Archie Comic Publications and Warner Bros. Television have signed an exclusive deal to develop new original programming and content based on Archie’s vast catalog of characters and properties, as revealed earlier today by The Hollywood Reporter.

Following years of daring and fan-favorite comic books including the DEATH OF ARCHIE, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, and the blockbuster ARCHIE relaunch by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples, the new production deal with Warner Bros. Television is the culmination of years of work by Jon Goldwater and the staff and freelancers of Archie Comics to bring the classic comic book characters forward into the present day.

“For years, people have been saying ‘Wow, Archie is making moves. They’re fearless. They’re trying new things.’ This is what happened next,” Archie Comics CEO/Publisher Jon Goldwater told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We were redefining the brand by being daring and by, at the same time, protecting the integrity of the characters. As long as Archie is Archie and his friends are true to their characters, you can do anything with them. That’s what really opened up people’s eyes to their potential, and it’s a direct path to where we are today, which is having a Riverdale TV series on the CW and a new deal with Warners. The sky’s the limit here.”

The reinvention of the publishing line at Archie Comics continues as ARCHIE writer Mark Waid will be brought further into the fold by working on an expanded number of titles in addition to serving as a writing mentor for young and upcoming talent.

“This opportunity is exciting to me for a number of reasons,” Waid said. “First, the chance to expand my role as a writer at Archie is terrific as we all share the same storytelling goals. Second, it allows me to exercise my editorial muscles, which–surprise–is why I got into comics in the first place. But most of all, the opportunity to help build a more diverse staff of writers, younger, eager to learn, and eager to teach me.”

Waid’s first step in this new role will begin in May as he takes over the ongoing JUGHEAD series alongside new co-writer Ian Flynn (SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, MEGA MAN, ARCHIE BABIES). Additional titles and co-writers will be revealed later this year.

For more information about ‘RIVERDALE’ and everything Archie Comics, visit the official Archie Comics website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Watch new episodes of RIVERDALE on The CW App.

Written by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry
With Forewords by John Carpenter
With Afterwords by Kurt Russell and Eric Powell
Published by BOOM! Studios

“I’m a reasonable guy. But, I’ve just experienced some very unreasonable things”.

— Jack Burton

The story of Jack Burton vs. David Lo Pan is one for the ages, and one who’s thirty year legacy owes a bit to it’s huge budget and legendary director John Carpenter’s overall vision. While it wasn’t the biggest hit at the box office, in fact it only made back $11 million of it’s astounding $25 million dollar budget, Big Trouble In Little China garnered a generation of loyal fans. Those fans regard the movie as a kung fu science fiction masterpiece destined for cable reruns and cult status.

In tandem, we’d like to present to you two books that take you deep below San Francisco and the furies that lay there. BOOM! Studios has released The Official Making of Big Trouble in Little China as well as The Art Of Big Trouble In Little China to reveal on set special effects secrets and in depth interviews with Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall round out editions celebrating this cult classic.

In 2014, BOOM! released a comic book series continuing the adventures of Jack Burton written by John Carpenter and Goon creator Eric Powell. A good chunk of The Art Of… revisits the series and includes interviews and backup material from comic book cover artists Joe Quinones, Jenny Frison, Rob Guillory and more.

In 2016, Boom! expanded the universe once more with a Big Trouble In Little China Illustrated Novel: Big Trouble In Mother Russia. This spot-illustrated novel is written by Matthew J. Elliot (RiffTrax) and drawn by Elena Casagrande (Doctor Who).

The Art Of… previews this 238 page tome as well as some of the toys created by Funko and others to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film.

As with most Art of… books, it is meant to be enjoyed, as shelf porn and coffee table delights. Impress your houseguests, or freak out your mother-in-law entirely by leaving this one laying about. The landscape format is chock full of costume designs, ornate and decorative set design from John J. Lloyd (The Thing) and no shortage of interviews with the original team.

“The Guardian,” likely to make its appearance more than once in this combined review, gets plenty of ink in both books. The production company Boss Film spent nearly $100,000 and countless man-hours on the flying eye monster with animatronics and a design that has likely etched it’s way into many nightmares.

The Art Of Big Trouble In Little China has great book design and also a chapter dedicated to master poster artist Drew Struzan (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Drew: The Man Behind The Poster).  Drew provides never before seen preliminary sketches of his final poster, and some background to his design choices. Struzan is a huge fan of Big Trouble, and it shows in his art.

Tyler Stout, superstar poster artist of the modern age also give Jack and Lo Pan an edgy treatment in his Alamo Drafthouse series of prints, accompanied by a The Guardian patch for a 2007 showing of Big Trouble. If you aren’t familiar with his work, we suggest you check it out as well!

So much is covered in The Official Making Of Big Trouble In Little China (170+ pages)! that it would be tough to touch on it all! John Carpenter contributes more than just the forward to this behind-the-scenes book. Insights into production and marketing problems as well as actor relationships are revealed. Kurt Russell also delves into what drew him to the Jack Burton character in a hero movie where he isn’t exactly the hero but more comic relief.

Jack is a faux tough guy with a heart of gold, tearing up the countryside in his Pork Chop Express 18-wheeler at the height (or decline)! of CB radio culture. Look it up, kids! “What’s your handle”?

Russell drilled down to a version of Jack Burton that was part John Wayne but equal part clueless as to what was happening around him.

With behind the scenes photos, The Official Making Of Big Trouble In Little China will put you in the soundstage with the actors and crew of this over-the-top adventure story.

Kim Cattrall (Gracie Law) scored this roll after starring in Porky’s and Police Academy. Cattrall was convinced she botched the audition because she needed to go back into the room and retrieve her glasses! More eye trouble followed Kim on set. She needed to wear hard green contact lenses for shooting to match the key story point.

Kate Burton (Margo Litzenberger), daughter of Richard Burton, debuts in Big Trouble, as the much needed journalist character.

Chapters are also dedicated to Chinatown itself, costumes of The Three Storms, The Guardian and the Big Bad Lo Pan. Actor James Hong had to endure 10 hours of makeup for the 2000-year-old version of Lo Pan, something more easily done in CG these days, and perhaps fans of the film don’t realize how intensive these sessions used to get! Makeup artist Steve Johnson needed to excuse himself from the shoot that day — because he was laughing from exhaustion!

The book closes with an in-depth look at The Arcade fight scene at the end of the movie.

Shooting in large format, and with skilled (and not so skilled) martial artists ends up with a beautiful and elegant result. Egg Shen and Lo Pan facing off could rival a Star Wars light saber battle at the end of the day. Great stuff.

Fans of the movie should get both of these books to get the most out of what BOOM! is offering. Both books are rich with some overlap, but plenty is to be gained from reading both volumes.

Expand yourself into the comic and illustrated novel if you want more Jack Burton vs. David Lo Pan!

Illumination and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment are excited to announce that the global animated musical hit, SING arrives on Digital HD on March 3, 2017 and on Special Edition on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on March 21, 2017.  The music-filled comedy will include over 60-minutes of bonus content and will incorporate three all-new entertaining mini movies featuring the cast from SING as well as an exclusive Tori Kelly music video and a variety of musical extras.

From Illumination, the studio that brought you The Secret Life of Pets and the Despicable Me franchise, comes an animated comedy about finding the music that lives inside all of us. SING stars Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon, an eternally optimistic koala who puts on the world’s greatest singing competition to save his crumbling theater; Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon as Rosita, an overworked and unappreciated mother of 25 piglets desperate to unleash her inner diva; Scarlett Johansson as Ash, a punk rock porcupine with a beautiful voice behind her prickly exterior; Taron Egerton as Johnny, a young gangster gorilla looking to break free of his family’s felonies; as well as Seth MacFarlane, John C. Reilly, and Grammy Award-nominated Tori Kelly. SING is the musical comedy event of the year!

The Golden Globe nominee for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, SING features more than 65 hit songs including ‘Faith,’ a brand new song by the legendary Stevie Wonder (featuring Ariana Grande), marking his first song for a major film release in 25 years.

BONUS FEATURES on 4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAY, DVD AND DIGITAL HD

• Mini-Movies
  • Gunter Babysits – Gunter offers to watch all of Rosita’s 25 piglets for the night, trying to prove he’s the best babysitter ever.
  • Love At First Sight – During a piano lesson with Johnny, Miss Crawly becomes nostalgic about the dancing and romancing of her youth. Johnny convinces her that it’s not too late to find someone and helps her setup a profile on a dating website.
  • Eddie’s Life Coach – Eddie’s mom signs her slacker son up for a digital training seminar to get his life back on track.
• “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” Music Video – A cool and unique music video starring Tori Kelly.
• Making a Music Video with Tori Kelly – A behind the scenes look at the making of Tori’s music video with exclusive insights provided by Tori herself.
• “Faith” Music Video
• “Faith” Lyric Video
• “Set It All Free” Lyric Video
• The Making of SING – We take you through the animation studios of Illumination with interviews from Chris Meledandri, producer Janet Healy, the various animation teams and the voice talent of SING.
• Finding the Rhythm: Editing SING – Illumination editor Greg Perler, takes us inside the edit bay and reveals the secrets behind cutting an animated film. We’ll plunge into his world in this fun and eye-opening peek inside the room where the magic gets put together.
• Character Profiles – Profiles on the incredible cast, all lending their voices to bring these animated characters to life.
  • Matthew McConaughey as Buster Moon
  • Reese Witherspoon as Rosita
  • Tori Kelly as Meena
  • Taron Egerton as Johnny
  • Nick Kroll as Gunter
  • Garth Jennings as Miss Crawly
• SING & Dance! – “Faith” – Celebrity choreographer Aakomon Jones takes us through a dance routine inspired by SING and the song, “Faith.”
• The SING Network – The SING Network brings you the latest news and highlights the business endeavors of your favorite SING stars.
  • Gunter’s Dance Studio
  • The Moon Theater
  • Rosita’s Babysitting Gizmo
  • Miss Crawly’s Matchmaking Service
  • In The News – SING’S True Entertaining Stories highlights each of the Moon Theater’s newest stars.
    • Buster Moon
    • Gunter
    • Rosita
    • Johnny
    • Meena
    • Ash
    • Mike
• The Best Of Gunter – A rapid-fire, fun mash-up of all the best Gunter one-liners.

