Home audiences will cheer for Disney’s “Queen of Katwe,” the inspirational journey of a young girl from the streets of Uganda to world-class chess player, which has earned widespread critical acclaim, including a 93% Certified Fresh critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The triumphant film, which is based on a true story, arrives home on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) on Jan. 10 and on Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on Jan. 31.

The in-home release of “Queen of Katwe” takes viewers behind-the-scenes with filmmakers, as well as the cast and their real-life counterparts, through extensive bonus features, including a three-part documentary highlighting the amazing personal stories behind the film; audio commentary by director Mira Nair (“Salaam Bombay!,” “Mississippi Masala,” “Monsoon Wedding”); a short film by Nair depicting the life of Robert Katende; in-studio access to 15-time GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist Alicia Keys during the creation of her new original song “Back to Life;” deleted scenes; and more.

“Queen of Katwe” is based on the vibrant true story of a young girl (Madina Nalwanga) from the streets of Uganda whose world changes when she is introduced to the game of chess, and, as a result of the support she receives from her family and community, is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion. It is a remarkable story of perseverance against all odds that will leave viewers feeling humbled and inspired. According to director Mira Nair, “The triumph of the human spirit is not to weep for what we don’t have but to focus on what we do have and allow that to take us to a place we never imagined possible.”

The film stars David Oyelowo, Golden Globe nominated for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma,” as dedicated chess mentor Robert Katende; Lupita Nyong’o, who earned worldwide acclaim with her Oscar-winning performance in “12 Years a Slave,” as fiercely determined mother Harriet; and luminous newcomer Madina Nalwanga as chess champion Phiona Mutesi.

Directed by Mira Nair from a screenplay by William Wheeler, “Queen of Katwe” is produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, p.g.a., and John Carls, p.g.a., with Will Weiske and Troy Buder serving as executive producers. The film features a cutting-edge Afrobeat soundtrack curated by the Ugandan rapper Young Cardamom (aka Zohran Kwame Mamdani); Alex Heffes’ buoyant orchestral score highlighting traditional Ugandan instruments; and “Back to Life,” performed by Alicia Keys, written by Keys, Carlo Montagnese and Billy Walsh, and produced by Illangelo and Keys.

Bonus features include*:

BLU-RAY & DIGITAL HD:

• Queen Of Katwe: Their Story – Discover the stories behind the people who came together to bring the film to life, and how they reflect the vibrant community, culture and spirit it celebrates.
• A Fork, A Spoon & A Knight – Director Mira Nair’s short film about Robert Katende, a boy who grows up to transform a Ugandan city into a globally renowned chess sanctuary.
• In The Studio With Alicia Keys – Go behind-the-scenes with Alicia Keys for an inspiring look at the song’s recording.
• Alicia Keys “Back To Life” Lyric Video – Sing along with on-screen lyrics.
• Young Cardamom & HAB “#1 Spice” Music Video – The Ugandan hip-hop duo bring the flavor in a music video directed by Mira Nair.
• Audio Commentary – With Director Mira Nair.
• Deleted Scenes (8) – With Introductions by Director Mira Nair.
  • Graduation – Robert is alone at his graduation.
• Job Application – Robert checks in on the status of his job application.
• Dancing and Rent – Phiona joins in dancing with local girls before the landlady pulls her away.
• Entering the Hospital – Harriet tries to look presentable as they rush Brian to the hospital.
• Escape from the Hospital – The family sneaks out of the hospital.
• They Can’t Go to Budo – Robert second-guesses taking the kids to the competition at King’s College Budo.
• Flood (Extended Scene) – A nearly 7-minute scene before, during and after the house is flooded.
• Phiona’s Chess Club – Phiona comes full circle as she teaches a little boy the same lessons Robert taught her in chess club.

DVD:

• Audio Commentary
• Alicia Keys “Back to Life” Lyric Video
• Young Cardamom & HAB “#1 Spice” Music Video

*Bonus features may vary by retailer

Facebook.com/QueenofKatwe

On Nov. 25, Netflix returns to the world of Star Hollow as fans get to check in with the coffee-addicted, fast talking ladies known as Gilmore for the first time in nine years.

Gilmore GIrls: A Year in the Life will take a six-hour stroll through memory lane as fans of Rory, Lorelai, Emily, Lane and the whole slightly off-kilter gang get to catch up with their former primetime buddies.

The small teases and trailers released over the last few months have done little to provide detail into the lives of the gals over the last decade, thus leaving much of the series as a surprise for die-hard fans who already have viewing parties in planning stages. But nine years is a long time. Will fans be able to remember every detail of their beloved show to watch the series? What if there isn’t time to re-binge seven seasons of witty banter?

So, to prep for the oncoming wave of Gilmore fever, here is a quick cheat sheet of where we left the characters the last time we saw them:

Lorelai Gilmore  (Lauren Graham)

Best known for: Being the star of the series. Mother of Rory, former teenage runaway. Binge eater, talks a mile a minute, complains about money yet lives in a large house and wears clothes only once. Owns the Dragonfly Inn.

Last Seen: Kissing Luke Danes  in the rain at her daughter’s graduation/going away party

Rory Gilmore  (Alexis Bledel)

Best Known For: Daughter of Lorelai. Was once told that it looked like she was dressed by “animated birds.” Like her mother, the girl can eat and talk like she was being paid for it. Graduated from Yale.

Last Seen: About to follow Barack Obama on the campaign trail as a political blogger after her graduation from Yale.

Luke Danes (Scott Patterson)

Best Known For: Curmudgeon diner owner know for his hate of cell phones and love of Lorelai. Created issues where there weren’t issues in his relationship, causing Lorelai and him to break up. Has a daughter, April. Dresses like a 1992 Seattle bouncer.

Last Seen: Making out with Lorelai.

Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop)

Best Known For: Mother of Lorelai, grandmother of Rory, wife of Richard. Yale alumni. Another fast talker, but serves up piss and vinegar with a silver spoon. Rich. Very rich. Tried-to-buy-a-plane once rich (actually, timeshare a plane). Loves her family but can become an ice queen with a knife-sharp tongue in a second. Her fashion sense is impeccable. Once put baby in the corner.

Last Seen: Making peace with her daughter, who promised to continue the tradition of family dinners, even without the arm twisting.

Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann)

Best Known For: Husband of Emily. Staunch businessman that seems cold on the outside, but was adorable and cuddly. Yale grad who met his wife as an undergraduate and the two became a power couple who ruled New England with an iron fist.

Last Seen:  Making peace with his daughter, but sadly, Edward Herrmann passed away in 2014. The series will cover his death.

Lane Kim (Keiko Agena)

Best Known For: Rory’s best friend. Cames from an uber-religious family where she had to hide her entire life under the floorboards of her room. Able to keep up in the Gilmore game of words.

Last Seen: Being a mom. In the end, she married young and had a set of twin boys (Steve and Kwan), all while still rocking out in her band, Hep Alien.

Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy)

Best Known For: Lorelai’s best friend, wife of Jackson Belleville. Chef at the Dragonfly. Was once extremely accident prone but the writers eventually forgot about that character trait and it was dropped.

Last Seen: Got married and had two kids, with a third on the way by the time the series ended. Busting ghosts.

Jackson Belleville (Jackson Douglas)

Best Known For: Produce guy, husband to Sookie St. James, friend to the Gilmore gals. Strangely passionate about his fruit. More of a ranter than a talker. Requires a good hour in the morning to “become Jackson.”

Last Seen: Having kids with an awesome lady who makes amazing food. Life is good for Jackson

Paris Geller (Liza Weil)

Best Known For: Frenemy of Rory. Started the series as an super competitive rival with Rory over grades, boys and everything else. End the series on a similar note, only a shade nicer. Over achieving ice queen who can cripple a man with mere comeback. Not very understanding. Fluent in Portuguese. Has a thing for older men, possibly Rory.

Last Seen: Off to medical school and surprisingly still friends with Rory.

Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki)

Best Known For: Rory’s first boyfriend. Got married out of high school to not-Rory, but had sex with Rory anyway. Winning more best first boyfriend awards than Lloyd Dobler.

Last Seen: Moved away from Star’s Hollow to save his marriage. Bumming out Luke.

Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia)

Best Known For: Rory’s second boyfriend, nephew of Luke, pain in the ass. Loved by many, hated by most everyone else. Was a huge jerk to Rory who thought he was better than his GF, his uncle, the town he lived in, school, everyone else. Should have been punched more often. Once beaten up by a swan.

Last Seen: Not being a jerk. Wrote a book and inspired Rory to go back to school. Started a  publishing house with a bunch of hipsters. Unfortunately, she was dating another tool at that time. Speaking of…

Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry)

Best Known For: Rory’s third boyfriend. Super rich d-bag that never worked for anything in his life, including Rory. To his credit, he did love Rory, but did a shit job of protecting her when his family destroyed her mental well being. The reason poor people hate rich people.

Last Seen: Asked Rory to marry him and pissed when she said no. He takes off into the sunset, leave a trail of $20s as he goes. Is really into political drama now.

Michel Gerard  (Yanic Truesdale)

Best Known For: Being the best ever. Super snooty French concierge that has worked with Lorelai and Sookie for years. Father of Chow-Chows Paw-Paw and Chin-Chin (RIP). Watches his waistline constantly. Once won the showcase showdown on the Price is Right.

