Announced during NY Comic Con, AfterShock Comics will be premiering two new series, both launching in January.

BLOOD BLISTER #1

$3.99/ 32 pages / Color/ On-Sale January 4th

Written by: Phil Hester
Art by: Tony Harris
Inked by: Eric Layton
Colored by: Guy Major
Cover by: Tony Harris

Sin is a joke to Brandon Hull. Morality a crutch for the weak, laws mere tools to be abused. But when the corruption he scoffed at begins to manifest on his once-perfect body, Hull finds himself cast into a hidden world of unspeakable horror from which there is no escape. How can you be saved when the evil possessing you is your own soul? Opening a jarring window on to a world of horror.

Opening a jarring window on to a world of horror from the writer of The Coffin, Firebreather, and Deathstroke and the Eisner Award-winning artist of Ex-Machina and Starman.

ANIMOSITY: THE RISE (one-shot)

$3.99/ 32 pages / Color/ On-Sale January 18th

Written by: Marguerite Bennett
Art by: Juan Doe
Cover by: Juan Doe

“The Animals thought, spoke, and took revenge. The dust has settled and the blood dried, but a new force is rising in the West, ready to help Animal-kind seize power in the dark new world to come…”

Spinning out from Marguerite Bennett’s hit new series ANIMOSITY is this special one-shot, illustrated by AMERICAN MONSTER’s very own Juan Doe! Witness the devastating effects of “The Wake” and how it affected other parts of the world on that terrifying day!

For more information visit aftershockcomics.com

From Danny McBride and Jody Hill, Vice Principals is a dark comedy telling the story of North Jackson High School, and the two people who almost run it — the Vice Principals. The series stars Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as the school administrators in an epic power struggle for the top spot of school Principal. Told over the course of a single school year, the first season takes place during the fall, with the second and final season to covering the spring term, each with nine episodes. Joining McBride and Hill as executive producer and director is longtime collaborator David Gordon Green.

Purchase it today on iTunes, Vudu, or Google Play

The 14th edition of the New York City Horror Film Festival celebrates the career of Adrienne Barbeau this November with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Debuting in her first feature film in her then-husband John Carpenter’s THE FOG, Ms. Barbeau continued in George Romero’s CREEPSHOW, and other favorites including Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and Wes Craven’s SWAMP THING. Her long and varied career crosses all genres, from Broadway to television, and the beloved actress is thrilled to accept her award on Saturday, November 12, after that evening’s program, at approximately 9:30 pm.

The 2016 New York City Horror Film Festival opens Thursday, November 10, with Darren Lynn Bousman’s ABATTOIR, at 7:00 pm. Jonathan Straiton’s NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE continues the creepiness Friday November 11 at 9:30 pm, Steven DeGennaro’s FOUND FOOTAGE 3-D precedes Ms. Barbeau’s award ceremony at 5 pm on Saturday Nov. 12, and Sunday’s final wrapup feature is Caradog W. James’ DON’T KNOCK TWICE, starring Javier Botet ([REC], Crimson Peak) at 6:45pm. The full festival runs Nov. 10–13, 2016, at the Cinépolis Chelsea Cinemas. For full schedule and ticket info go to http://www.nychorrorfest.com.

Darren Lynn Bousman has been bringing the grue to gruesome over the past two decades with his blood-drenched filmography. From SAW II, III, and IV, through REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA, THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL, and now ABATTOIR, Bousman continues plowing through the gore. Caradog James’ first feature film, the BAFTA-winning LITTLE WHITE LIES, was also listed in Variety’s top 10 British Films of that year, and his second feature, THE MACHINE, premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. His latest feature film, DON’T KNOCK TWICE, stars Katee Sackhoff (Oculus, Riddick), Nick Moran (Lock Stock), and Lucy Boynton (Sing Street).

The NYC Horror Film Festival was born in 2002 by filmmaker Michael J. Hein as a venue for newer independent horror filmmaking. After Michael’s passing in 2011, the festival created the Michael J. Hein Achievement Award to celebrate the hard work and perseverance of creators in the field. Recipients include Rob Zombie, Stuart Gordon, and Tom Atkins. George Romero was the first recipient of the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by other classic scaremeisters including Tobe Hooper, Roger Corman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Frank Henenlotter, Robert Englund, Angus Scrimm, Sean Cunningham, and the beloved late Wes Craven. NYCHFF is proudly sponsored by Final Draft, the #1-selling screenwriting software, and the choice of professionals.

Produced by Will Clarke,
Camille Gatin, Angus Lamont
Written by M.R. Carey, based on his book
Directed by Colm McCarthy
Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine,
Glenn Close, Sennia Nanua, Fisayo Akinade

The striking imagery of the poster — a little girl with a bloodied mouth wearing a clear plastic mask — promises a refreshing original take on the zombie film, which this film delivers… until the third act.

Newcomer Sennia Nanua stars as Melanie, one of several children who are treated like prisoners and only let out of their cells under armed escort by very nervous soldiers.

And yet Melanie is a bright, cheerful child who greets her escorts by name each morning and loves her idealistic teacher, Miss Justineau (Gemma Arterton).

We learn that these children are the next generation of zombies who appear to be fully human, until they catch the scent of real humans and transform into wild-eyed, ravenous predators. (The non-infected humans use a gel scent-blocker, which Rick Grimes would surely love to have.)

Miss Justineau is the only one who believes there’s more humanity than monster in these children, especially her favorite, Melanie. She’s at odds with Glenn Close, who plays the scientist who wants to find a zombie vaccine and Paddy Considine, the tough sergeant who treats these zombie children with the same elaborate caution you would a pack of rabid dogs. The small group is forced to work together after their base falls to the zombie horde and Melanie proves surprisingly helpful — if they can just trust her not to eat them.

The film delivers some terrific zombie attack scenes and an interesting new cause for the outbreak: It’s a nasty fungus that’s making these people want to eat brains!

The way the film plays with our ideas about what makes us human is smart. But some unfortunate choices cross the line into cheesy sci-fi clichés.

And it’s too bad the metaphor of Pandora’s Box becomes not just a recurring theme, but an unavoidable endpoint. The movie tries to have it both ways with an ending that’s apocalyptic and yet strangely upbeat.

The ending didn’t ruin the movie for me, but it did bring my rating down a few notches.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Girl With All the Gifts is currently playing in the UK.

Forty years ago, Carrie White got revenge on her fellow classmates of Bates High School as they laughed at her for a final time when Brian De Palma’s seminal horror classic Carrie made its debut in movie houses back in 1976.

The mark the milestone, the cast and crew of the horror classic reunited at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to pay homage to the film. Hosted by Bryan Fuller and spearheaded by Carrie bad girl Nancy Allen, the charity event supported the weSpark Cancer Support Center.

In addition to a Q&A with the original cast and crew, the event also hosted a spooky prom inspired by the film, complete with giant silver stars, chairs for the queen and king and soft rock hits to sway to.