• The Making Of The Mini-Movies – We’ll explore the themes of each of the mini-movies through the eyes of the artists who made them.

The film will be available on 4K Ultra HD in a combo pack which includes 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and Digital HD with UltraViolet. The 4K Ultra HD will include all bonus features on the Blu-ray disc.

• 4K Ultra HD is the ultimate movie watching experience. 4K Ultra HD^TM features the combination of 4K resolution for four times sharper picture than HD, the color brilliance of High Dynamic Range (HDR) with immersive audio delivering a multidimensional sound experience.
• Blu-ray unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.
• DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Official Site

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#SingMovie

The co-creators of Bane make a triumphant return to the character, with a twelve-issue series that will push him to the limit! Bane is seeking to create a global criminal empire with the help of his original gang, Bird, Trogg, and Zombie. The Man Who Broke The Bat moves beyond Gotham to find new cities to conquer and new enemies to crush. He won’t stop until he stands at the top of the world of crime! For Bane, it’s all about CONQUEST.

“It’s very exciting to return with Chuck to a character we so love and are so identified with,” said Nolan. “DC has allowed us to return him to his roots, bring back old friends and create new characters that will rock Bane and Batman’s world. Dixon, Nolan, Bane…what’s not to love?!  This is, without a doubt, going to be the ULTIMATE Bane adventure!”

“Always happy to be re-united with Graham and this is an especially heady experience returning to our most significant contribution to the Batman mythos,” said Dixon. “The best aspect of this project is that it’s not a cameo or nostalgia tour for Graham and I. It’s more like we’re back after all this time to work on a truly epic story about Bane and we haven’t lost a step.”

BANE: CONQUEST #1, written by Chuck Dixon with art and cover by
Graham Nolan and colors by Gregory Wright, hits shelves May 3^rd. 

So, no column last week, maybe you missed me?

Well I certainly needed a pick me up this week after suffering a devastating bereavement and by chance Super Sons came out this week and I’ll be honest, it was THE number one book this week.

Cave Carson was a close second but its all about the new dynamic duo I’m afraid, they were a dose of fun and adventure that came at just the right time. Green Arrow‘s Emerald Outlaw limped across the finish line, Batwoman stepped forward and the League stepped up with an intriguing plot with an anti superpower plot that with some stronger editing probably would have taken the top spot, still Damian and Jon rule the roost this week, deservedly so.

Here is my look into the DC universe…

BATWOMAN REBIRTH #1
Writers: Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV
Artist: Steve Epting
Cover: Steve Epting / Variant: Jae Lee & June Chung

Kate remembers her past and significant points in her life.  The attack in Brussels where she lost her sister and mother, her time in the military and discharge, her partying and self exploration, her ‘lost year,’ a chance encounter with Batman, her career as Batwoman… it is all by the numbers until a meeting with Bruce after the arrival of Monster Venom and their plan to track it down on the black market.

That leads to a shocking new development and a new chapter for Kate.

STORY: 3/5
As a first issue, to bring people up to speed, it does the job.  Unfortunately that is all it really does and it isn’t till the final two pages that we get something that says “Here is that new twist to the story you were looking for.”

Was the payoff worth it? I’m not sure, the delving into her memories was a bit pedestrian. I’m glad Batwoman is back and on active duty but as Rebirth goes, this wasn’t what I’d hoped I’d get, I can’t shake the feeling I’ve seen this type of story before… Grayson comes to mind.

ART: 4/5
The interior art is a truly strange experience, at some points it takes your breath away with dynamic composition and angles and at others it falls flat, the change is definitely noticeable when there are scenes with Kate. Her scenes seem very flat whereas Batwoman has her pages reflecting the style set by the cover.

COVER: 5/5
Batwoman as a series always excelled in the cover art department and this issue is no exception.

This is an absolutely fantastic cover, that continues the tradition started since her reintroduction.

CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #5
Night Pudding
Writers: Jon Rivera & Gerard Way
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Cover: Michael Avon Oeming & Nick Filardi/ Variant: Mitch Gerads

As the King tells the story of The Whisperer and how he once corrupted Muldroog, the Team gets intoxicated by a meal dubbed night pudding.

EBX it seems has been searching for the The Whisperer and unfortunately Ace, the Mighty Mole II captain and former friend of Cave is in league with them.  Cave and his father in law realise that Borsten and EBX need Chloe to open The Whisperers prison unfortunately the night pudding has corrupted the team somewhat, Chloe has gone skinny dipping and Wild Dog is being tortured by his fractious memories.

With the team intoxicated, Borsten arrives with a horde of his mutant minions and captures the King. Chloe and Cave reunite along with Wild Dog and the Mighty Mole II crew who escaped their crazed leader. The new team have no time to bond, as along with the Muldroog survivors, they stare in horror as an army of fungus monsters approaches to destroy them all.

STORY: 5/5
Things take a seriously messed up turn this issue!

A lot of double crossing and realisations, I just don’t want to spoil it in a review, you have to read it!

The forging of a new Team Cave is a welcome one and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

The scene where Cave tries to call Superman for help is both hilarious and poignant, he has been out of touch for so long, shutting himself off from the world, he is literally lost.

I think this is why I love the book so much, it is him finding himself once more after losing his way.

ART: 5/5
Is it possible that this book just keeps improving issue by issue? I feel like Oeming is on a mission to just keep outdoing his own visuals. I’m not complaining, because along with the story, the art keeps me coming back!

COVER: 5/5
I love this cover! Wild Dog looks like he’s ready to kick some serious ass!

Bring on the weird underground mutants because he’s not messing around!  The psychedelic colour scheme marries well with the story inside so its for the win!

BACK UP FEATURE:
SUPER POWERS
Writer/Artist: Tom Scioli

The Wonder Twins are to be married. Their incestuous offspring would be the superbeing of prophecy but upon hearing the royal advisor suggest this Zann and Jayna plot to escape to Earth. The royal advisor laughs off the kings orders to stand down and reveals he has a secret army of Superman robots at his command.

On Earth, Joker, Harley Quinn, Solomon Grundy and Penguin are conquering the city streets. With Wonder Woman fallen, only Batman and Batgirl are left to stand up to the Clown Prince.

In deep space Brainiac discovers a ship with Superman’s emblem on it and once about his base he opens it to discover the unconscious body of Supergirl!

STORY: 3/5
The story is now starting to make sense but it so bizarrely constructed and segmented with such sparse storytelling that all I feel towards it is a wish for it to hurry up, get to the point and become a cohesive Super Powers story. Right now I just feel bored.

ART: 4/5
I like what Scioli is trying to achieve with the art. I’ve looked up his style and his webcomics all evoke that ‘yesteryear’ comics feel and it really works. Artistically I’m growing far more appreciative of the visuals than I was before, if only the story matched up to it.



GREEN ARROW #17
Emerald Outlaw Part 6: Finale
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Otto Schmidt
Cover: Juan Ferreyra / Variant: Neal Adams & Alex Sinclair

With the Chief dead, Ollie renews his vow to defend the innocent.

Broderick meanwhile tries to blackmail the newly appointed Mayor Domini and deals out a terrible punishment when he catches the Mayor trying to plant a bug for Ollie on the Queen Industries server.

Key meanwhile gets a visit from Green Arrow and is gifted a flash drive detailing numerous crimes and revealing corruption in the city.

Later in Ranier Wilderness Merlyn attacks.

He was hired to discredit Ollie and now he is a wanted criminal; Malcolm can kill him and nobody would care.

Team Arrow assist, but in the end Ollie faces off against the Dark Archer, only to be betrayed by one of the core members.

Elsewhere, Key discovers an ancient secret about Star City and the Queen family that could shake it to the core.

STORY: 3/5
This was overlong, lost it’s was a few times and though the ending was a bit of a shock, it certainly was not worth six issues to get to that point.

The return of Ollie’s sister, the death of the Chief and the burgeoning friendship with Victoria and that betrayal… there were certain elements that worked. The whole Vice Squad diversion was disappointing as we spent too much of a page count on them and not where it really counted. I am totally on board for what comes next solely on those last few pages but again overall this was a disappointing arc.

ART: 4/5
The artwork it seems in Green Arrow is at its absolute best when the action is frenetic. The fight with Merlyn illustrates this well. Schmidt is truly in his element when he’s drawing action. I say this but that last page had my jaw hit the floor.

COVER: 5/5

Team Arrow about the face the music? Of course not but what a great cover showcasing each member and bringing forth an individual character trait in the art alone.

The speech bubble wasn’t needed, the message was already there in the attitude. A great cover.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #15

Timeless Part 1
Writer: Bryan Hitch
Artist: Fernando Pasarin
Inker: Matt Ryan
Cover: Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan & Brad Anderson
Variant: Yanick Paquette & Nathan Fairbairn

Superman meets up with Batman just as an energy field appears in the location Lois and Jon were.  Batman asks his friend to trust him that they aren’t dead.

Flashing back to a League visit to the UN, a young woman interrupts their visit begging for them to protect her from an army of alien warriors.  The girl hurls a temporal grenade at the invaders and explains to the Flash that these creatures are known as The Timeless.   The mysterious girl explains she is trying to save the world and instructs a bewildered Flash to kit each Leaguer with a special watch.

The Timeless are a religious group that believes mortals aren’t meant to wield powers and will do anything to eradicate superheroes so that the natural order is restored. The girl reveals she is Molly, The Keeper, and the saviour for the meta community and time itself.

Elsewhere Batman introduces Clark to the staff of the Infinity Corporation who reveal time is rewriting itself.

Back to the UN building and somehow Vic goes from fighting the Timeless to arriving in the 31st century in the company of Brainiac 5.  Jessica and Simon are transported to the 26th century into a confrontation with the ring wielding team the ‘Earth Corps’.
Flash is transported back to the day the Speed Force manifested. There are five bombs across time The Timeless have set to detonate and she begs the League to trust her to help repair time.

Batman and Superman along with the Infinity Corp team watch the world outside alter to reveal an armada of ships surrounding the Earth…

Have The Timeless won already?

STORY: 4/5
An inventive and fun premise messed up by the jumps back and forth.  The narrative is completely thrown as the dialogue boxes are not there to explain the direction.

