Quantcast
Channel: Forces of Geek
Viewing all 17882 articles
Browse latest View live

George R.R. On My Mind: How ‘Game of Thrones’ Lost It’s Way (Spoilers Ahead)

0
0

I didn’t get into Game of Thrones right away, in fact, I tried watching the pilot several times and bailed about ten minutes in every single time.

That is until, during the break between the third and fourth seasons, I started dating someone who was really into the show and their enthusiasm for it, along with the fact that everyone I knew seemed to be talking about it, got me to take a second look.

I immediately got into the show with the same enthusiasm and excitement I had seen in everyone else who followed it, I couldn’t wait for the fourth season and week to week for ten straight weeks during that summer of the 2014 I lived for Sunday nights, just so I could stay caught up on Game of Thrones.

I would read reviews the next day to see if I agreed with the critics, or if they agreed with me.

I even toyed with the idea of starting the books written by George R.R. Martin, which for me is a big ask considering I don’t enjoy reading fiction.

I loved the series, and with each passing year and each passing season I felt that I was watching what was increasingly becoming the best show on TV.

All of that seems to be in jeopardy this season, I am noticing a distinct difference between this season and the six previous ones, and I can’t help but think that it’s because we are now in uncharted territories in terms of the world of Game of Thrones. The show’s creators no longer have a roadmap to work from, they’ve used up all their source material. They’ve exhausted the books.

Now, while I’m sure Mr. Martin is still very much involved with the show, I’m sure he guides show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss through each season and (perhaps) each episode.  I’m also quite sure he’s holding back a little bit. He still has books to sell, what would be the point of revealing his whole hand with the ending of the series when he is still writing the books?

My point is that I feel there’s something missing from this season and that “something” is the books themselves. Benioff and Weiss are talented writers, there’s no doubt in that, but what the books always gave them was a pace and timing and a sense of purpose that they otherwise might not have had.

This season of Game of Thrones is rushed. Characters are no longer on a journey they simply arrive at a destination. Episode two Jon Snow decides to travel south (a thousand miles) to see The Dragon Queen. Episode three he’s there.

Does this really feel like the Game of Thrones we’ve all come to love? It doesn’t to me.

Had this journey occurred in any other season, and under the guide of the books as source material, Jon’s journey south would have been a two or three episode arc.

So too would Arya’s journey North to be reunited with her sister and see her home for the first time in years.

That was a major moment in the show and, again, it felt rushed.

This of course brings me to the climactic battle from last night, this battle would have happened – in any other season – at episode 9. We would have spent 8 episodes watching a great chess game unfold, watching characters we’ve grown to love, journey through a world we know, watching alliances form and hostilities grow.

By the time The Dothraki charged the Lannister Army on the shores of Casterly Rock we would have spent 8 weeks watching every detail unfold, we would have known every player and all the stakes. The battle would have had more impact because we were more involved.

But, ultimately, the battle would have just made a lot more sense. Here are two of the major logical flaws in last night’s episode:

Where did the Dothraki come from?

If you remember, as I do, the Unsullied were going to attack Casterly Rock. They did, and they won – sort of – only to see the ships that brought them there destroyed. Now, this is the second major Naval defeat the Dragon Queen has suffered at the hands (or ships) of Euron Greyjoy. This defeat, following the one he handed down to Yara, destroys Daenerys’s fleet.

Which brings me to my question; Where did the Dothraki come from?

If Daenerys doesn’t have a navy how does she transport all those warriors from Dragonstone to Kasterlee Rock? It would have made much more sense, and would have been keeping with her character, for her to attack the Lannister army alone, with one Dragon. This would have also raised the emotional stakes, because we would have felt like she was in real danger when her Dragon was shot down.

Which brings me to my next point.

Where did that giant crossbow come from?

Look, I know that we saw the giant crossbow, or whatever they’re calling it, early on in Stormborn, but let’s take a big step back and think about this. From the time we saw it, in episode 2 (remember what we saw was essentially a prototype, there was no mention of another existing or many being built, there was one and we saw it), it was packed up – into a special transport built just for it, because that makes no sense, you don’t build a transport for a prototype, you build a second crossbow first, then it was loaded onto a ship and sailed out to Casterly Rock.

Again, this makes no if you have literally one, ONE, defense against dragons why would you move it from your home base of King’s Landing to be shipped off and used in a secondary battle for control of castle you don’t even care about? Again, Casterly Rock was a set-up, a way for Euron to destroy what was left of Daenerys’s Navy.

