Enchantress violates her body and mind. Like psychological trauma, June has an actual trigger word, and – in one of the movie’s best, yet simplest, visuals – Enchantress’ hand creeps up from under June’s hand and takes over.

Suicide Squad, or Minority Report?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the casting of this film makes the majority of the Suicide Squad a crew of minority groups in American society.

Deadshot and Killer Croc? Black men. Diablo? Latino. Enchantress and Harley Quinn? White women. Katana? Japanese woman. Amanda Waller? Black woman.

There is a double-consciousness of people who are outcasts in wider society dovetailing with how these are super-criminals. If criminals have no place in society, what do you do with perpetrators of crime on such a hyped-up scale? Add to this how hard comic book characters lean on stereotypes, and this gets funkier.

If any character in Suicide Squad bears the burden of representation, it’s Harley Quinn.

Harley’s reception as the “crazy hot chick” twists upon itself. Not only is she beautiful, as Margot Robbie gives great face throughout the film, but Harley performs her madness as much as she lives it. She’s got charm and chutzpah. She’s a loveable wackadoo that’ll kill you with a smile, or just plain kill you – traits that go all the way back to creator Paul Dini’s original takes on the character.

Remember the episode “Harley’s Holiday” in Batman: The Animated Series, when Harley plants a big kiss on Batman? Suicide Squad does its own version, when Batman performed CPR on Harley after pulling her from the river, and she kisses him instead.

It’s not simply that all the soldiers – male and female – stop and stare as Harley puts on a T-shirt and hot pants. She retorts, “What?” as another sign-o-crazy joke. But, the fact is, nobody stared at Boomerang as he went for a track suit and overcoat to enter an interdimensional war zone.

Or look at the potential triple-consciousness of Killer Croc aka Waylon Jones. Following a lot of recent comics, Jones is a black man. So here you have a black man growing up in a society that fears his race, and as a deformed reptile man in a society that fears this skin as well. What code could he switch? So I laughed extra hard when he says, “I’m beautiful.” Black is beautiful. Croc is beautiful.

The movie has three straight, white men of any consequence: Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang and Joker. And really, Boomerang could have been cut, and most of how Task Force X’s plans go belly-up come from Flag and Joker. Sure, Waller comes up with the wetwork force, but the suits at the Pentagon had to approve it, didn’t they?

All I can think of now is how much this must have pissed off Scott Eastwood. The poor son of Clint gets a mere handful of lines in Squad despite he and his famous father showing every inch of their asses trying to defend America from political correctness as head members of the Anti-Pussy/Pro-Pussy Party in an Esquire cover story.

Too bad he has to be in a movie in which some women and a couple of black guys are sent in to clean up a mess kept from them by the top white guy on their team, who won’t admit he messed up.

The world at a tipping point.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot of talk – from the presidential election to climate change to refugees to income inequality – that depicts the sense that our world of humanity is at a tipping point. That, here we are in the future years, but still grasping at accepting new ideas and new paradigms for how to exist.

Think of the recent politicized furor over the Confederate flag, or transgender rights, or racism. I think of those who don’t want the same-old ways any more, and those, from Trump supporters to ISIS, who want to “go back” to some idealized past couched in domination by them.

In these times, the superhero has been shedding his 20th-century skin. How much longer can we go with World War II as a starting point for Captain America and Wonder Woman? How much father we can go with costume design based in circus strongmen, when we live in an age of athletic apparel that outstrips any supersuit?

To me, the DCCU is built solely on this idea of the tipping point. Superman arrives, and the world is changed. We now know aliens are real, and they nearly destroyed the entire planet in a manner of days. What else from our imaginations is actually happening?

In Suicide Squad, we see people react to the fact that magic is real. Gods are real. Katana has a sword that takes the souls of the people killed by it – wait, souls are real? A reptile man swims in the sewer and eats people. There’s a guy who moves between seconds, he’s so fast.

What if a selfish drug lord, who gave in to his godly fire for worldly reasons and destroyed those he loved, can harness that power to save the world? That’s what happens to Diablo. He goes more human than human, in a constructive way rather than selfishly.

The world is changing. And the enemies in this film are literal old gods grown jealous and resentful of a humanity that no longer worships them. The new humanity must rise to defeat them. Change, or die.