Last Seen: Making guests uncomfortable at the Dragonfly as the assistant manager.

Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe)

Best Known For: Ex-husband of Lorelai Gilmore, teen father to Rory, father to Gigi. Seemingly incapable of holding down a job or keeping a promise at the end of the series. But the end of the run, finally turned his life around

Last Seen: Watching daughter graduate from Yale, making good with Lorelai after 22 years of being a deadbeat.

Miss Patty LaCosta (Liz Torres)

Best Known For: Town dance instructor and gossip. Often married and often divorced. Known for her libido. Terrifying.

Last Seen: Still instructing the wee ones of Stars Hollow on how to do a pirouette.

Taylor Doose (Michael Winters)

Best Known For: Being obnoxious. Also the owner of Doose’s Market and an old fashioned ice cream shop, but mostly known for being obnoxious. Head of the town council and every single town event council. Doesn’t believe in evolution.

Last Seen: Being Jimmy Fallon’s most favorite character ever.

Babette Dell (Sally Struthers)

Best Known For: Neighbor to Loralei and Rory, wife to the quiet Morey, best friends with Miss Patty, mother to the late, great feline Cinnamon. Once flashed Luke, who was forever changed by the incident. Was once in a cult. The town gossip.

Last Seen: Living life to the fullest with her hubby Morey and being awesome.

Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda)

Best Known For: Religious. Mother of Lane. Religious. Hated Rory for most of her friendship with Lane because her mother was unmarried and her pant-wearing ways. Religious. Only cooks organic food that goes bad almost within minutes. Religious. Her mother is Buddhist, so like her daughter, she most hide her own religion from her mother when she comes to visit. Is probably the funniest character on the show.

Last Seen: Being extremely happy that despite all of her sassy backtalk and attempts at rebellion, her daughter and her ended up in a good place, in a good relationship.

Zack Van Gerbig (Todd Lowe)

Best Known For: Husband of Lane, son in law of Mrs. Kim, lead singer of Hep Alien. Reformed player, now a devoted hubby and father of twins Kwan and Steve. Lover of corn mazes.

Last Seen: Went on tour as a guitarist and supports family as a professional musician while Lane cared for the twins at home. While on hiatus, spent a few years in Louisiana hanging with vampires.

Kirk Gleason (Sean Gunn)

Best Known For: The best human in all of Stars Hollow. A jack of all trades, but a master of none. Lives with his mother in her bomb shelter. Boyfriend of Lulu. Owns a cat, also named Kirk. Suffers from night terrors, which causes him to destroy everything in a room. Sleeps naked. Is a budding filmmaker. Works hundreds of jobs and is hated by Luke in every single one of them. Was once named Mick.

Last Seen: It seemed he was on the verge of emerging from his man-child existance and purposing to Lulu, even buying a house for her. But Lord knows what became of that. During the hiatus, Kirk was defended from the galaxy as he was considered the scum of the Earth.

For several weeks at DC Comics “back in the day” I had the unofficial job of being “Rejections Editor.” It was sort of like “Submissions Editor,” except my only instruction was to send rejection letters.

And while it was obviously kind of disheartening to send rejection letters all day long (certainly, I often questioned what I was doing with my own life), I did learn a lot from the experience.

This was at an awkward time between Big Comics being an accessible entity where prospective young creators could just send in samples and even hang out with editors, and DC getting like two billion submissions a year. The only way those submissions could get a proper evaluation, really, is if one of the editors spent half of his or her time on just that alone.

But we’re talking literal giant metal industrial containers of submission envelopes. It just couldn’t happen.

So I was given templates for a number of specific rejection “types” that might come along, plus the instruction to mail everyone back their self-addressed stamped envelopes and anything else that seemed irreplaceable (like originals) or valuable.

After weeks of sending out nothing but rejection letters, I began to feel like that Willy Wonka meme with “I said GOOD DAY, sir!”

Still, while being Rejections Editor was a depressing enterprise for me, it also was a crucial phase in my life.

I did look through a lot of those submissions, mostly the art. Some were professional portfolio pieces, but others were whole creator-made comic books, or new stories featuring DC characters. A lot went into some of them. There was talent in a number of these samples. There was talent, but often the artist or writer just needed to take a few classes or get a good portfolio review.

(Notice how I said I mostly looked at the art…that’s because getting an editor to read your script alone can be kind of difficult. I’m going to discuss this issue further in length in another post, as well as some strategies.)

In sum: I learned during my tenure as “Rejections Editor” that a lot of people, from all walks of life, wanted to express themselves through comic books. That there was this drive and energy to create.

And it’s tough. Because unlike simply writing or drawing, to make a comic takes a bit of coordination, a lot of patience, resources, specialized skills.

Yet now people have more access to learning the craft of comics than ever before; with more opportunities to publish their work and get it out into the world. At the same time, there are so many people out there with projects that it’s easy to feel like you’re back in the giant metal submissions bin.

How do you stand out? What’s your next move?

How do you get out from under the pile?

It’s the “eternal question” for the comic creator. There’s an old saying in the industry: once someone finds a way to “break in,” the publishers set out to close up that entryway so nobody else gets to use it. Whether that’s really true is debatable, but the concept that you have to be unique and resourceful is a key one.

And you also have to be durable, and persistent. You can’t let the submissions editor—or rejections editor—unwittingly “kill” your dream by sending you back that form letter.

The real mark of a comics creator is to persist despite that “I said GOOD DAY, sir.” And the real goal of the entire enterprise should not be that fateful trip of your pitch or portfolio to the submissions office—but rather, it’s the entire creative journey that produced your work in the first place. And unless you get really straight about that goal, this vocation you have chosen could be a real heart-breaker.

Take it from a former Rejections Editor.

Relive the imaginative and compelling cult classic, The Man Who Fell to Earth, when the Limited Collector’s Edition arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus Digital HD) January 24 from Lionsgate.

Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth from a distant planet on a mission to take water back to his home planet.

In honor of David Bowie’s legacy, the limited collector’s edition Blu-ray Combo Pack includes never-before-seen interviews, brand new artwork, a 72-page bound book, press booklet, four art cards and a mini poster. Hailed as “the most intellectually provocative genre film of the 1970s” by Time Out, the remastered The Man Who Fell to Earth Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack will be available for the suggested retail price of $34.99.

BLU-RAY/DVD/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

• David Bowie Interview – French TV 1977
• New Interview with Costume Designer May Routh Featuring Original Costume Sketches
• New Interview with Stills Photographer David James Featuring Behind-the-Scenes Stills
• New Interview with fan Sam Taylor-Johnson
• New Interview with Producer Michael Deeley
• New “The Lost Soundtracks” Featurette, Featuring Interviews with Paul Buckmaster and Author Chris Campion
• Interview with Candy Clark
• Interview with Writer Paul Mayersberg
• Interview with Cinematographer Tony Richmond
• Interview with Director Nicolas Roeg

Join the Freemakers in their spectacular first season of LEGO Star Wars Adventures.

Taking place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, these new adventures follow a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from battle debris strewn throughout the galaxy. When their youngest discovers a natural connection with the Force through an ancient artifact – the Kyber Saber –he and his family are thrown into an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. The Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new and familiar characters and discover the strength of family. Relive all 13 action-packed episodes in LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures Season One.

Bonus Features Include:

• The Freemaker Adventures:  Meet the Freemaker Family – Get to know the members of your favorite family of celestial scavengers – and meet the actors who bring them to life – in this fun collection of clips, behind-the-scenes footage and cast interviews!

• Freemaker Salvage and Repair – Visit the shop with the finest salvage in the galaxy as Rowan, Kordi and Zander take you on a tour of the family business.

Produced by Graham King,
Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis
Written by Steven Knight
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard,
Jared Harris, Simon McBurney,
Matthew Goode, Lizzy Caplan

Robert Zemeckis Allied is a decent Nazi spy romance film that is not without its problems with pacing and story, but still has some great scenes and overall looks great.

From the dizzying ‘when is he going to touch ground’ of Brad Pitt’s opening paratrooper scene to another steamy desert sex scene, the movie sure is great to look at. With the gorgeous Marion Cotillard (Dark Knight Rises, Inception) dripping a satin sensuality and Pitt’s leading man charisma, the sexiness can blow the gasket off of an RAF Jeep.

To be honest, Allied is a bit of a slogger, resting most of the burden on pure star power.

The movie has it’s very own identity crisis, switching sides from being a romantic period piece to a Nazi-punching war flick with behind the enemy lines grenade-throwing action. Where Zemeckis and writer Steven Knight go wrong is in the focus of the thing.

Most, if not all, of the plot is revealed in the trailer, which sets ones’ expectations up for failure from the first scenes in French Morocco. Max (Pitt) is a Canadian Airman fighting for the RAF. He’s dropped into a desert reconnoiter with his inside man who gives him a weapon and a cover story, complete with fake wedding ring.

In Casablanca, he meets his cover, a beautiful Marianne (Marion Cotillard).

They play house for a week before infiltrating a Nazi dinner party and slaughtering the German Ambassador. After a tryst in the dessert after watching the sunrise, the fake couple begins to fall for each other, and conveniently decide that they shall meet in London post-mission to make their fantasy wedding a reality.

They’ve truly fallen in love.