So, we must believe that Cersei would allow the only, literally only, defense that she has against freaking dragons to be packed up and shipped to a battle at Casterly Rock, knowing full well that the battle at and for Casterly Rock my just be another in a series of distractions as Daenerys flies a dragon towards King’s Landing.

Furthermore, once it’s unveiled on Casterly Rock, Bronn takes control of the it and he’s quite adept at it, in fact he is so well trained on this prototype of a giant crossbow that he’s able to – by himself – maneuver, load and fire it at a moving target. Twice. Hitting it once.

When did Bronn have time to train on it? If Bronn is that adept at using it, why was he not stationed with it from the get go? Since he wasn’t we have to then assume that he’s not the only one who can efficiently and – one might argue – expertly use this prototype giant crossbow, which means that not only was he trained on it – and trained extensively – but many, many others were as well.

This whole idea is preposterous and again lends to the argument that this is another in a series of chess pieces we would have seen develop over many episodes. When the giant crossbow was introduced I, like many others, brushed it off as a ridiculous defense against a dragon, but I could have been proven wrong over a series of episodes watching men train on it as they got better and more proficient I may have become worried about its use in battle.

These logical lapses, for me, are all emblematic of a much larger problem: Benioff and Weiss are moving through this world without a map or a guide. They’re good writers, but they’re not now, nor have they ever been, the creative force behind Game of Thrones.

The man with the voice, the man with the plan, is George R. R. Martin, he alone holds the key to the show and the books’ brilliance and he is very clearly absent this season.

Game of Thrones had potential, it was big budget fantasy, it was brutal and it was involving. It was all the violence of The Walking Dead combined with the layered plotting of Breaking Bad. It was about as good as TV gets.

It no longer is, it’s not the show it used to be, watching these last four episodes reminds me of the experience of watching The West Wing after Aaron Sorkin left.

I’m not going to abandon the show, nor do I suggest anyone else does, but I am worried about it, part of the beauty of a great TV show (think The Wire or Mad Men or Breaking Bad) is that it feels like a novel, it’s layered and nuanced in way that a movie could never be and that’s what makes that medium so effective. Which is why Game of Thrones had the potential to be one of the all-time great shows, because the source material it’s pulling from is exactly what all great shows aspire to be, it was a perfect match.

It was. But, without the books – or Mr. Martin – to guide them I don’t think Mr. Benioff or Mr. Weiss have the mind or the talent to pull this off.

I hope I’m wrong.


MTV: A Return To Normalcy

0
0

Back in the early ‘80s, “I Want My MTV” wasn’t only the catchy slogan of a fledgling cable network, but a battle cry for the weird and cool. It seems odd in context of what the network has become, but once upon a time, fashion, music and trends were all dictated by the 24-hour music network.

From the day it debuted on Aug. 1, 1981, MTV caught the attention of the under 30 sect and quickly because ruler in which everything awesome was measuring. The MTV Generation looked to the cabler for trends, from Madonna headbands to leather pants.

As the network entered the ‘90s , MTV continued to rage on as a new generation of teens, queens and wanna-bes looked to the cable network for guidance.

At this time, MTV began introducing original content. MTV News with Kurt Loder was already a staple of the network, ushering in topics including politics, chart toppers and info on bad benders by assorted frontmen. Now there were reality shows such as Real World and Road Rules, game shows such as Remote Control and mind-bending doses of animation with Liquid Television and Beavis & Butt-head.

Among all the original content, were cultivated video shows such as Headbangers Ball, Yo! MTV Raps and 120 Minutes, each offering videos for different subsets of society.

Yet, despite all of the new original content, there were still videos. As this time, the network still remembered what the M in MTV stood for, and it was still the driving force of the cable giant. For now.

During this era, the top-rated show was Total Request Live with Carson Daly. Taped in front of a studio audience in Times Square, the show introduced new bands to large audiences and carved the Billboard charts in its image by crafting hitmaker after hitmaker. Superstars such as Eminem, Christina Aguilera, N’Sync and Britney Spears all have the countdown show to thank for their summer houses.

As MTV moved into the 2000s, music videos and the cult-like influence of TRL began to dwindle. It became harder and harder to find the music videos that were still being lauded by the network’s annual awards show, which new shows such as Pimp My Ride, Jackass, The Osbournes, Jersey Shore, Made and MTV Cribs because to take up time slots.