More human than human means more mad love than ever

This past weekend, I attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. The theme of the weekend was “heroes of the realm,” honoring military, police, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders.

At the day’s finale, after celebrating the coronation of King Henry VIII, the faire recognized a Marine and a volunteer firefighter by having Henry knight them and present them with swords.

The men walked under a canopy of swords by fake knights, to kneel on a stage full of actors before a fictionalized version of a king of a country we don’t pledge allegience to, who died about 500 years ago.

But, dagnabbit, the honor itself was so real, that it transcended everything.

In the most contrived of scenarios, something real can happen. It’s part of being human.

Remember that Amanda Waller says, when discussing the concept of metahumans, that “the human part is the most dangerous.” It’s the unexpected love between Rick Flag and June Moon that gives Enchantress room to rebel, and it’s the cruelty of Amanda Waller that further pushes Enchantress to put her scheme in motion.

And Joker’s love of Harley Quinn leads to many of the plot’s monkey wrenches.

A friend of mine who saw the film said she thought the Joker-Harley relationship was kinda sweet. For a relationship between a pair of murderous psychopaths, there was something else I got from this movie.

It starts with Kehlani’s song, “Gangsta” on the film soundtrack. The opening lines sum up the Joker-Harley relationship of Suicide Squad: “I need a gangsta to love me better than all the others do. Someone to forgive me, ride or die with me. That’s just what gangstas do.”

The Harley Quinn of Suicide Squad is entirely unhinged. They say she’s crazier than Joker, among other facts I won’t spoil here. This Harley does exactly what she wants, exactly how she wants to do it. She is the queen of Gotham’s underworld, to be feared and obeyed in her own right. She’s not just “Joker’s girlfriend,” as a hapless hood in their crime den finds out Joker and Harley’s murderously sadistic foreplay.

As Harleen Quinzel, she is attracted to the laughing man who holds all of Gotham City in fear any time he walks free. She wants to know why he is what he is, and is deceived. But only because something within her wants that power, too.

Even though Joker transforms Harleen into Harley, my sense of the movie is that, in actuality, Harleen realizes what was inside her all along. She sees her monster within, and lets it all out until there’s no going back.

It’s not simply that Joker grants Harley permission to exist beside him when he asks her, “Will you live for me?” It’s that he blocks out whatever would keep Harley from existing, from doing whatever she wants. To always forgive, to ride or die, us against the world.

I think about how I want to live in my marriage as a pair of powerful equals. Therefore, I want to do whatever I can to foster my wife being the best version of herself as much and as often as possible. That I support her saying yes to whatever she wants to be. That we live for each other.

Luckily for the rest of you, I’m not a murderous psychopath criminal looking for an equal in depravity and evil.

And yet, even these two have dreams. Joker, bereft of Harley, sits in a room surrounded by a layout of knives and guns. But spy the two baby onesies in the corner. Reminds me of Joker and Harley brainwashing Robin into Joker Jr. in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

While Suicide Squad doesn’t jump deeply into the Harley’s backstory to show whether she is the shrewd game-player who gets out-duped by Joker’s lies like in Paul Dini’s Mad Love, her Enchantress-fueled fantasy of 1950s-style domestic bliss belies that psychological search for a “perfect family” often enacted by people who suffer abusive childhoods.

Quite a lot for a dumb movie, eh?

Produced by Clint Eastwood, Frank Marshall,
Tim Moore, Allyn Stewart
Written by Todd Komarnicki
Based on Highest Duty by
Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart,
Laura Linney, Anna Gunn,
Autumn Reeser, Holt McCallany,
Mike O’Malley, Jamey Sheridan,
Jerry Ferrara, Molly Hagan,
Max Adler, Sam Huntington

In dramatizing the true life heroics of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s historic Hudson River landing on January 15, 2009, 86-year-old Clint Eastwood delivers pure, meat-and-potatoes filmmaking that defines sheer professionalism.

It makes sense in a film that certainly covers a fair deal of thematic ground in its tight 96 minutes (a miracle for a Clint film), but in the end, Sully is all about business—getting the damn job done.

It’s encapsulated, through and through, in Tom Hanks’ masterful performance as the title character. During the thrilling recreation of the aircraft’s bird-strike, engine blow-out and subsequent river landing, Hanks’ eyes are fixated on nothing more than accomplishing what he needs to do. He knows he needs to land the plane. He knows he won’t be able to make it make to an airport runway. He knows they’re landing in the Hudson.