The setup for this to fall apart is nearly too perfect, as Max and Marianne fast forward to a perfect house in North London and have their precious baby Anna. Anna was born in hospital as shells are dropping outside in The Blitz.

This is where the storytelling pushes the dramatic beats into the fantastic, though not necessarily realistic, it makes for a typical Zemeckis movie beat. Anna being born to midwives as bombs are bursting in air is a bit much.

On what is supposed to be Officer Max’s weekend off, he’s called in by his superiors for duty. Frank Heslop (Jared Harris) informs him he needs to listen to an officer from V-Section (now know as SIS or MI6), who accuses his Marianne of being a German spy, leaking information to the Hitler’s SS.

Max is obviously in disbelief as V-Section gives him marching orders to drop some misinformation into his wife’s hands and, “come around Monday, we’ll see if the fake intel shows on the reports”.

Not satisfied with his orders, he reluctantly places the clue for Marianne to find, but disobeys the order to not investigate on his own. This does lead to some of the most fun parts of the movie as Max steals a supply drop plane, runs fakes errands including a pin prick in the van to make it look as if he has given blood, and he satisfyingly blows up a tankful of Ratzis.

All the while on this fateful weekend, Marianne is planning a party for Max with the guest-list including suspicious refugees, Max’s RAF sister and her girlfriend, mixed in with Max’s command and RAF mates.

At the party, Max is dressed down for doing any investigating on his own by Heslop, but also he is acting strangely toward some of Marianne’s friends he is suspicious of.

The uneasy party is cut short when a Luftwaffe bomber buzzes the house after being shot down! What are the chances? Unfortunately, the chances were probably pretty good for the chaps back then trying to keep calm and carry on while London was being bombarded in such a raid.

Part war movie, part romance and a bit of interpersonal drama does not a great movie make, nor is this a compelling spy flick. While it is hard to criticize a beautifully shot movie from such an acclaimed director with top notch Academy Award winning talent, Allied moves along at a snails pace.

The inevitable conclusion about the spy game, as mentioned before, is revealed in most all of the previews and solicits of the movie. Chances are if someone is accused of being a Nazi spy (spoiler warning) in a movie like this, then they turn out to be one.

The movie is more romance than action but leaves a lot of boxes unchecked on both sides, taking its own concept too seriously and not showing enough ‘spy stuff’ to make this a truly great movie. It may move too slow for a history buff, it’s not British enough for an Anglophile and Americans will either love or hate that Pitt is playing a Canadian serviceman! Though, the French language comes in handy for Max in the movie.

You’ll notice I’m careful not to decry this movie as awful, my overall impression was positive, with great costumes (who doesn’t like to see a fully decked out desert version of an evil SS officer, or a German count that looks like he could be related to Grandpa Munster, and, of course, Cotillard slinking around in a way that could make you fall in love with her?) but there were expectations that weren’t quite met.

At times I would have preferred to be watching Val Kilmer in Top Secret! than be engaged with this easy to predict storyline and conclusion.

Produced by Osnat Shurer
Screenplay by Jared Bush
Story by Ron Clements, John Musker,
Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon,
Aaron Kandel, Jordan Kandell
Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson,
Rachel House, Temuera Morrison,
Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger,
Alan Tudyk, Oscar Kightley

There are few things as strongly tied to the idea of Disney than their ever-lucrative princess franchise.

The family film powerhouse adds to their collection with a movie that will rival The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King in terms of CGI excellence, catchy songs, and memorable storylines.

Disney’s Moana is almost flawless in execution.

Even the few hiccups are endearing and serve purpose.

This is easily their strongest outing in years, and will melt the hold Frozen has had on many little girls worldwide.

The story follows Moana, a young girl destined to be chief of her island tribe. While everyone seems happy to live in the close-knit community with no wonder about what lies beyond the horizon, Moana cannot quell her internal desire to explore past the reef. She is especially intrigued by the ancient lore shared by her grandmother about Maui, the demigod shape shifter who spread a curse throughout the land after stealing a sacred item. When the danger reaches her home shores, Moana takes it upon herself to reverse the curse by sailing across the ocean to find the long lost demigod so that he may restore the item to its rightful place.

The film brings together a powerhouse team from many other Disney blockbusters and the result is a beautifully rendered movie.

Sweeping island landscapes show lush vegetation, sandy beaches, and ocean views that will have you looking at vacation packages to Fiji. The leaps that have been made in CGI are clearest once the film moves to its ocean setting (the vast majority of the movie). Water is notoriously difficult to animate realistically but the team at Disney have done an excellent job of capturing its natural ebb and flow, from the way it breaks upon the sand to the spray from giant waves crashing against rocks and boats.

While this is not the first time that Disney has used a cultural background to tell a story it is obvious that they have spared no small expense to ensure that Moana does not exist as a Polynesian caricature.

Before setting sail the film spends the first quarter on her island to ensure the audience is drawn into the practices and morals of her world. Upbeat choral ensemble songs are used to explain the importance of roles without sounding pedantic, with much of the success coming from the partnership between master songwriters Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton and the award-winning Opetaia Foa’i of the world music group Te Vaka.

A particular gem is their take on the classic “I Wish” song where she shares the desires that will drive her story. “How Far I’ll Go” is a contender to be this generation’s “Part of Your World”, while “We Know the Way” rivals The Lion King’s “Circle of Life”.

Less successful with how it folds in but noteworthy for its composition is a song written and performed by Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords. The side story that leads them to his character is a bit distracting but still worth the jaunt.

Newcomer Auli’i Cravalho is a bubbly, strong choice for Moana. Her comic delivery is excellent and impressive vocals make each song worth the soundtrack purchase. Equally notable is actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who shines as the egotistical Maui, spending a great deal of the film tempering Moana’s enthusiasm with sharp barbs and self-absorbed statements. There is great vocal chemistry between the two and it is notable to see Disney’s dedication to finding talent representative of the culture they are portraying onscreen.

Happily missing in the story were the standard princess love interest and allusions of dependence. As the film opens to Moana’s responsibilities as future chief of the village, the story rarely veers towards any other feeling except that she is the master of her own destiny, as well as that of the people depending on her. It is a refreshing turn for the franchise, and one that will hopefully continue. Moana is sure to be a movie that warms the hearts of patrons through its anthemic songs, breathtaking visuals, and uplifting princess-for-today story.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Produced by Geyer Kosinski, Andrew Gunn
Written by Johnny Rosenthal, Shauna Cross
Based on Characters by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates,
Tony Cox, Christina Hendricks, Brett Kelly

Sequels are sequels, so why should it be, so many of them are made so goddamn awfully?

Bad Santa 2 is not the worst sequel I’ve ever seen, but it certainly falls prey to the problem of so many sequels.

It attempts to exploit some of the things that made the original so beloved, without any of the spirit of the first movie.

Billy Bob Thornton resumes the miserable character of part-time safe cracker/ part-time Santa/ Full-time drunk Willie Soke, whose life has unsurprisingly not taken a turn for the better.

He has been on the somewhat straight and narrow, finding himself followed by Thurman Merman , aka “The Boy” from the first movie.

Ringleader Tony Cox gets back in touch with Willie for one last big haul.  It’s a job in Chicago backed by an anonymous cohort that will find these drunk dreamers with enough money to retire to Mexico.

Long story short, the anonymous cohort is Willie’s mother, played by Kathy Bates.

We learn quickly that placing Willie and his mom in the center of the nature/nurture debate is not a good way to win one point of view over the other.  Bates delivers the crass nature of his mother with all of the nuance of a baseball bat.  The secret of Willie’s disdain for the world (including himself) is not too slowly revealed for the rest of the movie.

Christina Hendricks is his love interest.  I’m a big fan of her from Mad Men and found her to be criminally underutilized in this story.  Her transformation into a Santa-loving lover was a little too easy, but it becomes one of the best sight gags in the movie.

Did I laugh?

Sure.  A couple of times I laughed out loud.

The problem is that the first movie had me crying laughing, loving the quirks of the side characters (RIP Bernie Mac and John Ritter), and not rooting for anyone but the director and the cast.  Bad Santa 2 tries real hard to capture these things but ultimately has them fall flat.

Don’t worry about seeing this in the theater, but you might get a few laughs if you find it on cable.

There’s a reason for the incredible proliferation of sci-fi imagery in our culture, from the beautiful robot in Ex Machina to the violent societies of The Hunger Games and The Walking Dead. In an age when science fiction is becoming science fact at an astounding rate, conjuring visions of the future is one of the ways in which we understand the present, come to accept it, or demand that it be changed.

For all those clear-eyed artists, ages 12 and up, engaging in and reimagining this world, How to Draw Sci-Fi Utopias and Dystopias gives an in-depth look at the process of completing sci-fi illustrations—from the thought behind them to constructing basic forms and objects on paper, converting roughs into finished pencil drawings, inking them in, and coloring them in Photoshop. The book is organized around the perennial distinction between two ways of representing the future in science fiction: the pessimistic and the hopeful, or dystopian an­d utopian.

A long-time contributor to DC Comics, on projects including Green Lantern: Rebirth, Supergirl, and Batman: The Ultimate Evil, Prentis Rollins teaches that the only way to create authenticity in a science fictional world is to root the imagined in the real, becoming the sole authority on its narrative and rationales. He demonstrates the astounding power of storytelling with 32 step-by-step case studies created and imagined just for this book.