(Note: It is during this time that the best half hour of television was ever documented: MTV Cribs episode featuring Redman. His grand tour of his shitty two-bedroom apartment decorated with  shoeboxes of money and passed out cousins is pure comedy genius.)

And after 10 glorious trend-making years, TRL was canceled, leaving the network with a large, gaping hole where music once lived.

As the new era of MTV trudged on, the net became a shadow of what it was. Reality shows and original content dictated the schedule to the point that an MTV2 had to be created to show music videos. In recent time, the network’s original content became such a burden to MTV2, that an MTV3 had to be created.

And now, in the 2010s, MTV’s original-content strategy is failing, taking the network and its parent company Viacom down like a sinking ship.

Despite several revamps and new original content, ratings are at an all-time low.

To tackle this issue, MTV topper Chris McCarthy is returning to the basics that made the network great: The return of Total Request Live.

This October, the flagship show of ‘90s and ‘00s MTV will return to broadcast and Times Square, bringing with it guest stars, live bands, and of course, videos.

In addition to TRL, the network is also bringing back the iconic shows of yesteryear, such as Fear Factor.

“MTV at its best — whether it’s news, whether it’s a show, whether it’s a docuseries — is about amplifying young people’s voices,” McCarthy told the New York Times. “We put young people on the screen, and we let the world hear their voices. We shouldn’t be writing 6,000-word articles on telling people how to feel.”

The new hour-long Total Request Live will be hosted by funnyman/rapper DC Young Fly and radio personality Erik Zachary. The overall announcement has had a positive effect on the 36-year-old network, as artists and music fans welcome the old format back.

The next year will be a wait-and-see for the former music network as it attempts to reclaim its roots. As Viacom and investors await with bated breath to see if the cabler can reclaim its former audience, fans of what the network used to be have their own personal reasons for wanting the new format to success:

Because despite the success of original programming and the must-watch reality fare, at the end of the day, we all want our MTV…with emphasis on the M.

 

How Bookmakers Are Ripping Off Players – Why Winning at Sportsbetting is Very Difficult Although Not Impossible

0
0

Have you ever known someone that wins consistently while gambling on sport? It is very rare and in this article we explain why and what are the ‘dirty’ strategies that big bookmakers around the globe use to secure their margins in a very competitive industry.

Winning money while you sitting in a couch with your friends watching live sport on Sky tv is probably one of the most popular dreams between fans. But in most cases it is exactly that, a dream. Bookmakers do not like to give money away to their customers and when they do they make sure they get it back as soon as possible.

To find out how they do it we have had a chat with leading UK betting tips site betting tips 4 you who have explained to us some of the most common bookmaker strategies you might not be aware of. They have refused to name the bookmakers involved but they said those kind of behaviours are mostly common practise.

Bookmakers are like insurance companies. They manage their risk on a daily basis and for them a winning customer is some sort of cancer to drive out of business as quickly as possible. Once they have accepted a large bet from a potentially risky customer tough there isn’t much they can do if the player wins, they have to pay out. So what is their best way to avoid this to happen? They analyse betting behaviours of their customers and they use the power of their terms and conditions to limit their maximum bet to a level that the winning player is forced to either leave or stop betting.

So in short there are winning customers but there aren’t consistent winning customers with a single bookmakers. Only some operators do not act in this way but the majority they do with the clear intent of keeping a portfolio of losing customers so that they can improve their margins.

This is a perfectly legitimate way of doing business on paper as when you open a new account with a bookmaker you ‘agree’ to their terms and conditions which clearly state that they have the power to refuse accepting bets. So if you see a player that consistently bet large amounts with a single bookmaker you can be pretty certain that he is losing in the short run or he would have been stopped by the bookie.

 

Win ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ on Digital HD!

0
0

This week, Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” the blockbuster sequel featuring the world’s favorite band of intergalactic misfits, blasts into homes digitally in HD, 4K Ultra HD and Disney Movies Anywhere.

Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, the film’s storyline continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians (Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket) must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

Bonus materials will take fans behind the scenes with the movie’s diverse, dynamic cast of misfits and inspired team of filmmakers, debut an all-new original music video starring David Hasselhoff and special guests, hilarious outtakes, deleted scenes, audio commentary by director James Gunn, and more.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on August 22nd.

And we’re giving away 20 digital codes to Forces of Geek readers!

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

What is the name of Star Lord’s spaceship?

Please include your name, and address (U.S. 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 August 20th, 2017.