But most of all, he knows he needs to deliver each of the 155 people aboard the plane safely back to their families. In perhaps Hanks’ strongest moment in the film, he is told that all 155 people have been accounted for, alive and well. His relief is so palpable that we exhale in unison with him. He had one job to do, and by all means, he got it done.

Sully highlights the perilous 208 seconds of this event—two different times in fact, both presented in separate contexts—as well as the aftermath that surfaced, between the media circus and investigations performed by the by-the-book hearings committee. This committee, led by fine supporting performances from Mike O’Malley and Anna Gunn, insists that Sully could have landed the plane on a runway. But Sully and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (a great Aaron Eckhart) know otherwise. They were there, and no matter what the simulations say, these men know they accomplished what needed to be done.

But don’t call them heroes.

As Sully tells Katie Couric (playing herself) in an interview, “I don’t feel like a hero. I was just doing my job.”—again, highlighting the recurring theme of Eastwood’s latest film, and so many others to come before it. If anything, the hero here is Clint himself. Eastwood is a fine, fine filmmaker who delivers incredibly polished and crafted works regularly. Even the worst Eastwood film is leaps and bounds above the best that others have to offer.

But, like Sully, Eastwood would likely reject the term “hero” bestowed upon him. He’s just doing his job.

America’s largest and longest running horror film festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, announces the first wave of its official 2016 film line up. The festival, which will run from Oct. 18-27, 2016 at the TLC Chinese in Hollywood, has launched careers – providing a platform for filmmakers and actors to showcase their latest work to enthusiasts and general audiences. Actress Lydia Hearst (Condemned, #Horror) will serve as ambassador for the festival.

“We’re so thrilled to announce such a diverse group of films this year,” said Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest Founder and Festival Director. “Even in our 16th year, filmmakers continue to push the envelope and amaze us with their incredible imagination, creativity, passion and hard work.”

This year’s Screamfest Horror Film Festival will offer unique access to some of the most creative forces in the horror genre through film screenings, Q&A’s and conversations with some of the most captivating artists working in the industry today. Film festival badges are currently on sale to the general public at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets will be available soon.

Screamfest Horror Film Festival is proud to announce that the following films have been admitted to the festival – the first wave of the 2016 line up.

THE MASTER CLEANSE (USA) 2016

Directed by Bobby Miller
Written by Bobby Miller
Produced by Jordan Horowitz, Johnny Galecki, Aaron L. Gilbert
Cast: Anna Friel, Johnny Galecki, Anjelica Huston, Oliver Platt
LA Premiere
Down, out, and heartbroken, Paul attends a spiritual retreat to cleanse himself and fix his broken life but soon discovers that the cleanse releases more than everyday toxins…a lot more. The feature debut from Bobby Miller (TUB), THE MASTER CLEANSE is a trippy and fantastic journey that examines how we deal with the things that weigh us down in life, ultimately asking the all-important question: given the opportunity to literally face your demons, what would you do?

TRASH FIRE (USA) 2016

Directed by Richard Bates, Jr.
Written by Richard Bates, Jr.
Produced by Lawrence Mattis, Matt Smith, David Lawson Jr.
Cast: Adrian Grenier, Angela Trimbur, Fionnula Flanagan, AnnaLynne McCord, Matthew Gray Gubler, Sally Kirkland, Ezra Buzzington, Ray Santiago, Molly McCook
LA Premiere
When Owen is forced to confront the past he’s been running from his whole adult life, he and his girlfriend, Isabel, become entangled in a horrifying web of lies, deceit and murder. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be scarred for life.

THE CRUCIFIXION (USA) 2016

Directed by Xavier Gens
Written by Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes
Produced by Leon Clarance, Ara Keshishian, Peter Safran
Cast: Sophie Cookson
LA Premiere
THE CRUCIFIXION is a supernatural thriller based on true events that touches on the universal themes of life vs. death and good vs. evil. The project stars Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service), is written by the Hayes Brothers (The Conjuring) and produced by Peter Safran with Xavier Gens (Hitman) directing.