Thanks to our friends at Monacelli Studio we’ve got an excerpt of  two of the step-by-step case studies from the book.

How to Draw Sci-Fi Utopias and Dystopias by Prentis Rollins is available now.

Providing a glimpse into the homes and routines of eccentric New Yorkers, the comedy series High Maintenance is “compelling, surprising and intimate” (VanityFair.com) and “HBO’s Best New Show” (IndieWire). Exploring the private lives of these unique individuals through a common thread—their weed deliveryman—all six episodes of High Maintenance: Season 1  are now available for Digital Download. All 19 of the original Vimeo webisodes are also available now for Digital Download.

In High Maintenance: Season 1, Ben Sinclair stars as The Guy, whose client base includes a group of characters with neuroses as diverse as the city. Each episode features multiple stories exploring the inner workings of people from all walks of life, told fly-on-the-wall style through the series’ patented brand of offbeat humor and pathos, revealing a city full of strangers united by the perennial pursuit of life’s greatest highs.

High Maintenance was created by the married duo of Katja Blichfeld (Emmy- winning casting director of “30 Rock”) and Ben Sinclair (“Sisters,” “The Big C”), who write and direct every episode of the new season, and executive produced by Katja Blichfeld, Ben Sinclair and Russell Gregory.

And we’re were giving away two codes to download the first season on Digital HD.

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

Actor Lee Tergesen appeared in an episode.  He previously portrayed Tobias Beecher on this HBO series?

(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 December 4th, 2016.

Star Wars – Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

Author: James Luceno
Reader: Jonathan Davis
Publisher: Random House Audio
ISBN: 978-0451486189
Audio Download: $22.50
Release Date: November 15, 2016

***Warning: There will be minor spoilers***

“Where’s Poe Dameron?” “Why did they recast Rey?” “How is Darth Vader alive?” These are the questions that Lucasfilm’s super weapon, the Disney marketing machine, haven’t been able to quell or answer for a fair amount of moviegoers as we’re now under thirty days away from the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

 While the title’s subheading takes the place of confusing and detested words such as anthology, companion, or…prequel, acclaimed author James Luceno once again brings elegant cohesion to the political climate of the Star Wars universe by examining the passion and desire of two of the upcoming film’s main characters.

Catalyst tells the story of the connection between Imperial Commander Orson Krenic and energy scientist Galen Erso, played by Ben Mendelsohn and Mads Mikkelsen in the upcoming film, came together to create the first Death Star. Krenic’s manipulation of Erso spans from the Clone Wars and stops well into the Empire’s grip on the galaxy.

Krenic marvels himself as a clever over-achiever while those around him feel he’s talented but short-sighted and arrogant. While that may prove to be true in the movie, here, he has no qualms about playing the long game of deception as he desperately vies for a seat at the table…The Emperor’s table. Krenic is in charge of the project to construct a certain technological terror and needs Galen to make the super laser operational.

Galen is as reserved and scheduled as he is brilliant. Science is his religion and his innate desire to make the galaxy a better place is second to the love he has for his wife, Lrya and newborn daughter, Jyn. Galen studies and experiments with Kyber Crystals, which are used to power lightsabers. He’s beyond fascinated by the powerful organic mineral and hopes they provide the answer to sustainable energy.

Besides the length of Krenic’s manipulation of Galen, it’s cloaked by the deception of friendship. Unbeknownst to Galen, his life in this story is never his own as Krenic knows how his former school chum feels about weapons research. He uses that for the long game with the plan ultimately to force Galen to create the super laser, either unknowingly or knowingly with preference to the latter.

Award-winning narrator Jonathan Davis is no stranger to the Star Wars franchise, with over forty titles to his credit, and Catalyst being his fourth outing with Lucerno. Davis does an exceptional job here as his many voices from Mas Amedda to a 3-year-old Jyn Erso are easy enough to identify while smoothly navigating Lucerno’s superbly detailed writing.

Davis and Luceno provide a tangible strength to Galen’s wife, Lrya. While she has her own career aspirations and is more than capable of achieving them, she supports her husband out of love and a genuine belief that his work will produce real positive change in the galaxy. Lrya’s steadfast nature is akin to a spouse who questions the unquestionable, without pause, to assure her family’s wellbeing.

If I’m right about Lrya’s theatrical fate based on what I’ve surmised from the Rogue One trailers, it will be sad to see her go. While Lrya won’t go down in the annals of important Star Wars characters, there is something warm and perhaps enchanting that stands out about her amongst the turmoil the narrative is embroiled in.

Halfway through the book the story goes from bouncing between Krenic and Galen to a three-way split with some smugglers who are employed to procure arms for a secretive benefactor. It’s an understandable addition, but its connection to the overall plot took too long to pay off and it was audibly verbose. The dynamic between the antagonist and protagonist is so enthralling, that this subplot felt like it interfered for the majority of its play.

Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel is not a must read or listen to in order to get ready for the upcoming film, unless you’re a Star Wars canon junkie. In this novel, we find out when the Death Star officially began construction, why it took so long to complete, how the project got approved, and the answers are very satisfying.

The biggest thing Catalyst accomplishes is that it gives the reader a deeper understanding of Orson Krenic and Galen Erso as we learn their hopes, their dreams, what makes them tick, what anchored their friendship and their considerable contribution to Star Wars lore. While I’m sure that director Gareth Edwards will give audiences a proper introduction to these characters come December 16th, Luceno heightened my anticipation for their first on-screen meeting.

Well this is a bit of a complicated mix of a week!

Doppelganger Clark begins to connect the dots between Lois and Superboy while Lex is kidnapped by warriors from the future; Jaime Reyes finds his Scarab is beginning to control him with evil intent; Superman & Wonder Woman hunt for a missing Batman on New Krypton as all new Super Friends; Constantine is held captive by a gangster, while Vigilante realises revenge alone won’t be enough to fight for justice.

Finally poor Diana realises everything she’s ever known about her past is a lie…

It is an awful lot to get your head around but that’s what I’m here for, to be your guide into the latest goings on…

This is my look into the DC Universe this week!

ACTION COMICS #968

Men of Steel – Part 2
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Tyler Kirkham
Cover: Clay Mann, Ulises Arreola & Dan Jurgens
Variant: Gary Frank & Brad Anderson

Answering the signal watch Superman and Jon arrive only for Superman to be ambushed by Zade.

Somehow Zade has the ability to dampen kryptonian abilities.

Jon steals a truck and sends it smashing into Zade giving Clark him some breathing space. Clark realises that the attack was a distraction and races to find the doppelganger Clark.

Superman finds Lex and L’Call fighting and takes a knife to the shoulder for his intervention. L’Call shows the vision of the future again this time so Superman, Clark, Lois and Lex can see it.

Lois spies Jon and warns him to hide, piquing the curiosity of doppelganger Clark. Superman tries to stop the warriors from taking Lex and falls before them in battle but Jon cries out before they can administer the killing blow so L’Call relents and both he and Zade teleport away with Lex.

Lois and Clark race over to Superman and Clark points out that perhaps this is for the best, if Lex is destined to become an intergalactic Hitler it may be best to allow him to die!

To Be Continued…

ART: 4/5
Fast paced, energetic and genuinely attention grabbing, the copter exploding for example was spectacular, the only fault I can see with the issue and indeed last issue as well is a lot of heavy digital effect colouring.

COVER: 4/5
A really cool cover, citing something every Superman reader ever has always hoped for…Lex answering for his crimes. Kind of annoying that it’s a preview of the next issue rather than about this one but its still made me cheer inside!

ISSUE RATING: 4/5
An awful lot of padding and two admittedly spectacular fights are what makes up this issue. A lot of retread in the story and to be honest cut out the action sequences and the meat an potatoes of the story hasn’t really moved the arc along. In fact the only part of the issue that was moving the plot forward was the scene where doppelganger Clark realised Jon is somehow connected to Lois Lane.

BLUE BEETLE #3

Night Terrors!
Writers: Keith Giffen & Scott Kolins
Artist: Scott Kolins
Cover: Scott Kolins
Variant: Cully Hamner

The scarab has taken control of Jaime when he sleeps and takes him to one of the holes in the town and down inside. Jaime wakes up transported somewhere filled with giant green bugs called the Horde that try to attack him.

They address the scarab itself and mock it for choosing Jaime as its champion, but when they try to kill them both the scarab summons a large structure creates another tunnel to the surface and takes Jaime out to the streets.

The next day Jaime goes to see Ted Kord and questions him about the scarab and reveals it is taking control of him at night.

Ted reveals that Doctor Fate warned him that the scarab was something to fear and is destined to kill millions. Fate itself fears the scarab.

Ted agrees to run tests to help them understand the scarab and its power. He contacts his assistant detailing what is t happen and instructs her to meet private investigators Sugar & Spike.

After school Jaime confides in his father that the Blue Beetle is taking over him. His father offers his full support putting Jaime’s mind at ease before he heads over to Brenda’s where she tells him about the boy that vanished (last issue) after the dream of Dr. Fate and now the one with the Horde Jaime tells Brenda that he has decides to allow Kord full access to the scarab.

Meanwhile at El Paso airport a man walks through arrivals and a young child runs into him. As punishment the man makes him magically bleed to death in front of him mother. To the human eye he appears a normal human but we also learn he is some kind of Green Beetle bent on evil intent.