 

‘Tragedy Girls’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley,
Anthony Holt, Edward Mokhtarian,
Craig Robinson, Cameron Van Hoy

Screenplay by Chris Lee Hill, Tyler MacIntyre
Directed by Tyler MacIntyre
Starring Alexandra Shipp, Brianna Hildebrand,
Josh Hutcherson, Craig Robinson, Kevin Durand,
Jack Quaid, Nicky Whelan, Kerry Rhodes
A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

 

When McKayla and Sadie, who call themselves “The Tragedy Girls” on social media, track and capture a real life serial killer they seek to learn his ways. The duo enters into a killing spree designed to make them famous and boost their social media popularity.

Unfortunately as the body count and the town’s anxiety rise personal conflicts may keep the girls from attaining their goal.

Tragedy Girls is a fantastic entry into the often-disappointing horror comedy sub genre that manages to balance an effective creep factor with genuine laughs while making the horror the subject of the jokes and not the butt of the jokes. We are presented with a wonderful cast of off beat characters with established personalities and motivations, even those who are the stock stereotypes still manage to set themselves apart from the norm.

The cast members are all impressive with Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) turning in memorable performances, as McKayla and Sadie respectively, and the entirety of the supporting cast raising the bar for what could have been forgettable roles.

Director Tyler MacIntyre, who gave us the goofball Frankenstein riff, Patchwork, has again delivered a film that surpasses expectations and impresses. Tragedy Girls is a must see as it’s just as much fun as it is gross all while having a quality story and good characters, this combination is rare in today’s lower budget horror comedies.

If any part of this review has caught your attention I recommend that you check Tragedy Girls out as soon as possible. I don’t toss the term “cult classic” out to every quirky genre film that comes along and I truly believe that Tragedy Girls has the potential to be a future cult classic and can’t wait to see what MacIntyre has set up for us next.

 

 

 

‘Lowlife’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Derek Bishé,
Tim Cairo, Narineh Hacopian

Written by Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Ryan Prows,
Shaye Ogbonna, Maxwell Michael Towson

Directed by Ryan Prows
Starring Nicki Micheaux, Ricardo Adam Zarate,
Jon Oswald, Shaye Ogbonna, Santana Dempsey,
Mark Burnham, Jose Rosete, Jearnest Corchado

A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

What do a fake ICE agent, an insane Luchadore, a junkie whore, a beaten down motel clerk, a former gangster now family man, a wigger with a swastika tattoo on his face and a scumbag fast food chicken joint owner have in common?

This movie. Lowlife.

Lowlife will both regal audiences, and perhaps, anger them.

I honestly don’t want to say too much about the plot of the film other than the trailer really missells this movie.

While everything in that trailer is in the film, when you see those scenes in context you get a very different experience than what you may have expected. For one thing the movie is far more serious and far DARKER than the advertising indicates. Another thing that is also related to tone is that the movie itself is trying very hard to be a black comedy but at times just comes off as mean spirited rather than dark comedy. For every funny bit that lands perfectly there are two that miss their mark.

Without going into plot details too deep the film is intentionally fractured and told from a variety of perspectives. I very much get the feeling that director Ryan Prows is aping the style of Pulp Fiction that of SLC Punk and yet only partially succeeding.

The film jumps around the timeframe of the events to show us each characters’ perspective of things which means some events cross with one another while others merely set up future events. What does work is that this gives a very interesting look at the story when pieced together. We see things from one character which don’t make a lot of sense but then the film rewinds and starts showing us those events from another angle and it starts to form a complete image. This is the arguably the strongest weapon Lowlife has… the story is written in such a way to only really work in the (seemingly) scattered narrative it uses. I do not think the movie would work if told chronologically.

The cast all do a great job with Mark Burnham (90’s TV bad guy) and Nicki Micheaux (The Shield) as highlights giving polar opposite performances.

Micheaux as motel manager Crystal is quite and subdued only spurred into the chaos of the film due to external forces while Burnham as Teddy ‘Bear’ Haynes is an almost cartoonishly over the top sleazeball. Between these two poles you have Ricardo Adam Zarate as Luchadore El Monstruo, Jon Oswald as swastika toting Randy, Shaye Ogbonna as quiet black accountant Keith, Jose Rosete as corrupt ICE Agent Fowler and Santana Dempsey as preggers junkie Kaylee (the connecting tissue of the entire story). All of them give fantastic performances.