MY FATHER DIE (USA) 2016

Directed by Sean Brosnan
Written by Sean Brosnan
Produced by Sanja Banic, Alma Bogdan-Turner, Orian Williams, Sean Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan
Cast: Joe Anderson, Gary Stretch, Candace Smith
LA Premiere
Deaf and mute since having his hearing knocked out at the age of 12, Asher has been training for almost two decades to avenge himself on Ivan, the man that killed his older brother 21 years ago. And now that his nemesis is out of prison, he gets his chance. But Asher’s target also happens to be his father.

FEAR, INC. (USA) 2016

Directed by Vincent Masciale
Written by Luke Barnett
Cast: Lucas Neff, Caitlin Stasey, Chris Marquette, Stephanie Drake, Mark Moses, Abigail Breslin
LA Premiere
Produced by Luke Barnett, Vincent Masciale, Natalie Rose Masciale, Heather Kasprzak
Fear, Inc. follows a company of degenerates who can be hired for a premium to bring your greatest fears to life. But when horror junkie Joe Foster’s customized scare seemingly begins, he and his friends must decide if this company is there to scare them, or make them pawns in their own sick game.

BEDEVILED (USA) 2016

Directed by The Vang Brothers (Berlee and Abel Vang)
Written by Berlee Vang, Abel Vang
Produced by Abel Vang, Burlee Vang, Leng Yang , Cheng Yang, Kirk Roos
Cast: Saxon Sharbino, Mitchell Edwards, Brandon Soo Hoo, Victory Van Tuyl, Carson Boatman, Alexis G. Zall, and Jordan Essoe
LA Premiere
Five teenagers receive an invite to download a Siri-like app. Once they accept this app which calls itself Mister Bedevil, it begins to torment each of them by tapping into their worst fears. To stop this malevolent force, the teens must learn to trust and depend on each other’s wits and courage.

INICUO: THE BROTHERHOOD (MEXICO) 2016

Directed by Alejandro G. Alegre
Written by Alejandro G. Alegre
Produced by Alejandro G. Alegre, Victor Leycegui, Roberto G. Alegre, Enrique Villanueva
Cast: Isaac Pérez Calzada, Marcos Duarte, Verónica de Alba, Guillermo Jair, Rodrigo Ostap
LA Premiere
After a voyage of discovery FEDERICO creates a new religious cult. He kidnaps FERNANDO, a former collaborator, which will try to leave as heir of worship in the midst of a slaughter justified by their own past tragedies.

LAKE BODOM (FINLAND) 2016

Directed by Taneli Mustonen
Written by Aleksi Hyvärinen and Taneli Mustonen
Produced by Aleksi Hyvärinen, Sophie Holden, Callie McGregor, Claudia Troncoso
Cast: Nelly Hirst-Gee, Mikael Gabriel, Mimosa Willamo, Santeri Helinheimo Mäntylä
US Premiere
Every camper’s worst nightmare came true at Lake Bodom in 1960 when four teenagers were stabbed to death while sleeping in their tent.

ABOUT SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL

Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry. Among the numerous films that have been discovered and/or premiered at the festival include “Paranormal Activity,” “30 Days of Night,” “Trick ‘r Treat” and “The Human Centipede.”

The festival will run from October 18-27, 2016 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood. Film festival badges are currently on sale to the general public at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets will be available soon. Actress Lydia Hearst will serve as ambassador for the festival.

Screamfest is sponsored by Shock Top, Birns & Sawyer, Crypt TV, Brickwork, and Dapper Cadaver. Screamfest is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Screamfest is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown Friday edition!

Today we will be looking at some of the titles that may get overlooked on your weekly journey to the comic store. Here goes!

Cyborg:Rebirth #1

Written by John Semper Jr
Illustrated by Paul Pelletier
Published by DC Comics

Cyborg #1 could have been a great issue. Instead it is almost a painfully standard issue.

Nothing bad in it but nothing too great. Overall, it feels like a great opportunity wasted.

I have never heard of Semper Jr. before this, and I may never hear of him again after this. I love this character very much.

He was one of my favorites in Teen Titans years ago. so it
really saddens me that this is the typical DC Rebirth origin story.

Pelletier has never been my favorite artists yet here, the art is the best part. I wish this was stronger. It feels like an outdated computer that doesn’t work anymore.

RATING: C+

Unfollow #11

Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated by Michael Dowling
Published by DC Comics

Well, I picked this up right in the middle of a story so I have no idea what the hell is going on. Still, I will intrigued enough to maybe want to pick this up on a regular basis.