On hand for the  Q&A were Allen (Chris), PJ Soles (Norma), Piper Laurie (Margaret White), Doug Cox (The Beak), Noella North (Frieda) and editor Paul Hirsch. After the screening, the former residents of Chamberlin reminisced about working with De Palma and working on the movie. For a few, it had been quite a while since they had seen the pic.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the footage in 40 years. When you get to the end of a film, you’ve seen it so many times, you never want to see it again, which is a Faustian bargain editors make,” said Hirsch. “But watching it tonight I was struck by how interestingly every scene was shot. The angles, the lighting…nothing was done conventionally. Every choice was done with a point and an attitude.

“I thought the scenes between Nancy and John were so rich in chemistry, you can really feel the feelings between them. The dance of the eyes. And the scenes between Piper and Sissy were like operatic duets. They were just fabulous. I just had a great time watching the picture tonight.”

“Seeing it on the big screen, I picked up a lot of details I didn’t get before. Like the meteorites coming through the roof,” said Fuller, “In the novel, Carrie can summon meteorites from the sky, and the collapse of the house, you can see the meteorites. More specifically, I had read about them but I had never seen them before tonight.”

“The build up to the dumping of the blood, the whole prom, took weeks to shoot. And the slow motion sequence had over a hundred set-ups on each of the characters on what they are seeing and their reaction to what they are seeing,” explained Schafer. “The challenge to get all the pieces to fit in the right order in the right time is very satisfying to see today.”

Screen legend Laurie recalled that when she first read the screenplay, she took away a different meaning from the tale.

“I read the script and I thought it was a comedy. My husband said, ‘Well, Brian De Palma has a comedic approach to everything he does.’ I thought I misread the whole thing and thought it was a comedy,” recalled Laurie, “Months later, I was back in Los Angeles, rehearsing in his apartment, and I had worked out a few really funny bits to do. I went to do one scene with Sissy, and I did it, and he said, ‘Piper, you won’t be able to do that, you are going to get a laugh.’ I was stunned. It was then I realized it was supposed to be serious.”

During the Q&A, the cast chatted about their experiences on the pic and working together as young actors, many of whom had never worked in a featured film before.

“The first day of shooting was the volleyball scene. That was supposed to be my only scene. I actually screen tested for Chris’ part, which I studied with John (Travolta),” said Soles. “But then I got the part Norma, which I was told was only that one line: ‘Thanks a lot, Carrie.’

But after Brian saw the dailies,  to which he invited all of us to, which was very unusual for the time for a director. ‘Come on! Let’s all go watch the dailies!’ ‘Really?’ Usually they don’t want us around. Because I wore the red baseball cap, which was Brian’s suggestion that I wear it, and my pin, which got stuck in (Sissy’s) hair, and I ripped it out. I felt so badly, but in the dailies it read so great and Brian just loved it, Brian said, ‘I’m calling your agent and we’re putting you on for the rest of the shoot and you’ll be Chris’ best friend.’ I was thrilled.”

“We all became good friends,” said Soles, “but I remember Sissy said she wasn’t going to hang around with us because she wanted to feel ostracized by us and have a look in our eyes that we really cared about her. That was a very wise decision.”

Every member took away something different from the movie. For one of them, it was a small case of permanent damage.

“The hose got very intimate with my ear,” laughed Soles. “It broke my eardrum, the force of the water. It was really painful. That last little wince was really pain. It think I just blacked out because of the pain.”

Aside from a few missteps and a ruptured eardrum here and there, the cast and crew agreed that the film was not only one an amazing project to work on, but an important one. Carrie holds a place in the hearts of cinephiles because it tackles issues many can relate to today.

“All the girls wanted to go along with the crowd. I made the decision that I felt really bad about it,” said North. “And I think maybe in real life some kids do too feel bad about it, but they want to belong so they go along with the crowd but that’s not who they are. It shows that bullying is still out there.”

The Imitation of Life – Part Three: Nightmare
Writer: John Semper Jr.
Artist: Will Conrad
Cover: Paul Pelletier & Joe Prado
Variant: Carlos D’anda

Vic is dreaming of his first battle as Cyborg, side by side with the Justice League.  This time, however, his doubts cause the death of the members of the League. When Cyborg wakes, Sarah is by his side and exclaims that he shouldn’t have been able to dream while she was running diagnostics on him.

Could the confrontation with Kilg%re have caused more problems than they realised?

Vic doesn’t wait to find the answers, eager to try out the new transmogrification program. Amazingly it works. The nanites can mimic human the appearance of flesh. They drain a lot of his processing power to do so and if he loses concentration or over exerts, he reverts to his natural cybernetic appearance.

To help him relax Sarah talks him into a night at another jazz club, The Jazz Jungle. Upon entering Sarah and Vic are surprised that the maître d’ seems to know him. As they sit at a table, the club singer collapses, with Vic only just able to catch her at the last second.

The singer introduces herself as Britton Claire, his ex girlfriend, she begins to cry when Vic professes to not knowing her. Sarah makes excuses and leaves while Vic catches up on the past with Britton. It seems his onboard memory has lost a lot of his past.

Britton reveals that they had been secretly in a relationship since senior year. They had kept the relationship quiet because Vic’s father never showed interest in his life. They split when Vic met someone else, but when Vic disappeared Britton tried to find him and spoke to Silas.

When Vic learns that Silas knew about Britton but kept her away from him his anger hinders the nanites and his cybernetic eye begins to reappear and forces Vic to race away back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

With Silas forced off duty after the Kilg%re attack, Vic is left to take his anger out on Dr. Morrow. Vic discovers that chunks of his memory where forced into dormancy so that the changes he suffered to become Cyborg didn’t drive him insane. Vic demands their restoration but as the process begins Dr. Morrow traps him on a metal gurney and sides with the opinion that Cyborg is a modern Frankenstein’s monster.

When Cyborg breaks free he is shocked to find Superman is there to stop him. The two heroes tussle and Cyborg teleports them to Mars so they don’t jeopardize civilians. The problem is that this is all in his minds and though Sarah and Dr. Morrow are trying hard to reawaken him, he seems trapped in the fantasy smashing up S.T.A.R. as if he’s duking it out with Superman.

Sarah calls Silas unaware she is speaking to his doppelganger. The real Silas Stone watches helplessly as his double swears to destroy his life and his son.

Meanwhile on M,ars the rest of the Justice League appear to kill Cyborg!

To Be Continued…

STORY: 4/5

That Vic’s really a monster and no longer human continues to be a theme and though it is feeling a little tired four chapters in. I know it’s a long battle to repair the damage done to the character in the past but I think its time to move the story along a bit now. Revisiting the League’s past feels a little like overkill – dreams or not.

Saying that the nanite camouflage is an inspired disguise; As much as I like Ben Grimm and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I don’t think Vic suits the same disguise, so its good to see some innovations being made to the character. He was beginning to look a little on the ridiculous side with all the robotics.

ART:5/5

There is a hell of a lot of attention to detail here. EVERY panel is intricate and even the League costumes are correct circa 2011. Will Conrad has outdone himself this issue. Fantastic.