If you are a fan of the Boomerang Kids TV series, you may notice the bulk of that cast appears in this film. That is because Lowlife director Ryan Prows wrote and directed every episode of that show. As with Boomerang Kids, Prows uses a washed out visual style which I frankly found bland and boring in that show and in this movie. Why are so many filmmakers afraid of color? If this movie had utilized color more to set it apart it may have worked far better. The entire writing staff of Boomerang Kids, in fact, wrote this movie as well and you can tell this was not a single vision. That is a problem.

The story alternates between dark and funny to mean and “I think that was meant to be funny but it’s not”. At it’s heart Lowlife is a comedy that is presented as a batshit crime drama but in practice the disparate segments never quite gel as much as they frankly should. There are parts that work amazingly and then there are segments that feel like they are a part of a different film. This is somewhat fixed with the multiple viewpoints coming into play but that does not repair all of the story problems. Having a single vision of a single writer and director may have focused the final film more because five writers for a this story is not only unnecessary, but spoils the end product.

Obviously shot on a low budget around Los Angles, Lowfife is worth checking out despite it’s problems. It may look like a Tarantino or Paul Thomas Anderson clone at first glance, but while Lowlife does not completely do what it sets out to, it gets more right than wrong.

 

‘LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain’ (review)

0
0

The DC Super Hero Girls are back in LEGO form for this latest animated feature, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain. Starring Wonder Woman (Grey Griffin), Supergirl (Anais Fairweather) and Batgirl (Ashlyn Nicole Selich), the students of Super Hero High face an unknown threat and try to solve the mystery of the High School’s amnesia from being brainwashed.

Don’t expect The LEGO Movie twist on these familiar characters, quite the opposite, this movie, while bricked up, sits nicely in the Super Hero High storyline and current loose and fun take on the DC Universe established in 2015 with the DC Super Hero Girls brand since 2015.

We are treated to third-wall breaking and DC Comics Easter eggs and roster development, but the builder jokes and LEGO based solutions to problems are kept to a minimum. That’s not a bad thing, but most of the LEGO DC properties, including the recent LEGO Batman Movie rely on clever building to move the story along. This one relies more on LEGO vehicles than LEGO jokes and problem solving.

There’s probably an easy explanation for this, as this is more of an all ages movie targeting a younger demographic. That could also explain the fart jokes, pot pie eating contest and food fight between Batgirl and Harley. All welcome humor in my book, no matter how old I get.

However, when principal Amanda Waller gets carrots in her hair, it is no laughing matter.

The softness of this take on the DC characters (OK, we all know from stepping on them that LEGO are not soft) continues to be fun to watch, full of girl-power positivity and a nice break from the grim and gritty. Big Bad Lena Luthor teams up with Eclipso to create a dimensional portal to take control over Gem World and that’s as serious as it gets.

Commissioner Gordon is there to keep an eye on Babs but is also on the school’s committee with an unusual Vice Principal choice, Gorilla Grodd! Wildcat and Red Tornado are also on staff in their traditional mentor roles.

Our students at Super Hero High aren’t quite heroes or villains yet, that is why the girls share class time with the likes of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. It’s not quite the Titans or Young Justice, Super Hero High is more of an incubator for future heroes and villains. Even Harley shows some potential for good here. Bumblebee and Katana are evil for a bit, but only under the influence of the mind gem!

Things really heat up when Supes, Wonder Woman and Batgirl take the Invisible Jet to the moon to take on Eclipso’s palace with the help of The Flash.

In all this is a fun one for the kids and for the adult DC Comics fans there’s Boom Tubes, The Furies and Red and Green Kryptonite sprites trying to take down our heroes.

LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s a good thing. The animation is more of a TV quality than a feature, but that seems to go along with the brand.

This one even ends with a nice musical number that’s been stuck in my head ever since then, “Get your Cape On”!

 

LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain is available on DVD and Digital HD.

 

‘Bonnie and Clyde’ Blasts Its Way Back to Movie Theaters on August 13th and 16th!

0
0

Fifty years ago, the most dangerous and famous couple in America wreaked havoc on the silver screen. Fueled by a violent crime spree through Depression-era Texas, the two bank robbers in love broke cinematic taboos with their open expressions of violence and sex, and Bonnie and Clyde became the blueprint for counter-culture filmmaking. Film lovers across the country will have the chance to rediscover director Arthur Penn’s crime-drama milestone as it returns to movie theaters for two days only on Sunday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 16.