I think I kind of understood it? Maybe I didn’t though.

The story goes like this: Dave, Deacon, and Ravan flight for their lives as death rains from the Russian skies. Akira begins his podcast. Courtney skips to the end of the story. The
Mask takes an internet poll. And the count is at 129 and dropping.

Okay I probably didn’t get about 70 percent of it but what I did I liked enough. The writing is okay s the art is above decent. Maybe it’s time for me to pick up and start to follow Unfollow?

RATING: B-

The Sheriff of Babylon # 10

Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Mitch Gerads
Published by DC Comics

I am not a big fan of Tom King’s Batman.

This series though is out of this world.

How is this from the same writer I do not know, but this is superb comics right here.

King’s story keeps growing with intensity issue after issue and it certainly does that here.

Chris, starts to close in on the suspect who killed his trainee..

There are shocks, surprises and just great storytelling.

Gerads is killing it on the art as well. this is a solid book from cover to cover.

One of the best books being published.

RATING: A

Ghastly Tales

Written by Marguerite Bennett
Illustrated by Varga Tomi
Published by A Wave Blue World Inc.

So this was a nice surprise. A unique limited print run book with a nice bunch of stories that is perfect for September! I recommend picking this up to read something new and interesting.

The three different stories here impress for they are all ghastly but all so different. Bennett is an awesome writer! The best story here is “In The Night, Mountains Grew,” but I enjoyed the other two as well.

The thing I loved the most is that the three stories felt they were from a different artist but they weren’t. It was shocking to me. All three styles were highly accomplished too.

This is a damn good book. Pick it up. Well done all around.

RATING: A-

Josie and the Pussycats #1

Written by Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio
Art by Audrey Mok
Published by Archie Comics

I am in love with Archie Comics.

They are making some of the best comic books on the stands. This is no different.I loved this from start to finish. a hell of a book and a hell of
a beginning to a series.

The writing is sharp and the art is hopping! This is a new beginning for these characters and it is fairly awesome. I wasn’t even a fan of them until this. Now I can’t wait to read it every month. Archie is doing something with their comics…they are like drugs I can’t get enough of them.

This is fun. And comics need to be fun. And kids can read it too.

Imagine that.

RATING: A-

Tarzan on The Planet of The Apes #1

Written by Tim Seeley and David Walker
Illustrated by Fernando Dagnino
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Two things I am not a big fan on: Tim Seeley and Tarzan.

Yet, I kind of liked this issue. It seemed like a nutty concept but it’s strangely fun.

Two things that have nothing to do together in one comic. But it works.

Seeley and Walker write an adventure tale that is grounded. Which is a good thing. I enjoyed the issue, and it was never bogged down with their respective mythologies.

Tarzan is raised with Caesar from The Planet of the Apes and they reunite here for the war between man and ape. It’s fun.

The art is decent too. Not too familiar with Dagnino but he does impress.

Pick it up. It’s a good time.

RATING: B

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1954 — The Black Sun #1

Written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson
Illustrated by Stephen Green
Published by Dark Horse Comics

This issue is about the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy going on an Arctic adventure to investigate a monster. And how can you not enjoy that?

Hellboy is just fun and in his own little universe which I love. A bunch of monsters fighting a monsters? I’m in.

The writers stick to what works and this works! You kind of know what you are getting in a Hellboy comic and this doesn’t disappoint.

Added to the fun is the artwork which is something out of an old horror movie.  Mignola keeps such quality control over everything that it’s always a good ride in his dark corner of the universe.

RATING: B+

The X-Men and the Inhumans are on a collision course. Cyclops is missing and presumed dead. But the question on everyone’s lips is “why”? That question and more will be answered in DEATH OF X #1 – a new 4-issue series launching October 5^th! Superstar creators Jeff Lemire (Extraordinary X-Men) and Charles Soule (Uncanny Inhumans) are joined by fan-favorite artist Aaron Kuder (Action Comics) for an incendiary tale that will change the course of Mutantkind and Inhumanity alike!