COVER: 4/5

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d picked up a back issue here. It’s beautifully done but as it’s a flashback it feels a tad misleading.

VARIANT: 4/5

This cover is another fantasy fight. It is disappointing considering the wealth of story such as the human disguise that could have been tapped into. It looks great, but again, feels like I’m being sold a story that I’m not really getting.

In this hilarious and heartfelt comedy from the writing duo behind The Hangover, Amy (Mila Kunis) has a seemingly perfect life – a great marriage, over-achieving kids, beautiful home and a career. However, she’s over-worked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she’s about to snap.  Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms (Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn) on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities – going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence – putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) and her clique of devoted perfect moms (Jada Pinkett Smith and Annie Mumolo).

Written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (The Hangover, Four Christmases) and produced by Suzanne Todd, (Alice Through The Looking Glass) and Bill Block (Dirty Grandpa), the comedy also features Jada Pinkett Smith (The Women), Christina Applegate (Anchorman 1 &2), Annie Mumolo (The Boss) and Jay Hernandez (Suicide Squad).  It’s time to party like a mother with this hysterical and relatable film.

Bad Moms, the year’s biggest R-rated comedy – a runaway hit with audiences and critics alike – is coming to Digital HD on October 18, 2016 and Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on November 1, 2016, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.  The Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD come with nearly an hour of exclusive bonus content including hilarious deleted scenes, gag reels and exclusive interviews with the cast and their moms that will have everyone laughing again and again!

And we’re giving away two copies on Digital HD!

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

Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis previously shared a love interest in Jason Segal in this 2008 film?

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 November 6th, 2016.

For more details visit badmomsnightin.com

Our friend George Coghill is back with a new amazing Kickstarter, the embroidered Hallows Angels: Halloween Biker Patches, which runs through October 31st.

This set continues the series of paranormal, cryptozoological and alternative history themed patches that Coghill has funded on Kickstarter over the past two years (Bigfoot Patrol, Yeti Squad, Sasquatch Brigade, Cryptid Command, Ancient Astronauts and Ghost Guard).

The Hallows Angels is an embroidered patch set celebrating the classic colors and creatures of Halloween. Inspired by outlaw motorcycle gang patches as well as vintage Halloween decorations, these Halloween “haunter gangs” descend upon your town each October for their annual “haunter’s rally” to raise some Halloween. And of course, these haunter gangs needed their club patches!

Like a Sturgis rally for the supernatural, Halloween brings these gangs of haunters — jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, witches and black cats — to your town for 31 days of mischief and mayhem. And what would Halloween be without scarecrows, bats, owls and spiders — as well as other denizens of Autumn? As the campaign unlocks more Samhain stretch goals, the full lineup of this Haunter’s Rally will be unleashed from the crypt and you’ll get even more patches and merchandise with your qualifying pledge.

Your pledge earns you your “colors” (club patches) in all the Haunter’s Clubs in the Hallows Angels — the Stingy Jacks, the Skeleton Crew, Black Magic and Double Trouble.

You also get exclusive membership in the secret Thirty-Firster organization. As a patch-carrying Thirty-Firster, you vow to keep Halloween haunted. It’s a holiday that becomes more sanitized and commercialized every year. The Hallows Angels and the Thirty-Firsters never forget the creeps, ghouls and goblins that made this night what it really is.

This project is already funded and currently 1 of the three potential stretch goals has been unlocked.  Patch sets from previous campaigns are available as add-ons.

“Sons Of Samhain” stretch goal patch #1 — unlocked!

Join the Hallows Angels and pledge now!

Michael Moore surprised America via social media yesterday with his announcement of a new film called Michael Moore in TrumpLand.  While it isn’t getting a wide release (at least as of announced so far), the film is playing in New York and Los Angeles for a one week engagement.

(UPDATE: Michael Moore has announced via Twitter: “Opens today in NY & LA – but EVERYONE in the US will have access to it in the next 48 hrs. Stay tuned!”)

I was lucky enough to catch the film today during its first show at IFC (not counting the free preview that packed the theater last night).

As with his previous film, Where to Invade Next, Moore plays things refreshingly optimistic, even dare I say fairly politically agnostic.

Here’s what you need to know about the film:

• It’s a concert-film, recorded in the past month on stage at a Wilmington, Ohio theater with a marquee proclaiming “Trump Voters Welcome.”

• Though mostly Moore on stage and audience reaction shots, there are a handful of hysterical satirical video pieces that the director’s known for, including a faux campaign ad for The Donald.

• Moore’s one-man monologue is not about being anti-Trump.  He also makes it clear from the start that he isn’t necessarily a Hillary supporter.  The first half of the film is pure stand-up hack, jabbing at the things conservatives do versus the liberals.  But don’t despair just yet…

• The comedic opening is just a crowd warm-up.  Moore brilliantly brings the room full of mostly white, probably Republican audience to his level.  It’s brilliant to watch.  There could have been protests or walk outs, and I’m sure Moore would have edited those out.  But, you watch as an audience as divided on this year’s election becomes putty in Moore’s fact-filled common grounds.

• Moore has a theory.  Hillary could pull a Pope Francis if elected.  Comparing Hillary’s years of waiting in the wings playing the political game to the Pope’s years of conservative cooperation, Moore notes that Pope’s immediate progressive stance.  Will Hillary, once elected, apologize for her slightly more conservative past and sign actions with executive order during the first 100 days?  Moore thinks so.

• Michael Moore speaks from the heart.  He shares a personal story with the audience about his invitation to the White House in the early 90s that’s fantastically anecdotal.  But then he shares a very eye opening fact involving America’s treatment of Hillary 20 years ago, and the impact that had on our country’s rejection of universal health care.  It’s a jab that only Moore can deliver, as he did in past films.

• The film ultimately inspires both the on-screen and in-theater audience more than any debate or post-debate has.  Rightfully so, Moore announces he’ll run for President in the next election if Hillary does not do what she promises to in the first two years.  He invites Kanye to run with him.

Michael Moore in TrumpLand is now playing in New York City and Encino, CA.  Plans have been announced to make the film available soon on iTunes, but it is not yet live as of this posting.

Part One – Going Underground
Writer: Gerard Way & Jon Rivera
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Special Thanks: Shelly Bond
Cover: Michael Avon Oeming & Nick Filardi
Variant: Matt and Brennan Wagner;
Bill Sienkiewicz

When is comes to heroic adventuring, Cave Carson is a veteran.

The days of fighting alongside Superman, Rip Hunter and the Time Masters are all but gone.

His ‘Cave Crew’ of Bulldozer Smith, Johnny Blake and Christie Madison long ago went their separate ways.

As the story begins Eileen, his wife and co-adventurer has passed away and today is the day of her funeral.

With their daughter, Chloe at his side, they say their goodbyes.

In his grief he calls someone on his cell phone and reveals the government has been covering up geological discoveries of aliens that could form flexible alloys.