I had to reread through a few times to get things on a more linear form but I shouldn’t have to. I am keen to see where this goes, the references to Flashpoint and Crisis alone make me want to read more. The concept of The Timeless is interesting, as is Molly, a DC counterpart for The Watcher perhaps.

ART: 4/5
Great visuals but as mentioned the fractured nature of the story made things happening difficult to decipher at times;Treating sequences as individual certainly helps and Flash in particular had some great layouts.

COVER: 3/5

The cover wasn’t the best. It feels a bit like The Dungeon At The Heart Of Dawn or Michael Endes’ The Never Ending Story, and I get what they are trying to do but it just isn’t engaging.

ODYSSEY OF THE AMAZONS #2
Writer: Kevin Grevioux
Artist: Ryan Benjamin
Inkers: Don Ho, Richard Friend & Ryan Benjamin
Cover: Ryan Benjamin

Hessia and her team try to battle the Giants but are woefully inept due to their injuries but an intervention by Vikings turns the tide and they escape to recover and learn more about each others cultures.

The Amazons continue to bicker amongst themselves about whether to pursue their seven sisters as many of them seem to be dying in the quest but with steely reserve they decide to put their armour back on and search for the Jotuns.

The seven sisters are now six after one was killed during their imprisonment and the remaining women are met by the Jotun Queen who reveals she intends for Jotuns to impregnate these mighty immortal women to create a race of Master Jotuns mixing the races created by Odin and Zeus.

Elsewhere, the Vikings agree to support the Amazons despite bickering of their own about warrior men fighting alongside warrior women, however a hurdle in their quest arrives in the form of the Valkyries and they are not happy by this team up.

STORY: 3/5
I’m finding the story is engaging and the exploration of both Greek and Norse mythologies along with their preconceptions of each other a thoroughly entertaining read but in the back of my mind I just can’t fathom why this story exists.

As I said it is very well crafted, but we know Wonder Woman happens, so despite the perils and trials they go through we know the ending. As the story is fleshed out more the characters are coming into their own and I will continue reading with curiosity as to how it will impact Diana, if at all.

ART: 3/5
The art continues to stay strong and as certain women come to the fore they too are fleshed out artwise.

The inkers different styles are noticeably different and their effect on the story also makes it feel uneven, there seemed to be much more care and attention paid to the intricacies of the pencils last issue.

COVER: 4/5
The troll with the goofy expression ruined for me what I initially deemed an almost perfect cover. Hessia in the foreground looks awesome and doesn’t overpower the goings on in the background, unfortunately your eyes are still drawn to that troll.

SUPER SONS #1
When I Grow Up…:Part 1
Writer: Peter J Tomasi
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Cover: Jorge Jimenez & Alejandro Sanchez
Variant: Dustin Nguyen

Jon struggles to maintain his powers when he witnesses bullies take on his new meek friend Alan, but Superboy is suspicious when the temporary bus driver intervenes twice to prevent him using his abilities.

Confronting him,he realises it is Damian in disguise, in fact, Robin has been using latex disguises to monitor Jon much to his annoyance.

Batman notices Robin slipping in his studies despite a more than capable intellect and forbids crime fighting until he catches up.

In Hamilton County, Lois & Clark reassure Jon that they are fully behind him, his decisions and bravery against bullies at school

As Jon goes to bed Robin appears and convinces him they need to investigate break ins at Lexcorp as both their fathers are busy.

Soon the pair are crossing rooftops and scaling the walls of the Lexcorp building but trouble comes in the form of Lex himself who confronts the boys in his super armour.

STORY: 5/5
Lots of character exploration with Jon finding his feet at school and keeping his powers in check. It was nice to see, despite their bickering that Damian and Jon really do get on. There seems to be a much closer bond between Damian and Jon than between Bruce and Clark, though perhaps it is their constant and comical battle of wills that adds to their chemistry as a team up.

Everything is balanced from school to family time to the superheroics. Tomasi does a fantastic job of keeping the drama and action constant and it makes for a great read and to go up against Lex in their first official outing? Bring it!

ART: 5/5
Jorge Jimenez does an exceptional job. Everything, and I mean everything is bursting with character. Really enjoying the layouts, the cartoon feel is just perfect and adds to the great dialogue. It is hard to pick a particular page that is stand out but I guess that final page with Lex if my favourite, simply because it promises something I know will live up to the promise.

COVER: 5/5
They kept the Superman/Batman logo!  They have judgy parents hovering in the background looking noble and respectful! Then you have two wild children eager for action and adventure!  If I were to nitpick its that the yellow seems to mute their impact, but overall this is a definite eyecatcher!

Congratulations to Friend of FOG!, Megan Freels Johnston, on the announcement that her film, The Ice Cream Truck has found a distributor!

Home Entertainment and Theatrical Film Distributor Uncork’d Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Megan Freels Johnston’s sophomore feature The Ice Cream Truck.

Uncork’d President Keith Leopard made the deal with the filmmaker, who made her debut on 2014’s Rebound, ahead of the European Film Market in Berlin this week.

The provocative psychological thriller stars Deanna Russo (Being Human, Gossip Girl) as Mary, who moves back to her suburban hometown after her husband gets relocated for work.  As her family ties up loose ends back home, she moves into their new house alone.

And although the move makes Mary nostalgic for her youth, there’s something very sinister about that Ice Cream Truck that patrols her suburb.

Killing.

“Megan Freels Johnston has made a very scary but also very smart film”, says Uncork’d President Keith Leopard. “The film also offers us a unique and refreshing take on a genre dominated largely by men”.

Adds Leopard, “We’re excited to partner with Megan on what’s sure to be an early chapter in her long and illustrious career. I’m very excited about the release of The Ice Cream Truck.”

Says writer-director Megan Freels Johnston : “We are so excited to be working with Uncork’d Entertainment on this film whose niche is a mix of Art House and Horror Films, since The Ice Cream Truck strongly represents both of those genres.”

Storytelling is very much in Freels Johnston’s DNA.  The granddaughter of legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard, The Ice Cream Truck screenplay was a semi-finalist in the Circus Road Screenplay competition.

As a producer developing material for over a decade, Freels Johnston worked on adaptations of her grandfather’s work and produced Sparks, the directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  After completing a project for the USA Network, she decided to follow her passion and write and direct her own material. Her first film, 2014’s micro budget thriller Rebound, developed a cult following on VOD, was called, “Almost David Lynchian in its strangeness” by Film Threat and Rue Morgue said, the film “(was) worth watching to the end for the unnervingly realistic twist ending.”

The Ice Cream Truck also stars John Redlinger (Thirst, Banshee), Emil Johnsen (Isolerad), Hilary Barraford (Go For Sisters), Jeff Daniel Phillips (31) and Lisa Ann Walter (War of the Worlds).

The Ice Cream Truck will be released in 2017.

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown!

We are more than halfway through February so things are looking up!

Let’s talk about Comics shall we?

Batman #17
Written by Tom King
Illustrated by David Finch

Well, this is quite a book. Tom King has been mostly an okay writer on this title…until the latest storyline called “I am Bane.”

For some reason, this story is really working and it is quite cool.

Maybe he finally found his rhythm, this has been great thus far!

Barricading himself within the walls of Arkham Asylum still might not keep Batman and his allies safe from Bane’s assault.

Which one of Bruce’s loved ones will be torn from him next?

King finally has also found a good use for Bane (the first since the Knightfall saga) and it’s working. Finch also seems to have dug out of his slump and it’s a good book all around.

This is part two of the story…can’t wait for part three!

RATING: B+

Aquaman #17
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Scot Eaton

This was kind of a disappointment. After a string of good issues, we come this is one…which is painfully dull. I wish it had more traction to it, but this title sank to the bottom.

Hopefully next issue it picks up again.

An ambassadorial visit to New York City is cut short when Aquaman senses a malevolent telepathic signal coming from deep within the city. An investigation pushes Arthur into the clutches of Warhead, a ferocious monster awakened during Atlantis’ war with the surface.

The art by Eaton doesn’t help matters. Eaton is actually a decent artist, but here the art doesn’t flow. Ah well. They can’t all be winners!

This title can get good when it wants to be. I hope it gets back to that place.

RATING: C

The Wild Storm
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Jon Davis-Hunt

Remember those weird characters from the Wildstorm universe you knew were second rate but you tried liking anyway?

Well, they are back! It probably doesn’t sound exciting…until you add in the fact that Warren Ellis is writing the title.

Then, suddenly, it become a whole pile of awesome. And then inexplicably, it’s at top of your reading list.

A troubled woman, barred by her employer from continuing her research, walks miserably through New York City.

It takes her a moment to notice that everybody else is looking up.

A man has been thrown from the upper floor of the Halo skyscraper.

And that woman—Angela Spica, sick from the transhuman implants she’s buried in her own body—is the only person who can save him.

What she doesn’t know is that the act of saving that one man will tip over a vast and secret house of cards that encloses the entire world, if not the inner solar system. This is how the Wild Storm begins, and it may destroy covert power structures, secret space programs and even all of human history.

This issue resets the Wildstorm universe. Ellis does a great job getting it going again. And the art is just magnificent. This is the complete package. I look forward to seeing where this goes, and the twists and turns ahead.

RATING: A

Harley Quinn # 14
Written by Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti
Illustrated by John Timms and Khari Evans

Another in a line of comic books featuring Harley Quinn’s hijinks. There’s nothing really new here. It’s fun and all. But it starts to wear on you after a while.

Red Tool lives up to his name and Poison Ivy drops by as Harley investigates what is happening to New York’s disappearing homeless population! And that’s all there is to it.

The art by both Timms and Evans is quite good however, and brings this whole book up a notch.

Seriously, you can’t get better artists than the ones that work on this title. I just wish there was some direction for it. Anyway, if you’re a fan you’ll love it, if you’re not you’ll roll your eyes, but you’ll appreciate it.

RATING: B

Superman #17
Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Illustrated by Sebastian Fiumara

Sebastian Fiumara is awesome! I have never heard of him. His art is quite fantastic. It’s dark and reminds me of the old horror comics. It really stands out and makes a good book even better.

And the story is top notch as well.

Jon and Cathy go deep into the woods of Hamilton to find a horror that hungers for the new Superboy!

What they find may surprise them…and the readers!

The writing is spot on in this book as well. Tomasi and Gleason make quite a pair and together they made Superman great again. I hope they stay on this book for a long time. This has been a fairly awesome run and quite a surprise.