As the Terrigen Mists roll across the Earth, it’s transformative properties are birthing new Inhumans across the Marvel Universe. But while the mists bring life to the Inhumans, they spell only doom for the X-Men, leaving dead or sickly mutants in their wake. As the Inhumans travel to Japan where the Terrigen Cloud has created a shocking new Inhuman, the X-Men travel to Muir Island where the cloud has caused something truly terrible. For the sake of his people, Cyclops must take action or face extinction. But how?

As war looms on the horizon, be there for the shocking beginning to the conflict. The fuse is lit, how long before this powder keg explodes? Find out when the highly anticipated DEATH OF X #1 comes to comic shops and digital devices everywhere on October 5^th!

DEATH OF X #1 (AUG160922)
Written by JEFF LEMIRE & CHARLES SOULE
Art & Cover by AARON KUDER
Classic Variant by BUTCH GUICE (AUG160926)
Wraparound Teaser Variant by AARON KUDER (AUG160923)
Connecting Variant A by MIKE CHOI (AUG160925)

Kuder Wraparound Sketch Variant Also Available (AUG160924)
FOC – 09/12/16 On-Sale – 10/05/16

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook

“Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will be a proclamation, but not a fact.” — Lyndon B. Johnson.  HBO Home Entertainment proudly presents the July 11th Digital HD and September 6th DVD with Digital HD and Blu-ray with Digital HD release of the critically acclaimed All the Way. Following its critically acclaimed, award-winning Broadway run, All the Way (starring four-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston who reprises his Tony Award-winning role, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s (LBJ) tumultuous first year in office in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination. Bonus material on both sets a Historical Featurette and Bryan Cranston’s Transformative Video becoming LBJ.

Hailed as “dramatically dazzling” (Baltimore Sun) and “powerful” (Chicago Sun-Times), All the Way was nominated for eight 2016 Emmy Awards including Outstanding Television Movie, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (Bryan Cranston, who reprises his Tony Award winning role). The film follows LBJ during his early administration, as he stakes his presidency on what would be an historic, unprecedented Civil Rights Act. Johnson finds himself caught between the moral imperative of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the expectations of the southern Democratic Party leaders who brought Johnson to power. As King battles to press Johnson while controlling more radical elements of the Civil Rights movement, Johnson navigates the bill through Congress, winning a landslide victory against Barry Goldwater, but causing the South to defect from the Democratic Party.

Co-starring with Cranston are Anthony Mackie (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Melissa Leo (Lady Bird Johnson), Bradley Whitford (Hubert Humphrey) and Frank Langella (Sen. Richard Russell). Additional cast members include Joe Morton (Roy Wilkins), Stephen Root (J. Edgar Hoover), Marque Richardson (Bob Moses), Aisha Hinds (Fanny Lou Hamer), Todd Weeks (Walter Jenkins), Mo McRae (Stokely Carmichael) and Spencer Garrett (Walter Reuther).  The film was directed by Jay Roach (Emmy winner for HBO’s Game Change and Recount) from a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan (Pulitzer Prize winner for “The Kentucky Cycle”; two-time Emmy nominee and Writers Guild Award winner for HBO’s The Pacific), who has adapted his Tony Award-winning play of the same name.

And we’re giving away a copy!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header “LBJ” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following:

Bryan Cranston previously won 4 Emmys for his portrayal of this character?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on September 25th, 2016.

Eco-Thriller Stars Michael Shannon, Veronica Ferres & Gael Garcia Bernal

In advance of its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, XLrator Media has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Academy Award nominee Werner Herzog’s SALT AND FIRE starring Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, “Boardwalk Empire”), Veronica Ferres (Hector and the Search For Happiness) and Golden Globe winner Gael Garcia Bernal (“Mozart in the Jungle”). XLrator Media will release the film in theaters in Spring 2017.

Written and directed by Werner Herzog inspired by a story by Tom Bissell, SALT AND FIRE tells the story of a corporate CEO and a group of scientists who must band together despite their ideological differences to try to avoid a looming environmental catastrophe. The film was shot in Bolivia at the stunning Uyuni salt flats (the world’s largest) and Germany. The film was produced by Nina Maag, Werner Herzog, Michael Benaroya and Pablo Cruz.

At age 74, German filmmaker Herzog is one of cinema’s masters, known for both his bold narratives (Aguirre: Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo) and poignant documentaries (Encounters at the End of the World, Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams). His latest documentaries, Lo and Behold: Reveries From the Connected World about the Internet and Into The Inferno about volcanoes, premiered at this year’s Sundance and Telluride Film Festivals, respectively, and he is teaching filmmaking through the online platform Masterclass.