Cave drives to his old underground base and sits in the darkness. Where once it was filled with excitement and energy, now it is a cold and lifeless place.

That night at Chloe’s apartment, she and her boyfriend Daniel are watching the old Team Carson documentary while Cave has his old car serviced with his drinking buddy Jack Wheeler, ready for a meeting the next morning.

Many years ago Cave worked for EBX. His genius designed and created The Might Mole. The Mole was an amazing car that could burrow underground and travel at speed with amazing on board tech, Cave stole it once for his teams adventures, research and exploration. Today, the old car sits in the foyer of EBX gathering dust. Cave pats the trusty old machine and heads down to the laboratory.

CEO of EBX, Paul shows Carson the Mark II Might Mole, superior to the original in every way. A lot has been going on while Cave was away. A research team is on an assault course when Cave enters to greet his successors, Cave is suspicious as to why a team of scientists would be going through such military like training but just then his cybernetic eye begins to malfunction with a strange vision of Eileen seemingly beckoning him.

Later in a diner Chloe and Cave argue over him, seemingly ill because of the eye. A family rule is never to talk about it but Chloe is worried it might be malfunctioning. Cave retorts by telling Chloe her tires are deflating slightly, he can tell by her blood levels she had had a drink and that he can see the chemical make up of marijuana on her jacket.

Chloe simmers down and promises to visit her father more regularly, now that he is on his own. As Chloe drives off a man hiding in the shadows watches Cave from a distance.

Later, Cave stops into Magnus Laboratories, for him to check on why the cybernetic eye is malfunctioning. Magnus is annoyed that he can’t seem to figure out it’s technology. But what he does discover is that is a strange mineral has embedded itself into his head and can never be removed. The technology surrounding it isn’t anything he recognises as Kryptonian, Exorian or Metan but just as, if not more so, advanced.

Magnus can’t explain why it is distorting Cave’s digital memories and forming hallucinations out of them, but as they greet the Metal Men in the lounge Magnus hunts for a powerful device called a Magnaband. Cave is skeptical, but Magnus insists that the Magnaband should help drain the hallucinations while he sleeps when worn on his head.

Cave has taken to sleeping in the base, but his sleep is again disturbed but this time by a sub surface dweller called a Muldroogan. Cave questions the panicked man. Withered and weak the Muldroogan rasps in an dialect only Cave knows that EBX is up to no good. They’ve done something to the underground city of Muldroog and only Cave can help them now.

The Muldroogan vomits, transforms into a horrifying creature and tries to eat Cave. Another vision appears to Cave showing the Mark II Mighty Mole, Eileen and the Muldroogans. Cave defends himself with a power drill until the monster is a puddle of ooze and then swearing to uncover the mystery he calls another of his friends.

A friend that takes no prisoners… Wild Dog!

To Be Continued…

STORY: 5/5

Cave Carson is a classic DC character that has not seen a lot of love in many years. This cover doesn’t deny the original stories but uses them as a launch pad. It makes sense as Rip Hunter is enjoying new life on TV with the Legends of Tomorrow, that his comics buddy returns to action.

These is a lot of love and nostalgia poured into the book and a sense of a bigger picture. I would have liked some subtitles to translate the Muldroogan and to identify who is who for the newcomers, especially as this is a first issue in a modern series. Also the book could have given the reader a little background on Cave. I had to read through the profile at the very end of the book and look up back issues to really realise how good this story really is.

I love it but I don’t know if it will progress if they don’t elaborate for the non informed comics reader more in further issues.

ART: 5/5

The book kicks off with a very DC animated universe feel. The vibe is a welcome one as it has a comforting feel, is easy on the eye and feels like a still from an animated show. Michael Avon Oeming has worked hard to make it feel familiar. Despite me not reading Cave Carson stories up until today, he now feels familiar to me.

COVER: 3/5

Nostalgia is there. Flashbacks of old stories and visions of the present day really give a taste of history to the book. The cover is a striking image but the colour scheme is migraine inducing.

VARIANT: 2/5

I really dislike the Sienkiewicz cover. I don’t dislike it because it looks bad, but because it just doesn’t feel like a Cave Carson cover. Just be reading the book and back issues, something feels strangely off. The elements are there but not the nostalgia.  The one by Matt Wagner and son Brennan is better, a bit more Silver Age-y.

BACK UP FEATURE:

Image via twitter.com/tomscioli

Super Powers
The Wonder Twins
Written and Illustrated by Tom Scioli

On the planet Exxor the citizens had worked hard for centuries to cultivate ‘The Chosen One’ a child through whom all the best of Exxor would live through but when Queen Rayna gave birth, instead of the chosen one, there were twins.

Zan, a boy, and Jayna, a girl, were strong healthy children but exhibited none of the powers that the Exxorians had expected.

Years later the children grown to teenage are full of adventurous spirit and have taken in a pet monkey called Gleek.

Their father disapproves that they are not embracing their royal responsibilities and their mother approaches noticing something wrong with the children.

Zan and Jayna are suddenly developing scaly skin and lizard like eyes.

Elsewhere, on Earth in Gotham a Joker tank crushes everything in it’s path on the way to the bank. As The Joker unleashes an army of Joketroopers Batgirl answers the call of the Batsignal.

The Joketroopers make the streets a battleground with the police struggling to fight back. One of the troopers gets so close Commissioner Gordon that he is about to deliver a fatal gunshot if not for Batgirl!

With her help they are able to turn the tide but the Commissioner turns to Barbara and warns her that Gotham has a new Crime Boss…

To Be Continued…

STORY: 4/5

Tapping solely into the nostalgia factor of the animated series and toy line Tom Scioli explores the origins of the Wonder Twins and follows up with an attack by the joker in the present day.

The narration is a little confusing with the jump between the timeline but otherwise it is a genuinely fun jump back in time. It feels a little truncated forced into just three pages but hopefully when all the parts are put together it will flow a bit better.

ART: 3/5

There is clearly a lot of effort for the art to match the paper stock of older comics, the colouring process, hand lettering. It looks great, again with that nostalgia running through it. I don’t feel I can give the art a full rating, it is just so crushed into the three pages. As time goes on and there are more pages perhaps I can give a fairer analysis but so far it’s going in the right direction.

With CW’s Arrow going into it’s fifth season and 100 episodes (how did that happen?) spawning a superhero revolution on TV with the Arrowverse, a new spike has been given to the Emerald Archer’s popularity.

DC’s Comics recent Rebirth initiative made comic stores great again and writer Benjamin Percy was able to give Ollie back his goatee and reunites castaway with Black Canary along with selling a ton of Green Arrow Rebirth #1s.

We talked pre-Rebirth and post-Rebirth with Ben and Rebirth #1 cover artist and co-writer Juan Ferreyra at the DC Comics booth at New York Comic Con last week as Mr. Queen and Black Canary face the Island Of Scars.