RATING: B+

Nightwing #15
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Minkyu Jung

Things slow down a bit for Dick Grayson in this issue and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

This issue is more character driven than previous issues and it gives us a little more insight of who Dick Grayson is.

In the aftermath of the “Blüdhaven” story, Nightwing has embraced his role as the city’s resident hero and met a new love interest, leader of the Run-Offs—but is a relationship between a hero and an ex-villain destined for anything other than heartbreak?

The art is quite cool on this but feels a little more manga. Seeley does a capable job on the script…it’s not thrilling but it’s solid. Not a bad book overall.

RATING: B

Raven #6
Written by Marv Wolfman
Illustrated by Diogenes Neves

This book has been a nice little nugget that has been coming out each month.

Not the top book at DC, but a quiet, character driven piece. It’s a shame that it is the final issue.

Even if Raven is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the city, does she have the strength to pull off such a victory?

Marv Wolfman can write a story like no other. After all this time he still has it. The art by Neves was also very good. There were some nice nuances and I’ll be sad to see this title go.

Let’s hope it’s not long before we see Raven again…and the talents of Wolfman and Neves.

RATING: B

He-Man/Thundercats #5
Written by Lloyd Goldfine and Rob David
Illustrated by Freddie Williams III

This is my guilty pleasure each month.

And it is a pleasure indeed. The writing is fun and silly but man, the art is incredible. Freddie Williams III outdoes himself on this one and I’m truly impressed each and every issue.

When the Ancient Spirits of Evil—behemoths enslaved by Mumm-Ra and Skeletor—attack Castle Grayskull, the crown jewel of Eternia, it’s up to Man-At-Arms, Panthro, Tygra, Teela, Cheetara, Wilykit, Wilykat, Snarf, Orko and a whole host of Masters to protect the Power of Grayskull!

Again, the art is something else here. Williams puts so much passion into this, you cannot believe it.

The details alone are just amazing. Read it. Fill your 7 year old child with glee. This is what you’ve never known you were waiting for.

RATING: B

Mother Panic #3
Written by Jody Houser
Illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards

This has been a strange, worthwhile trip these last three issues.

This look at a different heroine in Gotham City is one of the most intriguing books on the stands. I love it. Jody Houser is a writer that deserves a lot of credit for creating this strange, new world. It’s great.

Mother Panic is hot on the trail of the murderous artist Gala!

Only one person stands in her way…Batwoman?! Is there a place for Violet among the heroes of Gotham City, or will her quest for vengeance take her down a darker path?

This issue also features an original “Gotham Radio” back-up feature by Jim Krueger and Phil Hester which is really wonderful as well.

Tommy Lee Edwards does a great job on the art. He will be missed when he departs coming up. He frames the world incredibly well and I’m just enthralled by his artwork. Pick this up and take a peek at one of the best books on the stands.

RATING: A

And The Rest…

Green Lanterns #17
Written by Sam Humphries
Illustrated by Eduardo Panisica
The art in this book by Panisica is quite phenomenal. It makes up for the ho-hum story. Still, it’s pretty to look at. With a better writer? This could be a top notch title. Right now?
RATING: B-

Lucifer #15
Written by Richard Kadrey
Illustrated by Lee Garbett
The art again in this book is very good. The story is decent as well…Kadrey could be a writer to watch. Together, they weave a unique tale of mysticism. A decent book overall.
RATING: B

Teen Titans Go! #20
Written and Illustrated by Various
Published by DC Comics
My seven year old daughter Callie gives this comic book an A plus. The stories are fun and man, it feels like the cartoon is alive on these pages. Fun for all ages!
RATING: A +

Unfollow #16
Written by Rob Williams
Illustrated by Mike Dowling
This is the book that proves Rob Williams can write! This is hell of a book. Why can’t he write like this on Suicide Squad? Also, Dowling is a hell of an artist. Thumbs up.
RATING: B+

Trinity #6
Written by Francis Manapul
Illustrated by Emanuela Lupacchino

The writing on this book is soft. It’s another case though, of a comic with okay writing and beautiful art. Lupacchino is a talent that I would love to see on a stronger book with a stronger writer.
RATING: B-

Produced by Arnon Milchan,
Gore Verbinski, David Crockett
Screenplay by Justin Haythe
Story by Justin Haythe, Gore Verbinski
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Starring Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs,
Mia Goth, Adrian Schiller, Celia Imrie,
Ashok Mandanna, Harry Groener

What, exactly, defines wellness?

Is it our physical health?  Our mental state? Our success and wealth? Our social standing and class? An inexplicable combination?

What makes us “well” is but one of the many mysteries that exist within Gore Verbinski’s A Cure for Wellness, a film that proves itself a perfect fit for the arguably visionary director, whose eclectic career has spanned the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Mousehunt (1997), The Mexican (2001), The Ring (2002), The Weather Man (2005), Rango (2011) and The Lone Ranger (2013).

From slapstick to horror, animation to effects-driven blockbusters, Verbinski has established himself as a highly productive and polished filmmaker with a knack for turning out efficient, if not extraordinary cinematic works (haters will hate, but The Lone Ranger is damn impressive).

A Cure for Wellness, however, is the first film of Verbinski’s that truly feels tailor-made for his storytelling sensibilities and visual panache. The film is a beautifully shot affair of psychological horrors that focuses less on things that go bump in the night, and more so on what lurks deep within us all.

Captured by the lens of Bojan Bazelli (who previously collaborated with Verbinski on The Ring and The Lone Ranger, as well as shooting last year’s magnificent Pete’s Dragon), the film provides a feast of dark delights among its gorgeously composed frames. So much of this film is perceived through an eye that expertly blends haunting distances and uneasy close ups. It employs an almost-perfectionist sense of symmetry that always feels menacing and never quite right. Characters are captured through reflections, distortions and magnifications, via unique angles aimed at mirrors, or through half-filled drinking glasses, or from under water. Verbinski never feels satisfied to direct this story in a conventional manner, and the unorthodox nature of A Cure for Wellness is what ultimately makes it so great.

The story itself is where many will ultimately find faults, but for every moment where the screenplay finds itself silly and straining, there are two moments where the story is clever, cunning and at times even terrifying.

Dane DeHaan stars as Lockhart, an ambitious young executive sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from a strange “wellness center” atop a hill in the Swiss Alps. Once he’s arrived, it seemingly becomes impossible to escape, and Lockhart finds himself trapped in a situation and place that is never quite what it seems.

Viewers will certainly pick up on visual and plot-related echoes of Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, but on a thematic level the film has more in common with the director’s most recent film, Silence. Allegories and nuances of faith, mortality and the horrors of man maintain a stubborn presence throughout the film. Putting aside its periodic follies, this is a tale that insists you dwell on its many intricacies after the fact.

It’s also worth mentioning that DeHaan, with this film, has set himself up for grand opportunities as a leading man. (Drawing back to Shutter Island, this kid seems poised to become the next DiCaprio). With his chilling yet handsome stare, intimidating screen presence and a dynamic mix of reserved calm and unhinged chaos, DeHaan irrefutably dominates the screen.

A Cure for Wellness is a strikingly ambitious work—one of the most daring and inspired mainstream releases of recent memory. Its aesthetic palette is German expressionism remixed with gothic shades of Guillermo del Toro, and its story mirrors the chilling tones of horror pioneers like Poe and King. The voice is all Verbinski though, and this time he’s louder than he’s ever been before. It feels like witnessing the work of a talented builder previously limited to just a hammer and a couple of nails. A Cure for Wellness gives Verbinski the entire toolbox, and the construction is all the more masterful because of this.

Meet Barack ‘Barrie OB’ Obama, urban forager and burgeoning ukulele player; ‘Hilly’ Clinton, noted jeansmith and heritage denim brand pioneer; and Queen Elizabeth II, normcore fashion goddess and much-vaunted culture-jamming DJ.This set of 20 postcards re-imagines the biggest world leaders as modern-day hipsters. Send one to a friend and see the world in a whole new light!

Created by Amit Shimoni, the Hipstory project has been shown in galleries worldwide. Shimoni graduated with distinction from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, he now lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and their dog, Adam.

Below are some excerpts from the book, plus learn how you can win a copy!

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Abe Lincoln, Alt-Country legend, pioneer of pallbearer chic, liberator of slaves and all round badass remains one of the most enduring of all hipster icons. Not only has he built log cabins with his bare hands and won first place in the Freestyle Beard Category at the trans-continental Facial Hair Championships two years in succession, he has also opened the world’s first hand-pulled pork franchise in Wicker Park, Chicago.

BARACK OBAMA
Having recently been made redundant, former CEO Barrie O.B. is already making the most of his free time and has signed up for classes in urban foraging, beekeeping, taxidermy and Kokedama (the Japanese art of sculpting moss balls). He is also learning to play the ukulele and insists on subjecting visitors, VIPs and startled heads of state to selections from Morrissey’s back catalogue.

DONALD TRUMP
Believe it or not, businessman, politician and all-American braggart, Donald ‘Darko’ Trump actually has a sensitive side. He owns every Wes Anderson film on Betamax, he unwinds with the love poetry of Sufi master Rumi and re-reads Sylvia Plath’s Ariel at least twice a year. During a recent interview, Trump claimed that a 2008 Arcade Fire live show made him cry and that experience has taught him that ‘the greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go’.

HILLARY CLINTON
Clinton Denim Workshop is a small-batch, hand-crafted American heritage denim brand founded by devoted husband-and-wife team Hilly and ‘Bonnie Prince’ Billy Clinton – and their team of jeansmiths – in the heart of the Appalachians. Made on authentic seventeenth-century Flemish shuttle looms the denim is produced with the finest milled organic cotton. Each pair of jeans is handstitched and signed by either Hilly, Billy, or one of their dedicated team of young interns.

JOHN F. KENNEDY
Having recently made a killing by investing in a Portland-based start-up importing sustainably harvested bamboo-framed sunglasses, trustafarian former heartthrob J. Fitzgerald Kennedy can nowadays be found in Brooklyn’s most fashionable cold-pressed juice bars, hunched over his battered pre-war typewriter and working on his debut novel with his rescue bulldog, Oswald, at his feet. He describes the work-in-progress as a ‘mash-up’ of Murakami, James Franco, Jonathan Lethem and David Foster Wallace.