Bonnie and Clyde will play in movie theaters exactly 50 years from its original release on August 13, 1967 as a part of the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series, accompanied by specially-produced commentary before and after the feature by TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz. The film features intense performances by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, along with a dazzling supporting cast, including Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder and Estelle Parsons, who received the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role as Clyde’s sister-in-law, Blanche.

Tickets for Bonnie and Clyde can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy the event in more than 700 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

 

Bonnie and Clyde will screen on Sunday, August 13 – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time) and Wednesday, August 16 – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time)

 


FOG! Chats With ‘Behaving Madly’ Authors Ger Apeldoorn and Craig Yoe!

0
0

When Mad was turned into a magazine in 1954, every publisher and his uncle came up with his own version, often using the same talent.

From IDW Publishing, comic strip historian Ger Apeldoorn and Eisner-winner Craig Yoe present Behaving Madly, a 200 page coffee table art book chronicling the zany, loco, cockeyed, rip-off, satire magazines that launched after Mad‘s success.

Ger and Craig took some time to discuss the new book, available in stores today!

*  *  *  *  *

FOG!: The book is fantastic! Craig is an old friend of the site, but I’m fascinated that Ger is from Holland. Forgive my ignorance, but is there a comic industry there and how prevalent are American comics over there?

GER: We have a very lively comic strip industry, although you have to remember that the European format is different from the American and not hung up on superheroes. Recently, a lot of Dutch artists have found their way to American publishers, like Erik Kriek with In The Pines, Marcel Ruijters’ Hieronymus Bosch: The Unauthorised Biography and Yasmin Sheikh with Luna The Vampire. Minck Ossterveer, Chris Evenhuis, Boy Akkerman and Romano Molenaar have worked for various comic book series and Junaid Chundrigar has done three seasons of the superhero spoof animation shorts Bad Days for the Stan Lee channel on YouTube.

For the ultimate geek experience go to Patrick Schoenmaker’s mock trailer for the tv series, The Adventures of Indiana Jones on YouTube.

I, myself, work for the Dutch bi-weekly magazine Eppo. When I showed a copy to Mort Walker last week he remarked: “My, you do have a lot of talent over there!”

There has always been a Dutch Mad, which is mentioned in Grant Geissman’s Collectable Mad.

In 2011, I was the editor of a revival of the Dutch Mad which ran for six issues. We had 26 pages of original material from many different Dutch artists. the last few sets can be bought at EppoStripBlad.nl, where you can also see the whole fund of publisher DLC.

FOG!: Mad famously started as a comic book, and after the formation of the Comics Code Authority, Bill Gaines and Harvey Kurtzman reimagined Mad as a magazine.

What was your first exposure to Mad?

CRAIG: I wasn’t exposed to Mad until I was an adult!  My first touchstone was a imitator that was outside of this book as it was published later than the period we cover.

That was the brilliant Archie’s Madhouse which I compiled a whole book on as I so highly regard it.

My mom laid down the law: I was not allowed to read Mad.

Somehow she instinctively knew that Mad undermined the establishment and  corrupted young minds.

She unwittingly compromised with Madhouse. It was LIKE Mad but its pages were also filled with sexy Archie-style teenage girls!

With Madhouse and so much more despite Mom’s best efforts I was corrupted anyway—to this day!

And in addition I am now a confirmed Mad fan along with their plethora of imitators as we see in Behaving Madly.

 

GER: I first read Mad off the stands from issue #175. Immediately after that I bought the pocket book versions of Kurtzman’s comic book Mad. I started collecting Mad directly after that and completed the whole run on the same day the first CD-ROM with all issues was announced.

Through Dutch artists who were fans (Kurtzman’s Mad was a huge influence on European artists from Spain to Denmark in the sixties) I got to know and see Humbug, Trump and Help! as well. Since then I have become one of a select group of Kurtzman collectors, who has everythng he ever did. Most of which I show on my blog, The Fabulous Fifties.

I wrote about Kurtzman’s work for Varsity in Alter Ego and am probably one of only a few people who have found copies of his wartime strip, Private Brown, Knows. One of those Kurtzman experts is Denis Kitchen, who I know since I interviewed him with Will Eisner in 1978. I asked him for a quote about the book and offered a free copy in return. No need, he said. He had already ordered his copy as soon as it became available on Amazon.

FOG!: When I was growing up there was Mad and the only imitators that were prevalent were Cracked and Crazy. The book chronicles dozens of titles, some only lasting an issue or two. Why don’t you think more of them lasted for a longer period of time?