To Be Continued…

ART: 4/5
The art is engaging and it needed to be as there was an awful lot of text to read through this issue as we play catch up after the short detour into the Posse storyline. Jaime has been fairly one dimensional up to now so interaction is key and luckily no panel is left as a space for speech bubbles. The art leans towards a comical feel on occasion but that helps divert from some of the tension filled scenes.

COVER: 5/5
Outbugged is right! I don’t think Beetle is coming out of this one unscathed!

These bad guys mean business and Scott Kolins delivers a pretty badass threat! The detailing on the Horde could be a bit more intense but I get that they are swarming and overcoming Jaime like ant drones.

ISSUE RATING: 4/5
We finally get some character injected in Jaime and deliver on the threats Dr. Fate foretold. The mysterious holes are also revealed to be created by Jaime himself albeit under the influence of the scarab.

Unlike Spider-Man’s symbiote suit the scarab seems to have more of a mystery behind it and next issue promises big revelations. I wish we didn’t have to wait!

SUPER POWERS #1

Writers: Art Balthazar & Franco
Artist: Art Balthazar
Cover: Art Balthazar

Batman is missing.

Superman steps in to help fight crime in Gotham till he can solve the mystery of his friends disappearance. Meanwhile Brainiac has created a new planetoid dubbed New Krypton that mimics Earth’s orbit and is home to a re-expanded Kandor.

The evil android believes himself to be Superman’s half brother and hopes that kidnapping Batman will lure Superman into a trap.

In Gotham, Superman battles and captures Mr Freeze, Killer Croc and Penguin before coming up against Ridder who cryptically gives Superman a clue to Batman’s location.

Superman isn’t the only hero in Gotham, enter Batgirl! With Riddler in Batgirl’s custody Superman soars into space.

Elsewhere on Themyscira, Queen Hippolyta tells Wonder Woman that she needs to help Clark and Bruce on New Krypton.

Superman arrives on New Krypton and all the sleeping civilians suddenly awaken. Amongst them is Jor El who races to tell a heavily pregnant Lara that they are saved. Superman visits his parents and asks for their help as to what is happening to Brainiac.

In Brainiac’s hideout Batman notices that the villain is acting oddly and his words aren’t his own.

Superman arrives, frees Batman and reaches out to his deadly foe asking for peace. Brainiac laughs that Earth must be destroyed and war is coming.

Brainiac tells Superman Jor blames the android for Krypton’s destruction but once he makes Superman into a cyborg they will be equals. Superman tries to trick Brainiac by telling him that Jor and Lara are disappointed in him.

Wonder Woman arrives and uses her lasso to discover the truth. Brainiac admits he doesn’t know why he kidnapped Batman or lured Superman into space. Batman uses his Batphone and inserts a kryptonite sim card sending Brainiac a killer message.

With Brainiac incapacitated by the kryptonite text message Bruce leaps into a Bat-Space Cruiser piloted by Alfred and before heading home tells Clark that someone was remotely controlling Brainiac. Puzzled, Wonder Woman and Superman try to think who could be masterminding the plot.

Back on Earth Lex has constructed a Kryptonite Fortress of Solitude  in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As the criminal genius examines the technology a hologram asks Lex to watch Jor El and Lara so they can kidnap their baby!

To Be Continued…

ART: 5/5
Art Balthazar never fails to channel fun and adventure.

It is a joy flicking through the book I wish this wasn’t just a mini series because this art and writing duo always leave me wanting more!

COVER: 5/5
Art Balthazar channels the Super Powers TV series nostalgia for the oldies while blending in the fun of the legends of the Trinity for the youngsters into one explosive cover. It has been a while since Superman Family Adventures and we’ve had a lot of dark movies in between so its nice to have a book with the Trinity enjoying being superheroes!

ISSUE RATING: 5/5
The winning line: “Because I’m Batman!”

Balthazar and Franco have a habit of creating comic book gold and like Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures! before it, Super Powers proves to continue the formula with a family friendly and fun adventure not mired by any continuity and just going full throttle into entertainment.

It is always fun to have a comic the entire family can enjoy and this is it.

THE HELLBLAZER #4

The Poison Truth – Part 4
Writer: Simon Oliver
Artist: Moritat
Cover: John Cassaday & Paul Mounts
Variant: Yasmine Putri

John & Chas are tied up on chairs in  their flat with White Boy as their captor.

Years ago John used to feed White Boy information on which horses to bet on to win.

Now, though after listening to White Boy rant the gangster reveals he want to know how John always knew the winners and to be taught how to do it himself.

When White Boy steps out to collect a list of fake magical ingredients John points out to Chas that they wouldn’t be in this bind if he had followed orders.

Chas retorts that they are both dead regardless. John concocts a plan of escape while in Rotworld Mercury and Swamp Thing search for Abby and answers. Rotworld itself begins to attack Alec while Mercury has teleported away to find Abby.

Back in London White Boy has returned with the ingredients, promising to kill Chas if John fails. Outside a limo pulls up with Marid and Clarice inside, Marid demands they all die while he waits.

Swamp Thing collapses in Rotworld consumed by its evil influence while in John room he begins reciting an incantation which the gunman realises is fake. Just as Chas and John face death the genie’s, Djinn, arrive and kill everyone inside while John and Chas manage to escape and race away in the black cab.

Mercury managed to pull Alec back to the real world to regenerate but tells Swamp Thing she couldn’t find any trace of Abby. John suddenly appears and offers to help them in their quest.

To Be Continued…

ART: 4/5
The art has an independent comics feel to it, owing much I’d imagine, to the strong independent publishing movement in the UK. Hellblazer is a very British book and it truly suffered when John was dragged kicking and screaming into DC continuity. Gladly since Rebirth he’s regained his edgy footing. I love that the art has that non conformist feel to it. There is an edginess that the other mainstream books lack.

COVER: 5/5
One of those covers that screams for you to pick up the book and read it!

I love posing covers and John is one of those characters that is the embodiment of not ‘giving a rat’s ass,’ couple that with Swamp Thing taking time out to have a little fun and we have a winner!

ISSUE RATING: 5/5
I like that The Hellblazer is a book that can take time out of monsters of the week to give us a fun story that really doesn’t go anywhere but helps you enjoy the character. Simon Oliver clearly has a love for Constantine and he is steering John on a brilliant a adventure. If you haen’t picked up Constantine yet, I definitely recommend that you do!

VIGILANTE: SOUTHLAND #2

Writer: Gary Philips
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Cover: Mitch Gerads

Donny wakes up after the explosion in Mike’s place, a hideout underneath St. Agatha’s church. Dorrie’s mother arrives and reveals that her daughter was carrying on Mike’s work.

Mike reveals before he was wheelchair bound he was a vigilante superhero called The Eastsider. Dorrie was killed because she discovered something about Childers an Donny swears to avenge her.

Mike and Nina try to talk Donny out of it but he is adamant he wants to take down Dorrie’s killers. Mike tells Donny that Percy is alive and has gone dark till Donny recovered chasing leads of his own. Donny suits up and takes Mike’s motorcycle intent on swift justice.

Donny finds himself in Koreatown, blending into the crown in The Eastsider biker gear concealing his identity. In a seedy club Donny finds Gardner Fallon, president of the board enjoying a little bit of heavy s&m.

Fallon is submitting to Madam Daisy dressed only in a diaper. Madam Daisy is angry at being interrupted during a session and thrashes Donny with her whip. He tries to question Fallon about the slush fund Dorrie was investigating but Daisy and her array of torture equipment prove too much and she thrusts a mace deep into his shoulder.

By the time he is finally able to best Madam Daisy and knock her unconscious Fallon has made good his escape and Donny follows suit… barely. Nina meanwhile rubs shoulders in Beverly Hills pushing for answers on where Childers has vanished to.

Mike tends to Donny’s wounds and offers to train him to put his athleticism to good use as a fighter. Donny laughs off the wheelchair bound mans offer till Mike gives him a beat down to remember and offers again to teach him.

Later with Nina’s intel, Donny now more confident arrives in Childers apartment on Zuma Beach. When Donny questions Childers he is stunned to discover Childers wasn’t behind the killing and that he knows Donny is under the mask.

Childers goes on to tell Donny that he is investigating the murder himself, the slush fund isn’t the reason for Drrie’s death, it goes deeper to links with Fourstar Machine Works.

When Donny questions what Fourstar are drilling for that needs covering up a bullet flies through the window killing Childers instantly. Worse still the Police are now right outside the door.

To Be Continued…

ART: 5/5
I love the film and noir cinema feel to the book. It’s evolved a lot in just the two issues. Like Batman, a lot of the action takes place in the shadows and the heavy inking is well suited to the story. I like that he can blend in plain sight and that he is also not a ready made hero. The art really excels in that journey.

COVER:5/5
The dizziness suffered in the fight with Madam Daisy, the bright lights of Koreatown, the cellshading style, all amount to a slick cover that like The Hellblazer, aims to break the mould of conventional cover art.

ISSUE RATING: 5/5
Worthy of a film I think, but right now this is making an unforgettable reimagining of the Vigilante character and legend. I want more and hope that Donny takes on the mantle of The Eastsider full time. With four more chapters to go, it can only get better!