MARTIN LUTHER KING
Dr. King Jr. recently collaborated with Diplo on a remix album of his most famous speeches which he plans to release as a vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day. Dr. King is also about to launch ‘I Have a Dream’, his new range of hand-dyed, street art-inspired baguette tote bags, embroidered linens and rumpled-khaki sportswear.

NELSON MANDELA
Long-admired as a global peace icon, Nelson has more recently been making headlines around the world for other reasons: he is officially recognized as the first man to have ever taken a selfie in American Apparel and post the result on Instagram, receiving 2.3 million ‘likes’ in the process. He was wearing a 1960s Hawaiian ‘Kilauea volcano’ print shirt over a vintage New Order T-shirt at the time.

MAHATMA GANDHI
When Indian Slow Tech guru Mahatma ‘Karmacoma’ Gandhi first arrived in the West during the dark ages of the late 1990s, he was horrified. ‘I couldn’t find a decent green chai latte anywhere! It was enough to drive me to acts of violent resistance!’ Thankfully, those days are long gone. However, ‘The Mahatma’ still insists on certain standards when it comes to his favourite beverages: ‘My coffee must be double-filtered because, as far as I’m concerned, single-filtering is strictly for Imperialists’.

WINSTON CHURCHILL
Having kicked Fascism’s ass during the 1940s, Winnie ‘Buns of Steel’ Churchill reinvented himself as a fitness guru and is now the CEO of Blood, Toil, Tears & Sweat – a successful chain of boutique health spas. An enthusiastic early adopter of bikram yoga and mindfulness meditation, Winnie has made sure his clubs offer classes in everything from ballet to boxfit and from soulcycle to vinyasa flow.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Britain’s longest-serving monarch and Normcore fashion goddess, Elizabeth R is also the undisputed Queen of the Mixtape. Her most recent release, ‘Flowers in the Dustbin’ is available exclusively on cassette and eight-track and its eclectic mix of dreampop, freak folk, Japanese rockabilly, Congolese polyphonic Pygmy chants and vintage field recordings of exorcisms has been described as ‘a culture-jamming future classic’.

And we’re giving away 3 copies!

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

What world figure is in most need of a makeover?

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 March 5th, 2017.

It’s like Christmas all over again! Some new items shipped to comic book shops and specialty stores this week from Diamond Select Toys, both hotly anticipated!

First up is the Alien Vinimates Vinyl Figure of the Big Chap from 1979. Next up are the Nightmare Before Christmas Santa Jack and Santa Sally dolls, available in solo coffins as well as in a limited edition double-wide with exclusive head sculpts. And finally, there’s the full assortment of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Select Action Figures, with Rose, Super Brainz, Kernel Corn, Captain Deadbeard and more!

Read on for details, then reserve yours at your local comic shop!

Alien Vinimates Big Chap Vinyl Figure

A Diamond Select Toys Release! In space, no one can hear you scream with delight at the newest Alien Vinimates vinyl figure! This time, DST is revisiting the original 1979 film, to capture the original “Big Chap” Alien in the Minimates block-figure style. This 4-inch vinyl figure features an articulated neck, so you can customize his pose, and comes packaged in a full-color window box. (Item #NOV162418, SRP: $9.99)

Nightmare Before Christmas Santa Jack Coffin Doll Unlimited Edition

A Diamond Select Toys release! The star of the stop-motion animation holiday classic Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is back, and Christmas will never be the same! With an all-new head sculpt, this unlimited, single-packed 16” doll of Jack Skellington in his Santa Claus outfit features a real cloth costume over a fully poseable body, with 12 points of articulation. Packaged in a coffin-shaped window box! (Item #SEP162539, SRP: $49.99

Nightmare Before Christmas Santa Sally Coffin Doll Unlimited Edition

A Diamond Select Toys release! The leading lady of the stop-motion animation holiday classic Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is back, and Christmas will never be the same! With an all-new head sculpt, this unlimited, single-packed 14” doll of Sally the Rag Doll in her Santa Claus outfit features a real cloth costume over a fully poseable body, with hidden internal articulation at the knees and elbows. Packaged in a coffin-shaped window box. (Item #AUG162564, SRP: $49.99)

Plants Vs. Zombie: Garden Warfare 2 Select Action Figures Series 1 Asst.

A Diamond Select Toys Release! It’s the revenge of the vegetables! In the sequel to the hit game PvZ: Garden Warfare, the Plants are battling back against the victorious Zombies, and once again DST lets you bring the battle to your own backyard! This new assortment of four multi-packs includes Kernel Corn (with Butter Assault) vs. Captain Deadbeard (with Parrot Pal), Rose (with Debuffed Goat) vs. Super Brainz (with Electric Lightning Turret), Peashooter (with Toxic Shroom Turret) vs. Browncoat Disco Zombie (with Laser Turret), and Weed (with various accessories) vs. Soldier Zombie (with Rocket Turret). Each figure measures approximately 4-6” tall, and features multiple points of articulation, and each Plant-Zombie pair is packaged in display-ready Select packaging, with spine artwork for shelf reference. Sculpted by Oluf W. Hartvigson! (Item #JUL162603, SRP: $24.99/ea.)

Find a comic shop at comicshoplocator.com!

Last year, internationally best-selling novelist Margaret Atwood took the plunge and wrote her first story in the comics medium, teaming up with acclaimed artist Johnnie Christmas to collaborate on Angel Catbird, an original graphic novel.

In the book, A young genetic engineer is accidentally mutated by his own experiment when his DNA is merged with that of a cat and an owl. The cat pun filled, humorous, action-driven, pulp-inspired superhero adventure was the latest project for Christmas, co-creator and artist of the series Sheltered and Pisces. 

Johnnie took some time between working on his own comic, Firebug, currently being published in Island Magazine and the third volume of Angel Catbird to discuss the second volume, To Castle Catula, in stores this week, with Forces of Geek.

*  *  *  *  *

FOG!: How did you get the job illustrating Angel Catbird?  Were you approached by Margaret Atwood, or were you approached by Dark Horse?

Johnnie Christmas: I was approached by Hope Nicholson who was working with Margaret Atwood, when the project was just a twinkle in Margaret’s eye. Hope went out and gathered samples from various artists that she knew. She sent them over to Margaret and, happily, Margaret liked my work.

Although Margaret’s career as a writer is both legendary and distinguished, going into the project you had more experience working in graphic storytelling.  What was the collaboration like?  Did she write full script or just plot? 

The collaboration is very easy-going and things came together quite steadily. Margaret wrote full scripts, as one would expect for a comic book with this much action and dialogue. However, the scripts had a vitality while at the same time, being succinct. Communicating the needs of the story with clear-eyed efficiency.

The writing style of the book is often reminiscent of Silver Age Marvel Comics.  Your art and layouts in this book are also noticeably cleaner and simpler than much of your other work.  Was this a conscious decision to adjust your art to the story?

I try to adapt my art “style”, to suit the needs of every project I work on. Think about it, Steven Spielberg released Jurassic Park 2 and Amistad in the same year. If they were both shot the same way, they wouldn’t have served the films or their respective audiences properly. So if I drew everything the same way, as I moved from story to story across projects and genres it wouldn’t make any sense. Not to mention, would do a great disservice to the story and the reader (and myself). So for this story I needed to adapt my “style” to be lighter, leaner, funner, so that the world of Angel Catbird could shine through.

Is there a particular character design that you are particularly proud of? 

I am particularly proud of Angel Catbird’s design. It was a unique challenge to put together the feline and aviary aspects and attributes into one creature. It was fun and challenging, in the best sense of the word.

Who or what have been the biggest influences on your art?

Jeez that is one big question. Hmm, there isn’t ONE big influence on my art, there are many. Art is just expressing an idea or world-view by whatever means a given individual thinks is the best way of communicating it. So until we figure out this telepathy thing, we’re stuck with ink, paint, words, dance, film, etc., to clumsily try to get these ideas and feelings across.

So let’s see… Paul Gauguin is a big influence, Toni Morrison, Marc Chagall, Gustav Klimt, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. As are Bill Sienkiewicz, Mike Mignola, Jaime Hernandez. Nick Bantock inspired me to dance between words and pictures in a new way. Robert Rauschenberg. Ella Fitzgerald… Yeah way too many to list. Many many influences, that feed into the river of inspiration that leads from Head to Brush.

In addition to the upcoming Angel Catbird Volume 3, what else do you have coming up?

I am writing and drawing a graphic novel called Firebug to be published by Image Comics. Then there are other things that I am currently writing and developing, that I’ll hopefully be able to talk about in the months of come.

What are you currently geeking out over?

Currently I’m well into The Pharos Gate by Nick Bantock, 100 Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg and I stumbled across a giant tome called The Book of Symbols that was printed by Taschen. Also, I really dug Rogue One.

Angel Catbird Volume 2: To Castle Catula is available now

All art by Johnnie Christmas and Tamra Bonvillian

Produced by Brunson Green, Charlie Mason,
Rick McCallum, Cameron McCracken,
Justin Moore-Lewy, David Oyelowo
Screenplay by Guy Hibbert
Based on Colour Bar by Susan Williams
Directed by Amma Asante
Starring David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike,
Terry Pheto, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton,
Abena Ayivor, Vusi Kunene

We are at an interesting time in cinema, where true stories that may have been common knowledge in their immediate geographical area are finding their way to the big screen.

Certainly the entire black community around Langley knew of the black female computers at NASA long before Hidden Figures. In A United Kingdom, we are able to see the controversial love story that eventually led to the first democratically elected king of Botswana. A well-known story overseas, this is a lovely but restrained introduction to the rest of the world.

Inspired by true events, the film follows the romance between Prince Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) of Bechuanaland (known today as Botswana) and Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a white English clerk. After meeting during his years at Oxford, Khama married Ruth despite the disapproval of his uncle, the British government, and Botswana’s apartheid-friendly neighbor South Africa. Through banishment and strife, the two persevered for the sake of the country that both called home.