###

FOG!: Hey guys, it’s an honor to talk with you, I’m a big Green Arrow fan, and I’ve been reading what you’ve been doing since before Rebirth. My first question is, did you feel like Rebirth was a good opportunity to revisit some things, or did you feel like you weren’t done telling part of your (New 52) story?

Ben Percy: When I jumped into the New 52, and first pitched Green Arrow, I wanted to write Black Canary into it, I was told, “You can’t do that”. I said, “He’s gotta have a goatee,” and I couldn’t do that.

I was also trying to do the novelist thing, which is playing the long game, which you should never do in comics! Because, I could have been kicked out after a few issues. But early on, I was keeping Ollie away from his costume, away from his bow and arrow in an effort to really get to know him as a person. It felt kid of schizophrenic prior to that in the New 52.

I really wanted to build up the character, and I had in my mind a Rebirth revitalization of the character, anyway. I was going to move towards that moment when he truly became Green Arrow. It just got sped up a bit for me.

I did have another storyline involving The Outsiders that I was working towards. There were a lot of hints in there, about that, but its fine. We got rid of that, we just jumped right into the new era.

That’s great and the Green Arrow: Rebirth book really resonated with a lot of people and sold a bunch of copies, tell us how you feel about that!

BP: Juan and I have been talking about how grateful we feel, that people are excited about Green Arrow again. That just feeds into our energy as we are writing and drawing.

And you get feedback from Juan when you are making the stories, too?

Juan Ferreyra: Oh yeah, all the time, we write with each other all the time. He writes me even, secretly, without the editors knowing (laughs).

BP: That’s actually true! (laughing).

JF: We make a bond..to fight the editors! Actually, the editors are really quite nice and we are all together in the same chain of emails. We throw ideas around for stories, they ask what I want to draw.

BP: Whenever I’m writing for Juan, I’m always saying, “I trust you, I trust your vision”.
I just unload everything that is in my brain, and he make it better.

JP: He trusts me, but he doesn’t know yet, so…

BP: And a shoutout to Nate Piekos (Blambot) over here too, his lettering is just fantastic. Just exquisitely beautiful!

Hi, Nate! I can put a face to the name now!

Ben, Nate, and Juan with FOG!’s Clay N Ferno

BP: And he is doing his own thing too, we’re all a part of this team and everyone is bringing their talents to the page.

It is great, really top notch, I’ve been excited with Rebirth from the beginning, from all the books across the line, it’s amazing. People are excited about Green Arrow and Arrow is a TV show, and you get to play with some of those characters, too. What is it like working with Diggle and that dynamic?

BP: Green Arrow works best as a team. In the New 52, it was more of a solo act. We love having him play off Diggle, play off Black Canary, play off Emiko (Queen).

We’ve joked that the title may as well be Green Arrow and Black Canary or Green Arrow and Family. It is like Detective Comics, in a way.

And I don’t want to and was told not to watch the show, when I jumped on. Everybody loves the show, they wanted more worlds of storytelling. So my Diggle was inspired by the (Jeff) Lemire run. That is my basis for Diggle.

JF: And the Batman Family gets along too well, and Green Arrow’s family doesn’t get along too well. It’s more fun! There’s more fighting there.

Right, there is a lot of tension there.

JF: It’s more fun!

Tell us about the new issue and the Island of Scars. It’s HOT. It’s SEXY, and he is back on The Island again!

BP: Well, it’s not “The Island”. It is a satellite of the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. But it is a callback of course. We wanted to give Green Arrow and Black Canary a moment to breathe. They have been on the run since they’ve been back together.

Let’s round out this relationship, give them a Blue Lagoon moment. And things are about to go apeshit crazy again!

JF: He’s going to go deep!

BP:  He says that, because, we’ve been teasing from very early on the Trans-Pacific Railway. It was a construction project put on by Queen Industries, initially the vision of Robert Queen, to connect the continents through this undersea railway. Obviously, that is their way out!

Juan has this nut-so two-shot that is one big action set piece involving a runaway train!

I tell every single comic creator, my favorite thing in a comic or movie or anything is a train fight! If I’m getting it, I’m super exited!

JF: Yeah, I love train fights, road trip movies, stuff like that. Those are my favorite things! Action!

Green Arrow #9 is out in comic shops today!

Follow #TeamArrow on Twitter
Ben • Juan • Nate

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown!!

It’s Wednesday! The best day of the week. Let’s review some comics!!

Aquaman #9   

Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Scot Eaton
Published by DC Comics

Dan Abnett  has been doing a serviceable job on Aquaman. He’s been writing very decent stories that have been getting better as he goes along.

This is part two of the “Unstoppable” storyline and it’s enjoyable. I was happy that it was consistent with the previous issue. I still feel like Aquaman is a second stringer in recent times. I feel he can be a first stringer. It’s totally possible.

And I think Abnett could be the writer to make it happen. He’s just not there yet.

Eaton is doing some top quality work. I’ll take him over a different artist every issue.

The advertised “shocking moments” are anything but that.  Still it’s a solid comic book now in an, at times, rocky relaunch.

RATING: B-

The Dark Knight III: The Master Race #6

Written by Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello
Illustrated by Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson
Published by DC Comics

I love this book. It’s bananas in all the right ways. Miller’s craziness is actually tempered by Azzarello in this and it forms a nice cohesive narrative thus far.

What I like about this book most of all is that it actually feels like a comic book I haven’t read before.

It’ll have to be finished before I can judge for sure but this is starting to look like a masterpiece. The writing is very unique.

Kubert and Janson are killing it on the art.  Killing it. They are so passionate in what they do, the art flows off the page. A nice book all around. Worth the price of admission and then some. I don’t even mind waiting if the story is this good. And that ending.

Man, it’s something. Keep it up guys.

RATING: A

Green Arrow # 9   

Written by Ben Percy
Illustrated by Stephen Byrne
Published by DC Comics

I’ve grown tired of this book. Green Arrow can be well done. And it started off promising. Now it’s just dull to me. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Or maybe I’m missing it.

Part of the problem may be Byrne on the art. It’s so cartoony that it’s hard to get past it. The grit is gone. And maybe then so has our interest.

All of Mike Grell’s work is undone. Heck, all of Jeff Lemire’s work is undone. It’s just a sad state of affairs.

I see what they are trying to do with this Green Arrow. But it’s not my Green Arrow.

And that’s where the shame for me is.

RATING: C

Astro City #40

Written by Kurt Busiek
Illustrated by Carmen Carnero
Published by DC Comics

Man, this book used to be at the top of my reading list. How the mighty have fallen. Not to say the book is horrible by any means, but the book really lost its flavor.

Part of that may be because Brent Anderson didn’t do the art.

Carnero isn’t bad but you miss Anderson immediately. Busiek may have been the brains behind Astro City but Anderson was the heart.

The story for this goes as follows: Life on Shadow Hill gets a bit more complicated when Marta has to handle a contract matter between the Silver Adept and an extradimensional demigod! On the other hand, she gets to watch baseball with ghosts.