GER: In promoting this book I found out that it was necessary to stress that we do not cover Cracked and Sick, or the later Marvel version of Crazy. Cracked and Sick are known to be quite juvenile and have given the field a bad reputation. They were the magazines you bought if Mad was not on the stands.

The earlier imitations we cover are smarter and better drawn. The first because in the late fifties there was a real satire boom in popular media, from which these Mad imitations benefited.

Also, the earlier ones, like Lunatickle and Snafu were based on Kurtzman’s Mad magazine and tried to be just as clever. Stan Lee’s Snafu #1 was on the stands the same month as Kurtzman’s second magazine issue #25.

As to why they all ran so shortly, I don’t know. Most were stopped before sales figures could have been in.

Maybe they were hard to produce?

Maybe distribution was a problem?

Some very respectable companies were involved, but apparently someone upstairs didn’t believe in them.

FOG!: I was also surprised to see that writers and artists such as Jack Kirby, Russ Heath, Dick Briefer, Jerry Siegel, John Severin, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee and Joe Kubert all worked in the humor magazine genre alongside such established pros as Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Will Elder, Basil Wolverton, Virgil Partch and Jack Mendelsohn. What was Bill Gaines’ opinion of the imitators and was he resentful toward other Mad collaborators such as Davis, Jaffee and Elder freelancing for them?

GER: And that is only the tip of the iceberg as far as artists go! Knowing Gaines, I think he was a bit annoyed to say the least. In the book we suggest that the change in title lettering of Frenzy from one that was totally like Mad‘s in #1 to less Mad-like versions in the other issues could have been the result of a cease and desist letter – which he was known to send.

And of course, we have a whole chapter on the article in Mad #41: How To Put Out An Imitation of Mad, which was answered by four of the imitators in an article of their own.

The antipathy might have been mutual, seeing the way Gaines was depicted by some of these artists. Including John Severin, who snuck in a satyr putting pins into a voodoo doll version of Gaines on the cover of Loco #3.

CRAIG: What Ger said.

FOG!: In researching the book, did you come across anything that you weren’t expecting?

GER: All the time. From finding out the connections behind publisher such as Whitehouse and Health Magazines to finding unknown work by artists such as Ric Estrada (who did most of the first two issues of Frantic!) and Al Jaffee (who thought he had only worked for Cracked, but ended up in Zany, too). That is why I hope the book is not only informative, but also a good read. It is almost a detective story sometimes…

CRAIG: Ger did the heavy lifting on the initial research so my mind was blown by what he unearthed on a regular basis. I wasn’t prepared by the voluminous amounts of Mad knock-offs, the hilarious creativity in their pages and how very many of comics humor superstar artists did the work! Including many of Mad’s own usual gang of idiots! I was and am surprised that Gaines let Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Bill Elder and Basil Wolverton draw for the competition!

We are quite proud of something that surprised us, the discovery we made that that Roy Lichtenstein used one of the Mad wanna-be’s covers as the source of one of his most famous paintings! This was unknown previously to art or comics historians and we’re excited to unleash this revelation to the world!

FOG!: Do you have a favorite imitator magazine?

GER: That has to be either Lunatickle (because of the rare quality of the comic book artists working for it, from Joe Kubert and Lee Elias to Ross Andru and Arthur Peddy) and the superb writing by Jack Mendelsohn in Snafu, almost all written by Stan Lee and magnificently drawn by Joe Maneely, John Severin, Howie Post, Russ Heath and Bill Everett.

CRAIG: Stefan, all these magazines contain some comic gold, which is what we excited dug up for Behaving Madly, but I have a soft spot for the erratic Charlton Mad rip-offs.

And we discovered Charlton was the first to steal the Mad mojo! Typical of all of Charlton’s fare the Mad knock-offs are quite uneven, but when they do hit, the material is as good as it gets!

And it’s fascinating to see Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby behaving madly as it were. Who knew?!?

FOG!: What else do you have coming up?

GER: In December, Roy Thomas will use my article about Stan Lee’s efforts to get out of comics between 1956 and 1962 as the cover piece for the Stan Lee issue of Alter Ego (in honor of Stan’s 95th birthday).

CRAIG: There’s some cool Lou Cameron art in Behaving Madly. I consider Cameron an unsung artistic genius and Yoe Books has a book of his incredible horror comics that we’re finishing up. Cameron is as if “Ghastly” Graham Ingles and “Jaunty” Jim Steranko had a love child!