“In a career spanning six decades, Werner Herzog has dazzled and challenged audiences with his unique cinematic vision. We’re honored to bring audiences his thought-provoking and very timely environmental thriller with the remarkable cast of Michael Shannon, Gael Garcia Bernal and Veronica Ferres,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.

The deal was negotiated by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon and Lea Flome with Creative Artists Agency on behalf of the filmmakers.

That’s right, she’s back after a decade! This October, she returns to the fold for an all-new ongoing series as the highly anticipated JESSICA JONES #1 explodes onto the scene as part of Marvel NOW! From the original creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos and David Mack comes a brand new series that drags Jessica to the center of the Marvel Universe! There are still many secrets hiding in the shadows. Secrets only a special woman with talents like Jessica Jones can uncover. But when secrets from Jessica’s own past resurface, her caseload is about to get a whole lot heavier. Plus – just how did Jessica Jones wind up incarcerated in The Cellar – a prison designed to hold only the deadliest super villains? Find out in this blistering first issue when the eponymous heroine makes her triumphant return to comics in JESSICA JONES #1 – on-sale this October!

JESSICA JONES #1 (AUG160842)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by MICHAEL GAYDOS
Cover by DAVID MACK
Variant Covers by ALEX MALEEV (AUG160843) and DAVID AJA (AUG160844)
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (AUG160845)
Teaser Variant by MIKE DEODATO (AUG160846)
Black Panther 50^th Anniversary Variant by JEFFREY VEREGGE (AUG160847)
Hip-Hop Variant by JEFF DEKAL (AUG160849)

Champions Variant Also Available (AUG160848)
FOC – 09/19/16, On-Sale – 10/12/16

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook. 

PBS Distribution has announced they are releasing both MASTERPIECE: MR. SELFRIDGE THE COMPLETE SERIES and MASTERPIECE: INSPECTOR LEWIS: THE COMPLETE SERIES on DVD October 18th.

Both series originally aired on the top-rated primetime show on PBS, MASTERPIECE, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2016. MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is Executive Producer. Funding for the series was provided by Viking River Cruises and Audible with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust. MASTERPIECE is known for presenting iconic shows such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga, Poldark, Sherlock and Downton Abbey.

MASTERPIECE: MR. SELFRIDGE THE COMPLETE SERIES

Created by Emmy Award-winning writer Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’ Diary), Mr. Selfridge brings to life the story of American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge, the colorful and visionary founder of Selfridges, London’s lavish department store. Pioneering, reckless, and with an abundance of charm, Harry Selfridge created a theater of retail for early 1900s Londoners, where the latest topics or trends were showcased and traditions were challenged.

Throughout the years the series has received critical acclaim. “A treasure box of tales about love, loss, ambition, and the spirit of a new age,” enthused The Wall Street Journal during Season 1; “lush and lovely,” murmured The Los Angeles Times about Season 2; “visually glorious,” gushed the New York Daily News for Season 3.

Starring three-time Emmy Award-winning actor Jeremy Piven (Entourage) as the great Harry Selfridge, the brilliant ensemble cast features Amanda Abbington (Sherlock), Tom Goodman-Hill (The Imitation Game), Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street), and Frances O’Connor (The Missing).

“MR. SELFRIDGE THE COMPLETE SERIES” will be available on DVD October 18, 2016. The run time of the program is approximately 1866 minutes on 12 discs. The DVD SRP is $89.99.

MASTERPIECE: INSPECTOR LEWIS: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Inspector Robert Lewis (Kevin Whately) steps out of the shadow of his mentor – the inimitable Inspector Morse – in this highly-acclaimed series of intricate mysteries.

Together with his brooding, inscrutable partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (Laurence Fox), they take on the elite criminal underworld of Oxford, England, relying on Lewis’ instinct and Hathaway’s intellect to see past appearances and into the hearts of their upper-crust foes.

Catch all 33 beguiling mysteries from the pilot to the series finale in this complete set.

INSPECTOR LEWIS: THE COMPLETE SERIES will be available on DVD October 18, 2016. The run time of the program is approximately 2970 minutes on 18 discs. The DVD SRP is $99.99.

For more details, visit pbs.org