This was a fairly decent story. But again, I miss Anderson. It did make me nostalgic for the previous issues I read in the 90s. Still, not bad. Just not what I remember.

RATING: B-

Batman #9 

Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Mikel Janin
Published by DC Comics

Tom King has been mostly a big miss with me on Batman.

But I stuck with it as I know he is a good writer. My patience may have been rewarded with his latest storyline “I Am Suicide.”

King is writing a story about Bane.  It’s a good start. He is also writing a story about Batman gathering some criminals from Arkham Asylum for some ulterior purpose.

Could this be the beginnings of the Watchmen crossover we have been waiting for? Could be.

King has written the best story he has so far on this title.

Part of it may be because of Janin on the art. For some reason King and Janin click more on one page than King and David Finch ever did. They just meld.

The story again starts off very promising. I actually hope this team sticks together. This could be the real start of King’s run. Let’s hope so.

RATING: B+

Nightwing #7

Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Javier Fernandez
Published by DC Comics

This book got interesting! The last few issues before the “Monster Men” crossover were putting me to sleep. But now it seems like Seeley has a great story he wants to tell with Raptor.

And it’s getting pretty dark in this corner of the Batman universe.

Raptor’s methods have crossed the line and Nightwing is on the path to bring him in. This issue unfolds with nice pacing, and Seeley seems to have it under control.

It was fast, taut, and a fairly good read.

The art by Fernandez is capable.

I just can’t stand when comic books get too cartoony. And this is one of those cases for sure. Still, the book is decent and a good read and any fan of Nightwing should pick it up.

RATING: B

Superman #9

Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Illustrated by Doug Mahnke
Published by DC Comics

This is another book where the creative team actually turned their book around into something I quite like.

Superman and his son going to Dinosaur Island is so much fun.

Tomasi and Gleason take their story and run with it. It’s adventurous, exciting, and just the stuff of good comics. I hope they have more fun adventures in store for the rest of their run. They really are good when they hit it right.

Doug Manhke is always a boon to have doing the art. He is an excellent craftsman. When he is drawing book you’re always in for a treat. Here it’s no different.

This is some top quality comics here.

Pick up this issue and the one previous. A good read for this time of year.

RATING: B+

Harley Quinn #6

Written by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti
Illustrated by Bruce Timms and Jill Thompson
Published by DC Comics

I said it before but I’ll say it again: I’m not the world’s biggest Harley Quinn fan.

Yet, I feel compelled to read it as Connor and Palmiotti really give her fans what they want. They know their audience and deliver.

And Timms is a decent artist for the wacky story the pair write. It’s a good time.

The best part of the issue is the art and segment by Jill Thompson. It’s so strange and cool to see her show up here. Her segment is beautifully illustrated and deserves much praise. It is certainly the best part of the issue.
The guest artists in the Harley Quinn universe are pretty killer…And I’m eagerly waiting to read the one with Simon Bisley.

Even so, if you’re a fan you’ll love it and if you’re not you’ll at least smile like I did.

RATING: B

Justice League #9 

Written by Bryan Hitch
Illustrated by Jesus Merino
Published by DC Comics

This is the one DC book that, no matter what they do, looks and feels exactly the same as the previous month.

Like exactly.

Not much is going on in Hitch’s Justice League tales or at least not much I can discern. Which is a shame.

Part of that is that everything in Hitch’s book feels overwrought and EPIC.

But it also doesn’t feel earned so maybe that is why it feels hollow. I want something deeper and this book delivers action but not else.

The art by Merino isn’t bad but it feels like Tony Daniels.

It’s an okay book. I totally want something more though. Maybe we can get that in upcoming issues.

RATING: C

And the rest….

Green Lanterns #9
Written by Sam Humphries
Illustrated by Robson Rocha
Published by DC Comics
This book was super well drawn. It’s actually beautiful to look at with a great story. I wish the story was a tad stronger but not bad overall.
RATING: B

Lucifer #11 
Written by Holly Black
Illustrated by Lee Garbett
Published by DC Comics
This is part 5 of a story I hadn’t read the first four parts of. I literally had no idea what the story was about. But hey! The art was decent!
RATING: C+

Raven #2 
Written by Marv Wolfman
Illustrated by Alisson Borges
Published by DC Comics
Reading this comic makes you realize how much comic books owe Marv Wolfman. The story is good and the art is good. A solid comic book through and through.
RATING: B+

Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo and Killer Croc #3 
Written by Jai Nitz
Illustrated by Cliff Richards
Published by DC Comics
The art isn’t bad but the story lacks. Dull. Save your money for a better book.
RATING: C-

Trinity #2   
Written and Illustrated by Francis Manapul.
Published by DC Comics
The art is actually very good but the story lacks (much like Suicide Squad above) Good to look at but ehhh.
RATING: C

Wacky Raceland  #5
Written by Ken Pontiac
Illustrated by Leonardo Manco
Published by DC Comics
Somebody give Manco a better art gig. Someone. ANYONE. This just doesn’t work.
RATING: D

In The Night Of, Pakistani-American college student Nasir “Naz” Khan, who lives with his parents in Queens, NY, takes his father’s taxi to go to a party in Manhattan. But what starts as a perfect night for Naz becomes a nightmare when he’s arrested for murder. The series examines the police investigation, the legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and Rikers Island, where the accused await trial.

The Night Of is created and executive produced by Steven Zaillian (Oscar winner, Best Adapted Screenplay, Schindler’s List) and Richard Price (The Wire, Oscar nominee, Best Adapted Screenplay, The Color of Money), based on the BBC series Criminal Justice, created by Peter Moffat. Other executive producers are Jane Tranter, James Gandolfini and Peter Moffat; co-executive produced by Garrett Basch, Nancy Sanders and Mark Armstrong.

The ensemble cast includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Bill Camp, Jeannie Berlin, Poorna Jagannathan, Payman Maadi, Glenne Headly, Amara Karan, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Paul Sparks, Ben Shenkman, Afton Williamson, Paulo Costanzo, Ned Eisenberg, Mohammad Bakri, Nabil Elouahabi, Ashley Thomas, Glenn Fleshler, and Chip Zien.

The series, which delves into the intricacies of a complex New York City murder case with cultural and political overtones, was a critical and ratings sensation on HBO this summer.

And we’re giving away a copy on DVD!

“Pete’s Dragon,” a reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film centered on an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliot — who just so happens to be a dragon — comes home on Nov. 29 on Digital HD, Blu-ray, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.

Families will be captivated by this magical movie followed by never-before-seen bonus features, including a revealing look at director David Lowery’s personal diary kept during the filming of “Pete’s Dragon,” the design process behind the lovable dragon Elliot, deleted scenes, a tour of the film’s breathtaking production location of New Zealand, audio commentary by filmmakers and actors and hilarious bloopers.