WONDER WOMAN #11

The Lies – Conclusion
Writer: Gary Philips
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Cover: Mitch Gerads

In The Picket, Etta is giving Sasha a briefing on Steve and Diana’s progress. That they’ve vanished and that Dr. Minerva is struggling to adjust to being human again. Etta hands the sapling of Urzkartaga to Sasha as they leave The Picket but she is suspicious of Sasha’s unusual behaviour seeing the interior of Sasha’s vehicle glow cements Etta’s resolve and she decides to follow her boss.

On Themyscira, Steve and Diana are enjoying a banquet courtesy of Queen Hippolyta. Diana is puzzled to the changes of the island, how her mother is no longer clay, the whole fiasco with Zola, Zeke, Donna and Derinoe but the Queen urges her to forget now she is home.

Steve leaves the banquet to visit Priestess Castalia, an amazon he met during his last visit but a guard informs him there is no one by that name on the island.

When Diana catches up to him Steve expresses his fears. He points out that without the help of the lasso he nor the amazons should be able to communicate yet they can understand each other perfectly. He also points out the architecture is drastically different, added to that Priestess Castalia seems to no longer exist, in his mind something is terribly wrong. Diana looks down to see her wrist oozing with blood and they try to find their way to a clearing.

Back in the US Etta confronts Veronica Cale as she takes the sapling from Sasha in a dark alley. Etta demands the return of the sapling and is shocked when Sasha attacks her. Etta aims het pistol and literally blows off Sasha’s head, revealing a horrific android that collapses in a heap.

Cale releases her Dobermans, Terror & Panic to kill Etta now that she knows the truth. Meanwhile back o the island Diana removes her bracelets to reveal a bite of some kind. She explains that the price of helping Steve was that she would never be allowed to return to hers. She tells Steve the bite she received happened years ago and only now is it reopening.

She remembers riding through the plains one day when she saw something… her thought process is interrupted and an explosion of light engulfs Wonder Woman. Everything she sees shatters like glass and disappears leaving Diana a crumpled mess at Steve’s feet.

Supporting her Steve asks her what happened to cause her collapse and Diana reveals that she’s never been back to Themyscira. Every time she’s ever been there it was all a lie.

The End.

ART: 5/5
Liam Sharp nails it this issue, actually to be honest he hasn’t had an off issue yet. I bloody love Etta Candy, she is a badass and her scenes this issue were the stand outs. I love that she stands up to Veronica Cale and doesn’t bat an eye. Sasha when her face melts off is awesome. Bravo Mr. Sharp, Bravo!

COVER:3/5
Nicely illustrated piece showcasing a strange new Themyscira but as a finale cover it just didn’t hit the spot. The devastation Diana feels doesn’t come across here.

ISSUE RATING: 5/5
More mysteries than answers but I like that it isn’t tied up neatly in a bow and that the ramifications are something that can be visited upon in the future. The narrative between past and present has really invigorated the story and scenes like Steve realising the truth were ones we could share with him too.

Rucka continues an absolutely fantastic run, and has given the princess a truly new beginning. Thank you from the audience.

Choosing movies at a film fest is very often the luck of the draw. You read the write-ups, you see which films have won awards at other festivals and then you figure out what works for your schedule. It’s a bit like those “every flavor” gummy bears in the Harry Potter books: Some of the films are amazing, some end up being the cinematic equivalent of earwax.

I was lucky to see some amazing films at this year’s AFI Fest (including triple-prize winner Divines), but also some movies that had me wishing I’d seen anything else.

Divines

Directed by Houda Benyamina
Written by Romain Compingt,
Houda Benjamin, Malik Rumeau
Starring Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena,
Kévin Mischel, Jisca Kalvanda, Yasin Houicha,
Majdouline Idriss, Mounir Margoum, Farid Larbi

I chose this film because I was focusing on films about women and directed by women at this year’s fest. And there was something about the haunting image of lead actress Oulaya Amamra that reminded me of that famous 1985 National Geographic cover of an Afghan girl.

Like the girl in that famous photo (who’s back in the news), I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’re still talking about Amamra 30 years from now.

She’s mesmerizing as 15-year-old Dounia, who lives in a gypsy camp in Paris with her drunkard of a mother and who dreams of the high life. Her ticket out of poverty? She volunteers to work for the local drug dealer, Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda), who is impressed by her boldness. Rebecca sees potential in this tough hoodie-wearing street girl, giving her a glamorous makeover as part of a plan to get revenge on a old rival who owes her money. Dounia has to navigate not only the streets and her volatile boss, but this dangerous undercover assignment, by turns scared, ecstatic and devastated.

Like this year’s excellent American indie, Moonlight, this French-Qatari film is a heartfelt, lyrical work of art about someone living a gritty, marginalized life. And it features an unlikely romance that somehow shouldn’t mesh with the rest of the film, but that only made me love it more.

The film won the Caméra d’Or (best first feature film) at Cannes. At this year’s AFI Fest, it won the New Auteurs Special Jury Mention for Acting for Oulaya Amamra, New Auteurs Audience Award, and Breakthrough Audience Award.

It’s an exhilarating film, one that signals the arrival of two fantastic new talents in its star and director.

Divines is now available on Netflix.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Prevenge

Written and Directed by Alice Lowe
Starring: Alice Lowe, Kate Dickie,
Gemma Whelan, Jo Hartley,
Kayvan Novan, Tom Davis, Mike Wozniak

When I read the synopsis — a pregnant woman kills a series of people because her fetus tells her to — I put this at the top of my list and it did not disappoint.

British actress Alice Lowe (Timothy Dalton’s gum-chewing secretary in Hot Fuzz) wrote, directed and stars in this in this hilarious, pitch-perfect black comedy — all while actually being pregnant in real life! It’s a difficult balancing act, juggling the murders with a wicked sense of humor, but Lowe absolutely nails it.

The first few people we see Ruth (Lowe) kill seem like particularly nasty specimens, but when she starts targeting more sympathetic people, we’re conflicted, even as we learn the reason why they’re on her — or rather her baby’s — hit list.

As she goes in for her routine checkups, the conversations with the doctor are all the more hilarious when the doctor advises her “Baby knows what’s best. Just listen to baby!” If she only knew what baby was telling Mum to do! Lowe’s performance throughout is, as the Brits say, spot on.

Getting close to each target requires a new subterfuge, such as an awkward fake job interview and an overly cheery door-to-door charity drive, which are some of the funniest moments in the movie.

Lowe attended the screening with her now toddler, saying during the Q&A that of course, her real baby is not wicked at all and she has some apologies to make when her daughter’s old enough to see it.

She plans to make a sci-fi movie next. Sign me up.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Bloody Barbara (short film)

Written and directed by Shawn Bannon
Produced by Alix Bannon
Starring Atheena Frizzell

This fun six-minute short (which preceded Prevenge) is a must for horror fans. Barbara (Atheena Frizzell) is a horror film junkie who loves to go out covered in fake blood. She wanders Hollywood Blvd looking like she’s just stumbled out of a scene from one of her favorite films.

She gushes about why she loves horror so much and how all her favorite films, including Carrie and The Descent — usually involve the heroine being soaked in blood. She even carries extra fake blood with her in case anyone else wants to get in on the fun! As someone who once dressed up as Kate Winslet’s blood-spattered murderess in Heavenly Creatures for Halloween, I thoroughly appreciated her bloody film scene recreations.

Except, of course, everyday is Halloween for Bloody Barbara. The husband-and-wife filmmaking also brought their baby to the screening of Prevenge.

Horror: It’s great for the whole family!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Kill Me Please

Written and Directed by Anita Rocha da Silveira
Starring Valentina Herszage, Dora Freind,
Mariana Oliveira, Júlia Roliz, Rita Pauls,
Laryssa Ayres, Vicente Conde, Bernardo Marinho

The write-up for this Brazilian arthouse thriller called it “Giallo-tinged,” but that’s a bit misleading. It is set against the backdrop of a serial killer, who is leaving bodies in an open field near the many high-rise apartments in Rio de Janeiro, and it is as sumptuously visual as any Giallo, but the killer remains firmly in the background.

The film focuses on Bia (Valentina Herszage), who is as obsessed with sex and her social status as any high school girl. Her mother (whom we never see) is mysteriously absent, leaving her and her older brother João (Bernardo Marinho) to fend for themselves.

The morbid details of the victims bleeds into the everyday life of Bia and her friends. One thinks Bia looks like one of the dead girls. They look her up on Facebook and Bia ends up attending one of the victim’s funerals.

After discovering one of the victims herself, she begins acting oddly herself, trying to choke her boyfriend and randomly lashing out at her friends. In one memorable segment, each of the girls sports a bloody injury in a lingering close-up. High school is hell, even if no serial killer is on the loose.

The feeling of dread and unease never lifts, even through the enigmatic ending. We never find out who the killer is, although there are some unsettling hints that it might be someone very close to Bia.

The film is a stunning debut in many ways, but it felt overlong and maddeningly vague. Ultimately, it’s more of a mood piece than a thriller, but one that leaves a hypnotic hangover.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Red Turtle

Written by Michaël Dudok de Wit and Pascale Ferran
Directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit

The first non-Japanese film from Studio Ghibli (the studio behind Spirited Away and so many other anime masterpieces) is beautifully animated and incredibly moving, but a movie I also found frustrating in many ways.