The film gives little backstory to either lead, preferring to jump to their meeting within minutes of the start. This treatment is unfortunate for two reasons. Though we can assume something about the motives or upbringing of an African prince trained in law at Oxford, there is no basis for any of Ruth’s actions outside of “woman in love”. While that is a force that can move mountains, it can make many of her actions seem as if she were completely dependent on Seretse for strength of character. On the other end, the brief look into their courtship makes it seems as if Seretse made this decision after a semester abroad though in reality they were together for over a year before marrying. While the mechanism for the montage (sending jazz records back and forth) is both sweet and a clever nod to the period, it does not give a good enough sense of the passage of time to dispel doubts about rash decisions. Thankfully the pacing of the rest of the movie is spot on.

Director Amma Asante carefully balances the love story against the political drama. When Seretse appeals to his countrymen to accept his wife rather than play into racial segregation his speech reinforces his dedication to wife and homeland at the same time. Throughout the film moments of bureaucratic strife are blended with the tenderness of personal relationships in a way that is lovely if not a bit prim. It’s hard to decide whether Asante’s take on this story is overly polite and demure, or if she wishes to match the cold and calculating stoicism of the British government to a consistently graceful determination in Seretse and Ruth. Each time the opportunity to go further into anger, sorrow, or love is presented the movie shies away from the extra step. The vulnerability is always explored, but the rawer examples of passion are noticeably missing.

The performances in the movie across the board were engrossing, and showed a great eye for casting. While it was a shame that David Oyelowo was passed over for his work in Selma, he brings a combination of command and gentility to his portrayal of Seretse. Even scenes of open weeping add nobility rather than weakness. Rosamund Pike is absolutely believable as an enamored office girl turned “fish out of water” turned savvy political complement to Seretse. Her careful but unwavering strength makes it easy to see why he would risk a kingdom to have her by his side.

As they move from England to Africa, the mood shifts considerably. The wet gray streets in London come off exactly as stark and unfeeling as they must have seemed to the couple.

Conversely the warmth, beauty, and richness of the sweeping plains of Bechuanaland immediately conveys a sense of home. The attention to detail for costuming gives us government figures in sharp suits, white women with impeccably crafted curls, and a mixture of western clothing and traditional dress for the women and men of Botswana that show the influence of their colonizers. There is no denying this film is beautifully shot.

A United Kingdom works equally well as a period romance piece or political drama. If anything it is hard to pinpoint whether this is a love story with a side of historical turmoil or vice versa. Whichever way you may see it, this film is a heartwarming addition to the canon of untold true stories which are both universally appealing and relatable in their humanity.

Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment bring one of the most momentous Teen Titans plotlines in comics history to animated life with the all-new, feature-length film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Inspired by the 1984 DC story arc from Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on April 18, 2017.

The landmark Teen Titans story will be available on Blu-ray Deluxe Giftset ($39.99 SRP), Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP) and DVD ($19.98 SRP) starting April 18, 2017.  The Blu-ray Combo Pack includes the movie in high definition on Blu-ray Disc, a DVD, and a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet*. The Blu-ray Deluxe Edition will include all components of the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, along with an exclusive figurine of Blue Beetle in a numbered, limited edition gift set. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract will be released via Digital HD on April 4, 2017.

Led by Starfire, the Teen Titans – Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle, Robin and the just-returned Nightwing – have built a cohesive team in their never-ending battle against evil; but their newest teammate, the mysterious, and powerful Terra, may be altering that dynamic. Meanwhile, an ancient evil, Brother Blood, has awakened, and familiar foe Deathstroke is lurking in the shadows – both waiting to pounce. Ultimately, the Teen Titans will need to battle their enemies and their own doubts to unite and overcome the malicious forces around them, in this twisting tale of intrigue, adventure and deception.

Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow, The Addams Family) and the late Miguel Ferrer (NCIS: Los Angeles, RoboCop, Crossing Jordan) join the already established Teen Titans voice cast as Terra and Deathstroke, respectively. Returning Titans actors include Sean Maher (Firefly/Serenity, Batman: Bad Blood) as Nightwing, Stuart Allan (Batman vs. Robin, Batman: Bad Blood) as Robin/Damian, Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story) as Raven, Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place, The Fosters) as Blue Beetle, Brandon Soo Hoo (Tropic Thunder, From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series) as Beast Boy, and Kari Wahlgren (Phineas and Ferb, Legion of Superheroes) as Starfire. Gregg Henry (Scandal, The Killing, Payback) voices the villainous Brother Blood.

The voice cast also includes Maria Canals-Barrera (Wizards of Waverly Place) as Jaime’s mother, Meg Foster (They Live) as Mother Mayhem, Crispin Freeman (Justice League Action, Batman: Arkham games) as Speedy,  Masasa Moyo (Young Justice) as Bumblebee, David Zayas (Gotham, Dexter) as Jaime’s father, Jason Spisak (Young Justice) as Kid Flash, and Kevin Smith (Clerks, Geeking Out) as … himself.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is directed by Sam Liu (Batman: The Killing Joke) from a screenplay by Ernie Altbacker (Justice League Dark). Sam Register is Executive Producer; James Tucker (Batman Bad Blood, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders) is Supervising Producer; and Alan Burnett (Justice League vs. Teen Titans) is co-Producer.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract Enhanced Content

Blu-ray Deluxe Giftset, Blu-ray Combo Pack & Digital HD

• Sneak Peek – Batman and Harley Quinn: Sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie, Batman and Harley Quinn, featuring the talented creators and voice cast.
• Featurette – Titanic Minds: Wolfman and Perez: This revealing documentary explores a creative partnership that has lasted decades as Marv Wolfman and George Pérez come together to discuss their careers and one of the most famous runs in Teen Titan history, The Judas Contract.
• Featurette – Villains United—Deathstroke: When the super-soldier Deathstroke appears, the forces of good will be in the fight of their lives. This short featurette reveals the origin and unique abilities of this villain.
• Additional Sneak Peeks
• From the DC Comics Vault – Two Bonus Cartoons (Blu-ray Deluxe Giftset and Blu-ray Combo Pack only)

DVD

• Sneak Peek – Batman and Harley Quinn:  Sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie, Batman and Harley Quinn, featuring the talented creators and voice cast.

After surviving eight near-death accidents throughout his unlucky life, Louis Drax (Aiden Longworth) plunges off a steep cliff on his ninth birthday. While police investigate the cause of Louis’s near-fatal fall and the whereabouts of his violent father, Peter (Aaron Paul), acclaimed neurologist Dr. Allan Pascal (Jamie Dornan) uses unorthodox techniques to try to tap into the boy’s unconscious mind and reveal the truth about the events that led to his condition. But as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of Louis’s seeming ability to cheat death, the doctor finds himself falling for Louis’s mother, Natalie (Sarah Gadon). As new clues emerge in the case, a shocking revelation changes the fates of Louis Drax and everyone around him.

And we’re giving away 5 copies!

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

Jamie Doran plays “Paul Spector” on this British 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 February 26th, 2017.

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, all of Tinseltown is prepping for the massive undertaking of bringing Hollywood charm into millions of homes so that the industry can pat itself on the back.

Please make no mistake, it is massively entertaining as well. And it takes a lot of work to capture that magic. But it doesn’t seem that long ago that the Academy swung and missed in spectacular fashion in a moment that will live in TV infamy known as, “The Worst Academy Awards Number Ever.”

YouTube and the Internet has been scrubbed by ABC of any evidence of the full video, but the horror of the “tribute to Hollywood” remains in the minds of everyone who watched the telecast back in 1989.

To understand what happened, is to understand the mastermind, producer Alan Carr, a musical comedy man who previously produced Grease. Carr recently took in the musical Beach Blanket Babylon and wanted to craft an opening number that was a tribute to the big Hollywood musical numbers of yesteryear.

To quote Samuel Johnson, “Hell is paved with good intentions.”

Carr wanted to mix Hollywood icons with newer, fresher stars as they pay tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Featuring a dead-behind-the-eyes Snow White as she squeaks her way to the Hollywood, represented by a shoddy, makeshift Coconut Grove with Merv Griffin as the host.

The 12-minute features off-key songs by both the non-sanctioned Disney princess and Griffin as they attempt to capture the style of an old-fashioned variety show, which included Merv’s classic tune “I’ve Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts.”

Yeah. This happened. And this was only the first few minutes.

Rob Lowe appears to take Snow to the Oscars, where the two launch into their own version of “Proud Mary” with lyrics meant to fit the audience…

If the audience was tone deaf and hated Hollywood. And possibly music as a whole.

How bad was it? Well…

• Producer Carr never worked again

• Disney would file a complaint over ABC (this was before the Mouse owned the Alphabet) over the use of the Snow White character, despite the fact that the character was in the public domain

• Industry icons including Julie Andrews, Gregory Peck and Paul Newman signed an open letter calling the telecast “”an embarrassment to both the Academy and the entire motion picture industry”

• And every year, some schmuck with a keyboard writes a tribute to it, so that it is never forgotten (Hi!)

On the bright side, Mayim Bialik seemed to weather the opening number well, as her career seemed to recover nicely.

The other takeaway is that proven funnymen scribe Bruce Vilanch and comedian Billy Crystal were brought in the following year to help get Oscars back on track.

And from that moment forward, while there might be a few misses, there is nothing as off-the-rails or as career ending as Snow White’s first trip to the Oscars.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to be gifted a PS4 recently. This very unexpected addition to our living room is rather exciting as it means I am able to play all those PlayStation exclusives I’ve missed out on over the past few years. I soon began making a mental list of all the games I’ll be adding to my wish list over the next few months and it led me to consider other exclusives and how they have the ability to create loyalty to a particular console.

I’ve touched on this subject before while writing about the days of Sega v Nintendo console wars. A time when I witnessed actual fights on the school playground over whether Sonic our Mario was better. Perhaps console loyalty has been ingrained into the gaming industry ever since as the console debate has never really dissipated and there are countless online forums that obsess and systematically argue each consoles case seemingly without end.

At first, it appears that loyalty to a particular company has nothing to do with making a direct choice. For most of us, our first console was chosen and bought for us by our parents. I lived in a house with a Commodore 64 and an Atari 2600 but the very first games console I was bought was a Sega Master System. I had no choice but to be one the Sega side of the 1990s console wars. I saw friends and cousins with Nintendo consoles and it always seemed like the grass was greener yet I discovered they had the same feelings towards my console. As it turned out, the whole console loyalty thing was a bit of a farce.