“Pete’s Dragon” stars Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”) as Grace, a forest ranger in the Pacific Northwest who happens upon 10-year-old Pete, played by Oakes Fegley (“This is Where I Leave You”). Oona Laurence (“Southpaw”) is Natalie, the 11-year-old daughter of Jack, a lumber-mill owner played by Wes Bentley (“The Hunger Games”). Karl Urban (“Star Trek”) is Jack’s bumbling brother Gavin and Oscar-winner Robert Redford (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) portrays Mr. Meacham, an old wood carver who delights the local children with tales of a fierce dragon.

The film is directed by David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”) from a screenplay by Lowery & Toby Halbrooks based on a screenplay by Malcolm Marmorstein and produced by Jim Whitaker, p.g.a. (“The Finest Hours”), with Barrie M. Osborne (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”) serving as executive producer.

Writer/director Lowery reveals, “I look back on childhood as an adventure, and I wanted to capture that on screen in the smallest—but also the biggest—way.” The big—the creation of an irresistible 24-foot tall, green, furry dragon that can breathe fire and turn invisible—is brilliantly tackled by the team at the Academy Award-winning visual effects company Weta Digital (“The Hobbit” films and “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy). But it’s the small moments between characters that so beautifully convey the film’s powerful message: the importance of friendship, family and finding one’s place in the world.

Bonus features include*:

BLU-RAY & DIGITAL HD:

• Notes to Self: A Director’s Diary – Director David Lowery narrates the personal diary he kept through the filming of “Pete’s Dragon” in this intimate and fascinating look at the movie’s making.
• Making Magic – Discover fun facts about what went into designing this spectacular, lovable dragon.
• Music Videos
• Audio Commentary – Gain an insider perspective from director David Lowery, co-writer Toby Halbrooks and actors Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence
• Welcome to New Zealand – Experience the wonders of New Zealand and learn why it’s a magical place to visit … and to make a movie.
• “Disappearing” Moments – The director shares a montage of the film’s “lost” scenes.
•  Music Videos

•  “Nobody Knows” by The Lumineers
•  “Something Wild” by Lindsey Stirling featuring Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

• Bloopers

DVD:

• Making Magic

Dead Inside from writer John Arcudi and artist Toni Fejuza, is one of my favorite new comics of the year, and like Dark Horse’s other creator owned crime comic,  Brian Wood and Mack Chater‘s Briggs Land, it’s brilliant and a must read for fans of the genre.

Dead Inside is a twisted, bloody and unexpected crime story where a murder has occurred in the least expected place: behind bars.

The Jail Crimes Division of the Sheriff’s Office in Mariposa County investigates crimes committed inside county jails. With a limited number of suspects who can’t escape, these are usually easy cases to solve—but not this one. As Detective Linda Caruso gets closer to the heart of the case, she discovers uncomfortable truths about her friends, her job, and herself.

John Arcudi took some time to discuss the upcoming series with Forces of Geek.

* * *

FOG!: John, I’ve enjoyed your work for some time. Dead Inside feels like you’re utilizing a completely different set of muscles than you have in both the Mignolaverse in your series Rumble. What was the genesis of the comic?

John Arcudi: I’ve been interested in jail crimes investigations for years, and I always thought somebody else would tell the story before I had a chance, but when time based and I never heard of a movie or comic, or book about it, I tried my hand.

Dead Inside also feels different from your other work simply because (at least based on the first issue) it takes place in the “real world” with Detective Linda Caruso investigating a murder within a prison. Are you a particular fan of the crime genre and is the series an ongoing procedural or limited to this lone investigation as seen in the comic?

Crime’s always been my first love.

Literally. I wasn’t the best behaved kid in the world, so I learned more about police and law enforcement at an early age than I had intended.

But I never lost interest, eventually looking at it from the “good guy’s” side, and I’ve jumped at every chance to tell stories about the darker side of the human condition.

Toni Fejuza has a really unique style. How did he come to your attention and what about his work makes him a good match for this story?

I discovered Toni’s work years ago on either Facebook, or just the net — can’t remember where, exactly — and I brought him to the attention of editors up at Dark Horse. I wasn’t available to work with him but Toni collaborated with Greg Rucka on Veil and that made me want to work with him all the more. There’s a drama in his work that seems suited to a story like Dead Inside.

Who or what are your biggest influences on your work, and on this book in particular?

On this book, Charles Willeford kept coming to mind — his Hoke Moseley books, particularly. As to the broader question, “who are my influences?” We don’t have that kind of time!

In addition to being a crime thriller, there’s definitely a horror undercurrent. What scares you?

Tigers, bears, people with weapons, cancer. The usual.

As someone who has told dozens of stories within the comics medium, what about the comics medium do you still find appealing to work in? Was Dead Inside conceived initially as a comic book?

It was, yes. And what I love about comics is that it’s a collaborative effort. The same can be said of a film, of course, but in comics it’s more manageable. The crew is smaller, making everybody’s job that much more important, yes, but also it gives us the opportunity to hear from literally all quarters. Everybody has a voice in making the story work. And, of course, you can do things in comics you can’t artfully do in any other medium, so that’s awfully cool.

What are you geeking out over?

Right now, it’s the old Peter Gunn TV series! It’s both incredibly goofy, and surprisingly artful! But in comics, it’s Habitat by Simon Roy, Esteban by Matthieu Bonhomme, and ANYTHING by Ralph Meyer and David Rubin!

Dead Inside #1 arrives in stores on December 21, 2o16 with a cover by Dave Johnson and variant cover by Faith Erin Hicks from Dark Horse Comics.

WATCH LIVE TODAY AS WONDER WOMAN IS DESIGNATED AS UNITED NATIONS HONORARY AMBASSADOR FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS

Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot Join United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and DC President Diane Nelson for the Landmark Ceremony at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT

Facebook Live and Twitter Q&As to Directly Follow the Ceremony

#WonderWoman #WonderWoman75 #WithWonderWoman

To celebrate the historic moment when Wonder Woman is designated as the United Nations’ first Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, the United Nations will live stream the event beginning at 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT today, Friday, October 21, a day that also commemorates the iconic Super Hero’s official 75^th anniversary. The event will be followed by Facebook Live and Twitter Q&As with Lynda Carter, as well as Gal Gadot with director Patty Jenkins.

In her new position, Wonder Woman will move beyond battling Super-Villains to raise awareness of the U.N.’s campaign for gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal No. 5) and the empowerment of women and girls as a critical component for a peaceful and prosperous world.

Leading up to the event, both the U.N. and DC Entertainment have launched websites that will provide regular updates and information about the campaign. Visit the U.N. site via www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wonderwoman and DC’s site via WonderWomanAmbassador.com.

More details about the year-long campaign will be unveiled during the ceremony by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson. Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the beloved 1970s television series and now appears as president on The CW’s Supergirl, and Gal Gadot, who will star in next year’s Wonder Woman feature film, will also be part of the designation ceremony.

The livestream event is slated to run from approximately 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on October 21 and can be viewed here: WonderWomanAmbassador.com.