The film has no dialogue but the emotions of the main character, a castaway who washes up on the shore of a remote island, are always clearly conveyed. He’s hopeless, he’s deliriously happy, he’s exhausted…. We feel his joy as he sees a pier that indicates the island must be inhabited, then his despair as he awakens from what was just a dream.

We’re fully with him as he surveys the island and builds a raft. His first raft is mysteriously destroyed by an unseen force in the ocean, so he builds another, and then another. Finally, he sees that it’s a giant red turtle who seems intent on keeping him on the island.

Back on land, he takes his frustration out on the friendly turtle and that’s when things take an odd turn. (Wikipedia spells out the magical twist that happens here, but I won’t spoil it for you.) His animosity towards the turtle is perfectly understandable, but I still found it troubling. Especially since his fortunes improve considerably after he leaves the turtle for dead, stranded on its back on an unforgiving beach.

I may be the only one who felt this was scene was a deal-breaker. I was less involved in what follows next for the castaway, although by the film’s final, moving scene, I was in tears.

It’s a beautiful film, but I wish it hadn’t been quite so long. And I was disappointed that the magical elements of the film, which are key to our hero’s story, are so minimal.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Fear Itself

Written and Directed by Charlie Lyne
Narrated by Amy E Watson

I liked that this take on horror movies is made up entirely of scenes from existing horror movies — a storytelling device I enjoyed in Room 237 — but sadly, I can’t really recommend it.

Although listed as a documentary, it’s actually a very personal film essay, one that makes the terrible mistake of employing a narrator (actress Amy E. Watson) with an extremely grating voice.

It’s hard to focus on what she’s saying when you’re trying to tune her out. And some of what she says rings true — we’re less afraid when we confront our fears, et cetera — but much of the voiceover is banal and pointless.

I was not sure while watching whether the story she’s telling — how she binged on horror films after a terrible car accident — is her own personal story or a script she’s been given to read, since she’s not credited with writing any of it.

According to BBC, she “worked with Charlie on shaping the character of the narrator.” Her jarringly uneven Scottish-accented narration is explained by the fact that (also according to the BBC) she was born in Canada but now lives in Glasgow.

I enjoyed seeing clips from familiar films such as Carrie, Suspiria and Lost Highway and the way those scenes were strung together to illustrate a point, sometimes even drawing on non-horror films such as Gravity.

I was also intrigued by clips of films I’ve never seen, although I’m grateful this movie warned me to never, ever see something called Amber Alert. (Yikes, that looks bad.)

The power of horror films is undeniable and Fear Itself taps into many of the films we love in seeking to understand why we’re so fascinated with them. But the annoying voiceover and the feeling that we’re being led by a guide who doesn’t know where she’s going, or why, were a serious liability.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Stumptown is your favorite Rockford Files private detective story in comics form that you may or may not be reading!

Greg Rucka puts leading tough gal Dexedrine Parios in danger every issue but she can get to the bottom of the jig when that jig is certainly up, or in this instance, the bottom of a very dank coffee cup. Volume 4 of Stumptown, The Case of The Cup of Joe, comes out in January but is available for pre-order today (Diamond code: SEP161833)

Artist Justin Greenwood joins us to talk about the mystery comic set in Stumptown aka Portland, Oregon, cat-shit coffee and ‘silent’ issues of comic books!

* * * * *

FOG!: The Case of the Cup of Joe was one of the funniest crime comics and of a lighter tone than the previous volumes. Was it fun to play with Portland’s barista and coffee culture obsession?

Justin Greenwood: Yeah, we had a lot of fun with it! I remember Greg telling us about the idea for building a case around some very valuable, sought-after coffee beans and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the premise.

I really enjoyed the interplay of allowing for the naturally funny elements to work and balancing them against weight of the family issues Dex deals with in this volume.

It makes for a very compelling story that still gets a laugh out of me when I re-read it.

How thoroughly did you research the art for these Kopi Luwak beans? There’s always great authentic cartooning in Stumptown. I have to ask you, have you ever had cat shit coffee?

Y’know, I had heard of Kopi Luwak beans but hadn’t really looked into what exactly was meant by “cat shit coffee”.

Turns out it’s exactly as you might think. I would bet that Greg had to do a lot more research than I did, at least specific to the coffee itself. But there was much more to that kind of specialized coffee brewing than I had really ever come into contact with.

Gear like high end Burr Grinders and Chemex-style glass coffee makers is pretty far from the dirty old coffee maker sitting in the corner of my kitchen.

And I’ve found I could draw Civet skulls all day, given the choice.

Do you prefer working on these types of stories more based in reality than more fantasy based work? I do appreciate the backup material where you show your research!

I don’t know if I prefer one over the other, although I feel lucky to have the opportunity to do both. There is a challenge in making a story visually exciting when located in a really familiar, reality based setting that is pretty different from one that’s completely made up and can be bent to suit your needs without restriction.

But I do enjoy researching and building reference for these kinds of stories. There’s always much more to learn about any given area than you think, and with a setting like Portland that is well traveled within the comics community, I put more emphasis on being accurate without being too hung up on the minutia.

What directions were given about the introduction of Dex’s sister Fuji in this arc? She’s an artist too!

Oh man, Fuji is such a great addition to this arc! I don’t remember getting a ton of visual reference so much as Greg really trying to convey who she is at the core and really understanding the context of her relationship with Dex.

It strongly informs her look and how she carries herself—she is trying so hard without really ever putting in the effort. We definitely wanted her to have a hipster look and her strong personality made it an easy fit from there.

Issue #10 is a Silent Issue. This will also serve as an introduction to the next main Stumptown story. How was it working on this issue? Is the script any longer than usual from Greg?

I really enjoyed working on this issue a lot, it created a bunch of new storytelling challenges by not having much dialogue to lean on. And not just that, but its pretty different in comparison to the content of the other Stumptown stories I’ve gotten to tell with Greg as well.

It’s a stakeout where we pretty much are silent observers on what an average day might look like for Dex, but in true Stumptown fashion it doesn’t exactly go as expected. And you’re right, it is a change in mood, a one-and-done story that acts as a beat to shift gears as we head into what will be a decidedly different upcoming storyline.

Also, I should note that Ryan Hill (colorist) was a big part of creating that change of mood, giving the issue a very distinct palette that was a perfect fit for this story.

The script was not much different from the others, aside from a distinct lack of dialogue. Greg still needed to convey a lot of information and understanding as to the specifics. But the ending of the case really caught me by surprise and it’s become one of my favorite Stumptown stories for that reason.

Actually, this volume contains two cases that both end in a way that I found particularly poignant and personally made them feel very satisfying to draw.

Were you at all influenced by any previous silent issues? I’m speaking of course about G.I. Joe #21!

That G.I. Joe issue is the gold standard of silent comic book issues! I really liked the Sixth Gun one too, from a while back. But admittedly, I was much more influenced by the mood of really classic, noir type detective stories. It was more incidental that it was mostly silent, due to the fact that Dex is primarily alone throughout the issue.

The goal was more to put her into a very traditional PI setting and having it be silent sort of grew from that idea. It created real impact having all that silence before getting to the dialogue at the end, and gave it a great punch.

What does 2017 have in store for Dex?

It’s too early too give much away, but we definitely were conscious that Volume 4 would be a bit more fun and that the next arc will be a strong contrast to that. As hinted at earlier, things will be taking a darker turn in the upcoming storyline and things are going to get a lot harder for Dex before they get any easier.

And if there’s one thing I look forward to drawing, it’s a pissed-off Dexedrine Parios.

Pre-order STUMPTOWN VOL. 4: THE CASE OF THE CUP OF JOE by @ruckawriter and @justingreenwood with Ryan Hill at your local comic book shop via comicshoplocator.com.

The world’s greatest DC Super Heroes are heading to Cartoon Network in the premiere of Justice League Action, an all-new animated series that will kick off with “Shazam Slam,” a four-part special event debuting, Friday, Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on iconic DC characters, Justice League Action will premiere new episodes Saturday mornings on Cartoon Network, beginning Dec. 24.

In “Shazam Slam,” the villainous Black Adam battles Batman on the Rock of Eternity and unleashes a horde of Djinn determined to turn the Earth back to its pre-human, volcanic state.   Affected by the otherworldly powers of these primordial monsters, Batman becomes possessed and is turned into a giant flying Batmonster laying waste to the Hall of Justice, with only Superman capable of taking the fight to the Dark Knight. One by one, the Justice League – with the help of Shazam (voiced by Sean Astin) and The Wizard (voiced by Carl Reiner) – must hunt down and defeat each Djinn in order to yet again save the world from destruction.

Justice League Action marks the return of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series), beloved by fans worldwide as one of the most iconic voices of Batman, to a weekly animated television series. The series will also deliver an all-star lineup of regular and guest cast voices, including Mark Hamill as Joker, James Woods as Lex Luthor, Diedrich Bader as Booster Gold and many more iconic DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains. Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) serves as executive producer, with Butch Lukic (Justice League, Batman Beyond), Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series) and Jim Krieg (Green Lantern: The Animated Series) as producers.

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown!

Looking for a few books to read this Thanksgiving? Well here you go!

Happy Thanksgiving and after you are done eating, read some comic books!

Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77 Chapter 1 (digital)

Written by Jeff Parker and Marc Andreyko
Illustrated by David Hahn
Published by DC Comics

This premiere digital issue teaming up the Adam West Batman and the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman is a lot of fun.