After that revelation, I began playing on Nintendo consoles and found them equally as enjoyable.  Right up until the Wii U, I had owned or played on almost all of the Nintendo consoles and that was in part due to my love of Hyrule. Being an avid devotee of The Legend of Zelda games I felt bound to Nintendo in a way that I wasn’t to other gaming companies.

Sure, back then I still loved Sega and there’s no denying Sega will always be close to my heart but Nintendo had created my all-time favourite game series (I have the Tri-Force on my wedding ring)! My console loyalty back then was down to a singular game, not a particular console, though given the consoles I’ve owned or had access to I don’t appear to have a singular loyalty throughout my entire life.

My sister and I were far more spoilt than I realised at the time because we also owned an original PlayStation and later, PS2 complete with broken dance mat but I rarely played on it, probably because it lived in my sister’s bedroom and the only time I ever played it was when I would sneak home early from school, draw the curtains and try to scare myself in the dark while playing survival horrors like Resident Evil or Silent Hill.

I worked part-time in a souvenir shop near the Tower of London soon after finishing high school. The pay wasn’t great but I was only 17 and I wasn’t particularly fazed by it, I was just happy to be utilising my linguistic skills and helping out tourists.

One of the first things I bought for with my hard earned wages was a second hand original Xbox, a friend of mine worked at a games store and was upgrading to a snazzy green see-through customised Xbox and wanted to sell his old one (which was hardly ‘old’ given that it was still 2002 – the year of its release). Naturally I jumped at the chance and spent a whole £60 of my new wages on it (I think we can all agree that mates rates are the best)!

It was then I became engrossed in Xbox exclusive and flagship title, Halo: Combat Evolved and regularly attended LAN parties with my friends. These formative years not only shaped me as a person but as a gamer too and I attach an incredible amount of fondness to the Halo series because of it. I hadn’t completely neglected Nintendo though, I was still playing on my Gamecube regularly and investing countless hours of my life to it.

When the time came to go to university, I had a dilemma. I debated taking both my Xbox and my GameCube. I couldn’t take the PS2 of course as that belonged mostly to my sister and wouldn’t be fair (apparently). The room I was moving into was small and so began my first attempt at being an adult… I made a choice.

It was not an easy decision to make but I hypothesised that I wouldn’t have a great deal of time to play single player campaign games and couldn’t rely on my new friends to also own an Xbox for LAN parties or online multiplayer gaming. University is a social place and so I deduced that multiplayer games would be important, that’s what drove my decision in bringing my GameCube with me. Perhaps it was also in part down to that Nintendo loyalty that existed deep within me because of the Zelda franchise.

I think that’s why console loyalty is sometimes so fervent, it’s feeling part of something in the same way people rally around a certain sports team and declare themselves such passionate die hard fans. By spending time with other like-minded fans and engrossing yourself with a particular brand, you’re reinforcing your decision and psychologically boosting your ego. It’s no wonder forums full of angsty people declaring their console to be the best exist in such excess.

The same could be said of your preferred political party, your favourite colour, what side of the bed you sleep on or any number of choices you make. Humans naturally want acceptance and inclusion but we’re all cursed with fragility. It doesn’t take very much to send us hurtling over the edge, only to experience an existential crisis. We make decisions and when we surround ourselves with people who have made the same choice we feel vindicated and secure even if our decision turns out to be the wrong one.

Nostalgia is also a huge factor, the past is a tempting place and we often yearn to back in those “good old days” when games were simpler and fun, when in reality the more we hold onto the past, the further away we are from the exciting future ahead of us.

It’d be hypocritical of me to bash fans who indulge in nostalgia – I do it all the time and I’m doing it right now in talking about my gaming past! Instead, think about this; if games companies stopped pandering to fans who dislike change and demand more of the same, we might see less sequels and more original titles.

The privileged part of brain is reminding me to check myself because of course, console loyalty can have very little whatsoever to do with particular games, nostalgia and our fragile human nature and can be more accurately determined by social and financial status.

And indeed, those of us who own just one console should consider ourselves fortunate and those of us who have the resources to decide which one those to own are pretty damn lucky. Of course there are those of you reading this who think console loyalty is absolute rubbish because you can afford to own all of them…just know, you’re terrible people.

You don’t need to justify your console loyalty or lack thereof to anyone because in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t important. I don’t believe that one forum user I saw declaring that they would genuinely fight someone to the death to make their point. As gamers we’re all just over-privileged, fragile humans who would likely change their minds if they actually did have to fight to the death over something so trivial.

Though, if that were the case I’d definitely opt for a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome system complete with a screeching Tina Turner.

But before you rally with me, chanting “Two men enter! One man leaves!” in unison, let’s take a moment to remember that no one actually cares about console loyalty…well, unless you’re one of those superior, snobby, hardware obsessed, PC building gamers.

This April, TwoMorrows Publishing releases their new book Hero-A-Go-Go, which travels back to the 1960s, when good guys beat bad guys with both a pun and a punch. By the time Adam West was doing the Batusi on TV’s Batman show, the Camp Craze was already in full swing in comics books (The Teen Titans, Metamorpho, Herbie the Fat Fury), cartoons (The Mighty Heroes, Atom Ant, and Filmation’s super-hero shows), and even Prime Time television (The Green Hornet, Mr. Terrific, and Captain Nice).

For this book, author Michael Eury exhaustively researched that era’s output, to lovingly recall the good, bad, and downright awful of Camp culture. It features such notable talents as Ralph Bakshi (The Mighty Heroes and Spider-Man cartoons), Bill Mumy (“Will Robinson” from Lost in Space), Dean Torrence (“Jan & Dean Meet Batman”), Joe Sinnott (The Beatles comic book), Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho), Jose Delbo (The Monkees comic book), Bob Holiday (Superman from “It’s a Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s Superman” in his final interview), and many others.

“There’s no exact moment when the ’60s Camp Age commenced,” opines Eury. “No single movie or comic book or TV show or cartoon one can cite. Somewhere along the way, comic-book writers attempted to replicate the up-and-coming Marvel Comics, but played it so over-the-top, their efforts made drag-queen stage shows seem restrained. The TV and music industries caught this fever, and produced a hodgepodge of standup comedians moonlighting as crime-crushers, and shaggy-haired singing heartthrobs and goofballs swaying a generation of girls and boys. The comic books, television, and music of my childhood took my mind off of how scary the real world could be, and brought a smile to my face. This book will do the same for anyone who remembers that era.”

In addition to coverage of pivotal comic books of the Camp Age, Hero-A-Go-Go features dozens of full-color photographs and illustrations of such notorious relics as the “Superman and the Giant Cyclops” wax exhibit from the 1964 World’s Fair, the Palisades Amusement Park and its comics-themed rides of the 1960s, ancillary items like the line of Batman Dairy Products and Pop-Tarts super-hero premiums, Signet paperback book collections of comics, the Spy craze from Bond to U.N.C.L.E., and the Cowsills‘ and Archies‘ pop music careers.

This full-color trade paperback is 272 pages long, and retails for $36.95. It ships April 19, 2017 in both print and digital editions, and may be pre-ordered now through TwoMorrows Publishing’s website (www.twomorrows.com), comic and bookstores through Diamond Comic/Book Distributors, on Amazon.com, and through the TwoMorrows app on the Apple and Android platforms.

I hate Gregg Araki. I despise his films and feel he is one of the worst and yet somehow most pretentious filmmakers of the 1990’s. The Doom Generation is easily the WORST film of the 1990’s… of this there is no debate. So if I tell you that his 2000 MTV pilot This Is How The World Ends is a horrendous pile of pompous arrogant hollow trash, it should not surprise you.

This pilot is trying so hard to be quirky and different that it fails at EVERYTHING. I think he is attempting to make a teen angst live action cartoon (a good idea if a real director was behind it) but This Is How The World Ends is irritatingly awful. Complete vapid rubbish desperately pretending that it has depth and meaning. A wholly misunderstanding of why Stephen Sayadian and Michael Ninn are able to make something surreal and yet pointed. This thing is a dayglo masturbatory hatefuck to the very idea of quirky art.

What’s it’s about? 44 minutes too long.

The plot (if you can call it that) is that our main ‘character’ Casper is a spoiled rich kid who has everything he could ever want and is unhappy because the girl he loves (Christmas. Yes, her name is Christmas) is dating everyone on the planet besides him.

Shot in the cheap knock off version of Rinse Dream with almost cartoon sound effects this is such a hard sit. Seriously this is one of the longest 44 minutes I have ever spent in my life. Originally made for MTV they passed on it in a moment of pure wisdom and enlightenment lest we would have been subjected to perhaps a season of his obnoxious bullshit series.

Michael J. Anderson has an EMBARRASSING cameo as a CD buyer singing Sugar Ray songs. I felt ashamed for him. Legitimate shame. This being made for MTV it is very music centered almost to the point that showcasing songs seems to be the point. The end credits even feature the CD covers to all the songs used.

You won’t listen to me and you will watch it so you have no one to blame but yourselves.

“And there’s my luck!”

Karen Sisco was the best series of 2003, hands down.

Every episode was funny, smart and very much subverted expectations. It lasted only 10 episodes before it was unceremoniously murdered by being on right after the inanity that was The Bachelor (which routinely ran over time cutting off the first few minutes of Karen Sisco).

Why is it in a column about unaired pilots? Because it had one… and it had two. Kind of.

Lets back up. The character of Karen Sisco is one of the many recurring elements within Elmore Leonard’s vast series of unique crime novels. Most people might know the character from her portrayal by Jennifer Lopez in the 1998 film Out of Sight. Leonard used the character over and over again and eventually she got her own series in 2003 this time played by the amazing Carla Gugino.

The takes on the characters from Lopez to Gugino play out quite different but in essence it’s the same person. In early 2003 a pilot was made for the new series and it was fantastic. Everything worked. Gugino played Sisco as a kick ass and somewhat aloof (yet focused) US Marshal always having to deal with everyone elses problems. The pilot was near perfect and yet ABC was not happy. The pilot was complex and yet easy to follow but ABC was afraid that it might confuse viewers. The pilot sort of also assumed you had seen Out of Sight already.

Alas, ABC ordered a new pilot, one that was more simple and acted as an introduction to the characters and setting in case you were a moron. A traditional pilot if you will. This new pilot (“Blown Away”) was dull and boring and frankly plodding. Needless to say it failed to catch on with viewers. The original pilot was aired as the 3rd episode (with some music changes) and still stands as what should have aired first. After 10 episodes Karen Sisco as a series was gone but she (the character) would appear again (played by Carla Gugino) on Justified a few years later.