The event will be followed by Facebook Live and Twitter Fan Q&As with Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins, as well as a Facebook Live Q&A with Lynda Carter. Fans are invited to watch a Facebook Live conversation with Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins at 1pm ET/10am PT at Facebook.com/WonderWomanFilm, then at 1:20pm ET/10:20am PT follow @GalGadot and @PattyJenks for a live Twitter Q&A. At 1:30pm ET/10:30am PT fans can watch Facebook.com/TheCWSupergirl for a Facebook Live conversation with Lynda Carter.

From designer extraordinaire Rian Hughes, it’s Batman: Facts and Stats from the Classic TV Show!

The Dynamic Duo! The Batcave! The Batmobile! Batgirl! The gadgets! Gotham’s Rogues Gallery! It’s all here! Filled with fascinating facts, quippy quotes and sensational statistics, this action-packed companion to the zeitgeist-capturing 1960s Batman classic TV series is also bursting with great photos.

The ideal gift for any Batman fan!

And we’re giving away two copies!

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

Who designed the famous Batmobile seen on the television series?

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 November 6th, 2016.

Produced by Dan Levine, Shawn Levy,
David Linde, Karen Lunder, Aaron Ryder
Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
Based on “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner,
Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma

When enormous alien ships appear across the globe, Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is the linguist who is called on to find out if they’re here to help or hurt us.

This simple premise ends up being far more suspenseful, thought-provoking and emotional than it sounds.

It’s, quite simply, one of the best films of the year: smartly written, beautifully shot, stunningly scored and powerfully acted. The imagery is instantly iconic: The Montana ship, floating above a grassy field surrounded by a sea of white clouds and a growing encampment of curious humans.

The first time the civilians ever so slowly enter the space ship and their first glimpse of the aliens are all stunning sci-fi moments.

I hesitated to write something too glowing about this film, because of the way too much hype can distort a film’s appeal. I hate to think I’d be responsible for anyone walking into the film and being disappointed.

And yet, I have to say it, this is the profoundly moving, philosophical sci-fi film Interstellar wanted to be. It out-Nolans Christopher Nolan on every level.

It’s far from the popcorn whiz-bang of Independence Day, although it can’t help but echo WarGames as the scientists try to prevent all-out global war against the aliens. It’s much closer to the spirit of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, if, say, the entire film were about François Truffaut’s character instead of Richard Dreyfus’s.

Villeneuve ably shifts between the global crisis and Louise’s life, seen in flashes as she copes with the end of her marriage and the loss of her daughter. I haven’t always been a fan of Amy Adams, ditto Jeremy Renner as a fellow scientist, but they’re both very good here.

This is not the kind of humanistic movie I’d expect from Villeneuve, the director of such visceral exercises in paranoia as Prisoners, Sicario and Enemy. (I haven’t seen his acclaimed early film Incendies yet.) There are odd, dream-like visual parallels with Enemy, which I won’t spoil here.

Not everyone will be as moved as I was, certainly. A friend at the same screening thought it was “just okay.” But another friend and I were in tears (as was the fellow in front of us), partly a result of the heartbreaking beauty of Max Richter’s “ On The Nature Of Daylight” that ends the film.

This is a movie that’s a worthy addition to the “big ideas” sci-fi pantheon and one that will surely have you thinking about it long after the final credits roll.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The Arrival Opens in Wide Release on November 11th

The Museum of Modern Art announces the addition of George A. Romero’s horror classic Night of the Living Dead to the upcoming To Save and Project festival in November. The iconic horror film, widely diminished by duplication due to infamous copyright issues, will have its world premiere in its originally intended quality, thanks to a painstaking 4K digital restoration by MoMA and The Film Foundation. Director George A. Romero will attend the world premiere on November 5 at 8:00 p.m. at The Museum of Modern Art to introduce the screening. Tickets for that program go on sale October 22. An additional screening will take place at the Museum at 7:00 p.m. on November 12.

Perhaps the most influential horror film of the last 50 years, Romero’s classic is also one of the most abused—subjected, because of its public-domain status, to well over 100 home video releases of deteriorated quality. The film has now been restored to its full, original glory by The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation, working from the original camera negative, which was carefully guarded over the years by the members of Image Ten, the Pittsburgh partnership that originally produced it.

Night of the Living Dead has long been the subject of restoration discussions after a missing copyright notice upon its original 1968 print left it open to duplication and public rerelease. Recognizing its cinematic impact immediately, MoMA first acquired an original print in 1970 for its collection. Now, decades later, the Museum presents this important motion picture in its best possible state after a painstaking audio and image restoration.

“It’s an honor and a thrill to have MoMA restore and present a horror movie that I and a group of Pittsburgh friends created nearly 50 years ago,” said Romero. “After working closely with MoMA and the Film Foundation on this restoration, I know the meticulous work that has gone into creating this new restoration and I am excited to terrify new audiences and devoted fans with a version that returns our film to the quality we originally intended.”

“Our annual To Save and Project festival showcases the best new restorations of masterworks and rediscoveries of world cinema. George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead set the standard for horror, and the figure of the zombie in its myriad incarnations on screens large and small. Until now, however, it has been impossible to truly appreciate the film’s formal beauty and visceral power,” said MoMA film curator and festival co-organizer Joshua Siegel. “Our state-of-the-art restoration draws upon the best original visual and audio elements previously thought to have been lost, ensuring that audiences will be able to enjoy Night of the Living Dead as originally intended by its creators for generations to come.”

“The Film Foundation is thrilled that George Romero’s groundbreaking film is being restored from the original camera negative and track. We hope this will allow a new generation to experience the film and appreciate the elements that made it so innovative at the time, and give it continued power and relevance today. George Romero’s involvement in the restoration means that this version will be definitive, and the only one that truly reflects his vision,” said Margaret Bodde, executive director of The Film Foundation.

The film was restored by The Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation. The restoration was overseen by George A. Romero and Image Ten—most especially, Gary Streiner, Russ Streiner, and John Russo—with restoration work done by Cineric Inc, NYC, and Audio Mechanics, Burbank, CA.

Among its many influences, Romero’s film is credited with creating the zombie as we know it today: the reanimated corpse with a taste for the living, seen in everything from The Walking Dead to Shaun of the Dead. Despite its humble Pittsburgh working-class origins, exploitation genre ties, and inadequate handling by the original distributor, Night of the Living Dead has set numerous precedents for motion pictures throughout the world. It was the first film of its kind to cast an African American actor as the lead character based solely on the strength of his performance, and tramples widely held taboos of the time—from respect for the dead and authority figures to traditional family relationships and the narrative tradition of heroes surviving to the film’s conclusion.

Night of the Living Dead premieres as part of The Museum of Modern Art’s 14th annual edition of To Save and Project, an international festival dedicated to celebrating newly preserved and restored films from archives, studios, distributors, foundations, and independent filmmakers. Running from November 2 through 23, 2016, To Save and Project is organized by Joshua Siegel, Curator, and Dave Kehr, Adjunct Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art.

Tickets for all screenings are available two weeks prior to their screening date, beginning October 19. Tickets for the first screening of Night of the Living Dead will go on sale October 22.