As soon as I saw Parker and Andreyko’s names attached I knew I was in for a good time.

And they delivered.

What mysteries are hidden in the book Ra’s al Ghul hired Catwoman to steal?

And why does this caper lead Batman down memory lane—to his childhood fight against actual Nazis?

Witness the Caped Crusader’s first encounter with one of the greatest heroes the world has ever known: Wonder Woman!

The story is great. And the art by Hahn is great. Hahn is an underrated talent and it’s nice to see him shine here. We need more comic books like this. I can’t wait to read the full thing…this is a nice treat before the holidays.

RATING: A-

Deathstroke #7 

Written by Christopher Priest
Breakdowns by Larry Hama
Illustrated by Carlo Pagulayan
Published by DC Comics

Watching Superman get yelled at has to be one of my favorite comic book moments in years.

I seriously laughed out loud and that was only the first page.

Again, this issue was so damn good I couldn’t put it down. This is great work by a great creative team.

After Deathstroke confronts the enemy behind Wintergreen’s abduction and the attempted murder of his daughter, he soon finds himself abandoned on a suicide mission where he confronts an unbeatable foe….who may or may not be Superman.

Don’t expect a Deathstroke/Superman brawl this issue…that’s going to be next issue.

But this is a great set up for that upcoming fight. Priest kills it on the writing part and Pagulayan is one of the best artists at DC right now. You put these two together and you get one hell of a comic book.

This is one is the best continuing bright spots in the Rebirth line. It’s an awesome run.

Pick them all up and read what might be the best Deathstroke story ever.

RATING: A

The Flash #11 

Written by Joshua Williamson
Illustrated by David Gianfelice
Published by DC Comics

What is going on with this title???

The first 8 issues were great! They had life and a plan in place.

Now, we get cartoony art, and a story that doesn’t meld with it at all.

It just comes off as completely bland and this title can be better than that.

Lost in the infinite horror of the Shadowlands, The Flash and Kid Flash’s new partnership is tested as they fight to uncover the dark secrets of the Shade and his mysterious plans for the speedster duo.

The whole affair just seems pointless. There’s not much to grab onto so you lose interest quick.

The writing is competent and the art is not very good. Here’s hoping that Carmine Fi Giandomenico comes back next issue.

The last three issues? I’ve missed him and his teamwork with Williamson.

RATING: C

Teen Titans #5 

Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Brett Booth
Published by DC Comics

This entire issue is basically Wally West running. And it’s not terrible. But that’s the only story you’re getting this issue.

Wally running and reflecting. It does lead to an emotional climactic moment, so I’m okay with giving this a passing grade.

So again, Abnett doesn’t give us much of a story.

But Brett Booth certainly pulls his weight on the art. It’s hard to find an artist with more energy per page than Booth. His panel layouts, his figures, and his sheer fluidity are all impressive.

This hasn’t been a bad book.

I just wish there was a little more meat to go alongside the impressive visuals.

RATING: B-

Frostbite #3 

Written by Joshua Williamson
Illustrated by Jason Shawn Alexander
Published by DC Comics

This is further proof that Williamson is a fantastic writer. This book is just awesome and I can’t wait to read it in its entirety.

It’s really one of the best releases of the year.

Keaton has managed to get Vic out of Los Angeles, but the trouble is only just starting.

The mysterious Boss Burns knows the precious cargo that Vic is carrying, and he wants it for himself.

He’s put a price on the women’s heads, and now all of the nastiest gangs of the frozen American wasteland are barreling down on them, guns drawn and ready to claim the prize.

This book is exciting with great characters to boot. Williamson does his job well here and makes a compelling story you can’t put down.

And the art? It’s pure awesomeness. This is one of the best Illustrated books this year. It reminds me of a Heavy Metal book, and it’s damn good.

Sick of normal comic books? Pick this up. You’ll be happy you did. Then share it with a friend. Spread the word on this amazing title. It certainly deserves it.

RATING: A

Detective Comics  #946   

Written by James Tynion IV
Illustrated by Al Barrionuevo and Carmen Carnero
Published by DC Comics

“The Victim Syndicate” storyline continues on in this issue.

And the story isn’t half bad.

Yet, I miss Eddy Barrows on art. He and Tynion are quite a team and this art team is rather tepid. It’s a shame because it doesn’t help the story much.

What happens in this issue?

Well, Batman is trying his best to hold his team together, but the Spoiler might have every reason to walk out the door…and others might follow!

The conflict is pretty interesting. It held my attention for the most part. Not a terrible issue. But rotating art teams are hurting this title. Let’s hope Barrows makes it back and DC gives him the time to finish each issue. It’d be worth it in the long run.

RATING: B-

Batgirl #5 

Written by Hope Larson
Illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque
Published by DC Comics

This was a pretty good first five issues.

I think that mostly has to do with the art by Rafael Albuquerque.

He really hit his stride on the Mark Miller series, Huck, and he hasn’t let up since. He did a great job on this series. Hope Larson also did decent work writing…but I think Albuquerque is the star here.

Without him, this would just be another standard book.

This issue concludes the “Beyond Burnside” storyline.

Batgirl faces down Teacher in the streets of Shanghai, but will fists be enough against the intelligence—enhanced foe? Babs will have to conquer the pathways of her own mind in order to defeat this vicious predator once and for all!

It’ll be interesting to see where this series goes after Albuquerque leaves.

But I’ll be reading. I hope they can keep the quality up.

RATING: B+

Batman: Beyond #2 

Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Bernard Chang
Published by DC Comics

Well, this is fun. In a kind of bananas way which I love. Dan Jurgens is suited for this book and he seems to be having a lot of fun.

And that’s a good thing.

Terry is tested in a way he hasn’t been since he returned as Batman. In Jokerztown to rescue Dana, he’s not up against one foe but an entire community of clown-worshipping crazies, all led by the deadly Terminal.

Is it possible his crime-fighting career—and his life—will both end just as he’s starting over?

This is a good title thus far.

Terry fights against the Jokerz and it’s been a pretty thrilling ride thus far. Chang does a good job on art duties and it’s all very well done.

I’m enjoying it. And you can’t ask for more from a comic book.

RATING: B+

Future Quest #7 

Written by Jeff Parker
Illustrated by Evan Shaner, Ron Randall and Steve Lieber
Published by DC Comics

Let’s face it: The Hanna Barbara comics from DC have all been unmitigated disasters.

They just failed on all fronts to create any magic from these characters.

Except this comic.

Jeff Parker kills it, month in and month out showing that a good story, some ingenious ideas, and good art are sometimes all you need to create a good comic book.

Mysterious vortexes are appearing around the world, each unleashing a horrible threat!

With Dr. Quest still missing and the leaders of the world beginning to doubt Inter-Nation, a new team of heroes must rise to defend California…The Impossibles!

Meanwhile, fledgling hero Mightor begins his training with Birdman.

This is so much fun. I actually look forward to this coming out each month. It’s delightful fun.

This book is the only bright spot in the entire Hanna Barbera line. And it’s damn good.

RATING: B+

And the rest…

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #9
Written by Robert Venditti
Illustrated by Rafa Sandoval
Published by DC Comics
A rather uninspired book yet again. At least the art is good. I really would like this book to reset at this point. It needs it.
RATING: C

Harley Quinn #8   
Written by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti 
Illustrated by Char Hardin
Published by DC Comics
More of the same from the Harley Quinn creative team…and that’s good news! The writing is always a good time and the art by Hardin is always good! If you like this title, you’ll love this issue.
RATING: B

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #20
Written by Sholly Fisch
Illustrated by Dario Bruezuela
Published by DC Comics
Okay, this is a hell of a lot of fun. The Scooby-doo gang teams up with Space Ghost. I loved this. No reboots…just pure classic fun.
RATING: A-

Six Pack and Dog Wielder #4   
Written by Garth Ennis
Illustrated by Russ Braun
Published by DC Comics
This series makes me laugh out loud. Ennis and Braun work we together and it has enough dark humor to sustain it throughout. Not bad at all gentlemen.
RATING: B

Teen Titans #2 
Written by Benjamin Percy
Illustrated by Diogenes Neves
Published by DC Comics
I have trouble enjoying this title. The cartoon art doesn’t flow well with the story. We are going too far in the other direction for me here.
RATING: C

Super Powers #1   
Written and Illustrated by Art Baltazar and Franco
Published by DC Comics
An All-Ages title? And it’s a boatload of laughs? Why not! It was enjoyable to read with my seven year old daughter. I’ll let Callie give the grade here.
CALLIE’S GRADE: A+++++++

We profiled both of these items in last year’s Holiday Gift Guide and we’re happy to announce that not only are these two of the most amazing gifts for the pop culture aficionado on your list, but also the perfect item that they most definitely do not have!

And, for the next week, they’re on sale!  Starting today and running through December 2nd, both the Bathroom JAWS and Toilet Sarlacc designs are on sale for $15!

The check out code for both is BLACKFRIDAY.

• To order the Toilet Sarlaac, click HERE
• To order Bathroom JAWS, click HERE

And since this is the season of giving, we’ll be giving away one of each set of vinyls!

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

What was the name of the mechanical shark used in the making of JAWS?

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 December 11th, 2016.