Seriously I loved this show… why is this not on DVD yet?

Nikki & Nora was a pilot for UPN about 2 lesbian cops in New Orleans. Yes this is a now a 2013 webseries but in 2004 it was a pilot that was never picked up. The pilot stars Christina Cox and Liz Vassey as the titled Nikki and Nora (just like the current series) who try to balance their love life with each other while being cops.

I will admit I have not seen the webseries so I can’t compare but the 2004 pilot is… weak, but I wager for outside reasons. First off the version I have seems incomplete running at only 36 minutes with some scenes obviously truncated. Second is that UPN seemed very scared of actually allowing the girls to be intimate. Yes, there is dialog about them making love and a small kiss in a bathtub (bubbles make it very PG) but they don’t come off like a real couple. Everything seems so… 2004 network safe. I was not expecting Pornhub style inmate but the UPN relationship is very neutered.

There are real character moments though and the banter and chemistry between the leads is the reason to check this out and not the by the numbers cop plot that surrounds these good moments.

If this had gone to series in 2004 it is doubtful it would have lasted more than a season but it’s hard to tell.

Starstruck was a 1979 attempt to cash in on Star Wars… specially the cantina scene. Now this is not to be confused with the 2003 series StarStruck, this is completely a late 70’s show through and through.

This thing is a shameless (and cheap) cash in on a hot trend but it has some real talent behind it.

Jim Wynorski was a PA on this, Dick Durock (Swamp Thing) shows up at one point and Forrest J. Ackerman even has a cameo. That said… this pretty bad, but not in an offensive way like every Araki touches… this is very nearly charmingly bad.

Shot on low quality video tape (I have seen Doctor Who episodes from this same era that looked cleaner) this feels like a rejected spin-off of Jason of Star Command. The way it’s lensed it feels like a PBS special and not something made for prime time on CBS. The costumes are off the rack Halloween grab and the sets are straight out of a high school play.

It’s about a family of space pilgrims and the “wacky” antics they get into while living at a popular space port. This being a pilot most of the time is spent establishing the setting and characters but there are very few jokes that are above groaners. The canned laughter might give you the opposite idea but trust me, there is NOTHING funny here.

The reason Starstruck is such an amazing curiosity is that it perfectly illustrates the creative void that was created as everyone wanted to cash in on Star Wars, but was unsure as how to make this happen. The late 70’s were a fucked up time for sci-fi… after Star Wars was such an unexpected success it was a feeding frenzy and things like Starstruck stand as the ill conceived orphans of that insanity.

Watch this and transport yourself to a very specific period in sci-fi history.

Produced by Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg,
Lauren Shuler Donner
Screenplay by Scott Frank,
James Mangold, Michael Green
Story by: David James Kelly, James Mangold
Directed by James Mangold
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart,
Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook,
Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen

Spoilers ahead!
After seventeen years and nine appearances onscreen as the character, Hugh Jackman ends his run portraying one of comics’ most beloved characters in Logan, directed by James Mangold.

A virtual unknown before being cast as the character (replacing an injured Dougray Scott) in 2000’s X-Men, the role brought Jackman both international fame and a devoted fanbase.  Jackman, in turn, protected the character’s integrity and portrayal, often being the best thing about many of the films he appeared in.

In Logan, Jackman once again delivers an effective and solid performance.  The film is set in 2029 in a world where mutants have become all but extinct.  Logan’s healing factor has become compromised, walking like a retired football player with a limp, covered in scar tissue and needing reading glasses.  Even his adamantium claws don’t work like they used to, occasionally jamming halfway out.  He’s in pain most of the time, medicating himself with alcohol while working as a chauffeur, driving for bachelorette parties and proms.

He’s also the caretaker for Charles Xavier, stricken with a form of dementia that makes not only his memory fleeting, but also making his powers unstable.  Which makes him extremely dangerous.  Logan keeps Xavier hidden, with the mutant Caliban (a nice performance by Stephen Merchant) assisting in making sure that the former Professor takes his medication to keep his wayward powers in check.

And the X-Men?  They’re gone.  Wiped out a short time ago, leaving only Logan and Charles alive.

When Logan is approached by both a nurse on the run and a bionically enhanced security consultant , Donald Pierce, both sharing an interest in a young girl, he finds himself being drawn back into a world of violence that he so desperately wanted to avoid.

The girl, Laura, is an escapee from Transigen, a medical research facility lead by Zander Rice (Richard E. Grant), who is responsible for eradicating genetic mutation only to restart it under laboratory conditions for military applications.

The nurse is murdered by Pierce and his team, The Reavers, sending Logan, Charles and Laura on the road, seeking out the mythical Eden, home of the remaining mutants.

The film is beautifully well shot and feels more grounded in reality than most of the films in the X-Franchise.  Unfortunately, that becomes a hindrance at times, when some of the more fantastic elements appear, breaking the verisimilitude of the film’s reality.

Performances are first rate, in particular newcomer Dafne Keen as Laura and a warm, touching final portrayal of Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, who bonds with Laura and whose rapport with Jackman is only amplified by their years onscreen together.

Jackman drives the film, delivering the Logan that fans have wanted to see from the moment he first appeared cage fighting in Canada in the first X-Men film.  The film is ultra violent; we see moments of Logan’s Berserker Rage, where he transforms into a brutal, unrelenting source of destruction.  There’s also plenty of salty language, which is used appropriately for the character rather than as a punchline.

There are several disappointing moments in the film; moments where they zigged instead of zagged.  Personally, they didn’t hurt one’s enjoyment of the film, but it does prevent it from being greater.

At a quiet moment in the film, Charles and Laura watch Shane, and the film shows the duo watching the scene with Alan Ladd saying goodbye to young Brandon De Wilde, “There’s no living with  a killing. There’s no going back from one. Right or wrong, it’s a brand. A brand sticks. There’s no going back.  Now you run on home to your mother, and tell her.  Tell her everything’s all right. And there aren’t any more guns in the valley.”

More than a metaphor, this quote very much describes the plot of Logan, and to make things even more meta, Laura repeats the quote in it’s entirety at the end of the film.

“Come back, Hugh, come back…”

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown, the Friday Edition!

Let’s waste no time and let’s talk Comics!

The Damned: Three Days Dead  
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Brian Hurtt
Published by Oni Press

I have to confess: I’ve never been that big a fan of writer Cullen Bunn. His Marvel stuff has always left me cold. Therefore, it comes as a nice surprise to see him write so damn well on this title.

This is awesome and I loved this book.

During the prohibition era, gangsters grew rich on our vices, and rivalries between criminal organizations resulted in open war.

But unknown to the masses, a more sinister power controlled the crime cartels, using greed, gluttony, lust and other sins to fuel a much more lucrative trade: mortal souls.

The long-standing feud between two of the families is about the come to an end thanks to a brokered deal to consolidate power.

But before things can be finalized, the bookkeeper tasked to brokering the deal is kidnapped along with a ledger that could spell doom for all the families. Hoping to find the missing bookkeeper before the deal falls apart, Big Al pulls Eddie’s corpse out of a ditch and puts him on the case. Now Eddie, cursed and unable to rest, finds himself caught up in the middle of a sinister web of kidnapping, murder and damnation.

Man, that’s a hell of a description. It works incredibly well. Brian Hurtt is a hell of an artist too. His work is dark and well composed. Between the two of them, the storytelling is top notch. You can’t ask for better.

Pick this up and enjoy…if you like dark, well written, well drawn comics then this is for you.

RATING: A

Seven to Eternity Vol.1: The God of Whispers 
Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Jerome Opena
Published by Image Comics

Man, this comic book series is fantastic. When Remender is good, he’s great. This is full of creativity from the first page to the last. I love the writing here so much.

I was a huge Fear Agent fan…and this may indeed surpass that.

The God of Whispers has spread an omnipresent paranoia to every corner of the kingdom of Zhal; his spies hide in every hall spreading mistrust and fear. Adam Osidis, a dying knight from a disgraced house, must choose between joining a hopeless band of magic users in their desperate bid to free their world of the evil God, or accepting his promise to give Adam everything his heart desires.

The art by Opena is the best of his career,  bar none. It’s gorgeous to look at.

I also have to commend Matt Hollingsworth on the colors. The work is top notch art. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has a couple of Eisner nominations this year.

This is a great starting point…pick up this book and be amazed.

RATING: A

Glitterbomb Vol. 1: Red Circus
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Djibrill Morissette-Phan
Published by Image Comics

Jim Zub is one of those writers who doesn’t get enough credit. His scripts are always strong, and well composed.

This is no different. Zub is a writer you should read if you haven’t. He knows how to write a script like no other.

Farrah Durante is a middle-aged actress hunting for her next gig in an industry where youth trumps experience. Her frustrations become an emotional lure for something horrifying out beyond the water…something ready to exact revenge on the shallow, celebrity-obsessed culture that’s led her astray. The entertainment industry feeds on our insecurities, desires, and fears. You can’t toy with those kinds of primal emotions without them biting back..

The artwork is quite strong here as well. Djibrill Morissette-Phan is quite a talent indeed. This is a good book that may have slipped off a lot of people’s radars. It shouldn’t.

Find this and pick this up and enjoy it like I did. You owe it to yourself!

RATING: A

Weird Detective: The Stars Are Wrong   
Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Guiu Vilanova
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Fred Van Lente is a comic book wonder as a writer. He works for many different publishers, and works on many, MANY different characters.

Yet, each time he brings something new and genuine to the game. It’s great to see and it’s extremely admirable. His latest is quite good as well.

The streets of New York have been plagued by a pattern of crimes too weird and bizarre for the average detective. Lurking in the evidence are shadows of loathsome horrors from beyond space and time, seeking to usher in the unimaginable evil of the Old Ones. And the only man capable of fighting against the unspeakable terrors isn’t a man at all. Detective Sebastian Greene is one of them.

The art by Villanova is something unique as well. We haven’t seen his likes before. It feels very influenced by Lovecraft and I enjoy that.

Pick up this book. It may be outside of your wheelhouse but you totally should.

Tell them Lenny sent you.

RATING: A