There’s a major book we have coming out soon on the publisher Fiction House that publishes tons of their sexy sci-fi and their jungle adventures with Sheena Queen of the Jungle and her cohorts. That’s by Mitch Maglio. It’s been fun working with zealots like Ger and Mitch—they’ve become good, close  friends in the process!

FOG!: What are you currently geeking out over?

GER: I am not so much a geek as a glutton. Currently I am still tripping over Westworld and I am looking forward to Bill Morrison’s new Mad and Craig Yoe’s upcoming Drawing and Life Lessons from Master Cartoonists.

CRAIG: Thanks, Ger! Speaking of gluttons, Stefan you’re a glutton for punishment! You always ask me this question and I always tell you I HATE current pop culture! I haven’t been to a movie in 20 years, I don’t have a TV, I vomit at the mere thought of current music! I don’t have the patience to read books of today. I pathetically only like old, musty comic books! I know, I know, I am to be pitied! Pray for me!

 

‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ Arrives on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital 11/28!

0
0

We take you back to the nostalgic Stars Hollow for the ultimate revival of the adored series, Gilmore Girls. The coffee-loving, fast-talking, mother and daughter duo are back just as you remembered them as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) releases Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on DVD on November 28, 2017. Take a stroll down memory lane with four 90-minute seasonal chapters, directed, written, and executive produced by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life will be priced to own on DVD at $24.98 SRP. The limited series will also be available to own on Digital on November 28, 2017.

To accommodate fan requests, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life is also available on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive Collection. The Blu-ray release includes the same content as the DVD, and is also arriving November 28, 2017. Warner Archive Blu-ray releases are found at Amazon.com and all online retailers.

Nearly ten years after the original series ended, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life begins, Lorelai still runs the Dragonfly Inn (and chugs coffee like it’s water) and Rory, now 32, has experienced some career success. As Rory works through job-related struggles and Lorelai deals with some unresolved issues of her own, Emily Gilmore has been handling the loss of her dear husband, Richard. Emily is at a major crossroads in her life, recently widowed and trying to figure out what to do next. Richard’s death forces Emily and Lorelai to finally reexamine their own fraught relationship, which hasn’t changed much since the beginning of the series.

“Years after the original series ended and with 6 million DVD units sold, Gilmore Girls continues to have an incredibly loyal fan base.  We are thrilled to be able to release this DVD for fans to complete their collections,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, Television Marketing. “We will definitely miss our beloved friends from Stars Hollow, but this release will enable us to relive the final moments, laughs and loves of this incredible series over and over again.”

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life stars Lauren Graham (Parenthood), Alexis Bledel (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Kelly Bishop (The Good Wife) and Scott Patterson (Saw V, Saw IV), and Matt Czuchry (The Good Wife). The mini-series also includes special guest appearances by original cast members including Oscar nominee, Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly, Bridesmaids), Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us), Liza Weil (How To Get Away With Murder), Jared Padalecki (Supernatural), Yanic Truesdale (Rumours), Keiko Agena (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy).

 

 

Win ‘Crashing: The Complete First Season’ on DVD!

0
0

Starring and created by Pete Holmes, one of today’s most popular stand-up comedians, Crashing: The Complete First Season is the semi-autobiographical comedy that follows a stand-up comic whose suburban life unravels, causing him to lose everything, but his sense of humor. Achieving universal critical acclaim and already renewed for a second season, Crashing: The Complete First Season is now available on Blu-ray and DVD featuring all eight season 1 episodes and Pete Holmes’ first ever HBO stand-up comedy special Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds.

Crashing: The Complete First Season includes even more exciting bonus content, including:

  • Guest Star Fan Club – Pete Holmes talks about his experience working with comedians Artie Lange, T.J. Miller, Hannibal Buress, and Sarah Silverman, all of whom guest starred in Season 1 of Crashing.
  • Comedy Extras – Enjoy the comedy stylings of T.J. Miller, Aparna Nancherla, and Pete Holmes as they perform their hysterical scenes from Season 1.
  • About Crashing – Get the hilarious lowdown on Crashing with star Pete Holmes and executive producer Judd Apatow.
  • The Art of Crashing – Hear what it takes to make it in the comedy business from Pete Holmes and his comic cohorts in this behind-the-scenes featurette.

Executive produced by Judd Apatow and Pete Holmes, and loosely inspired by Holmes’ personal experiences in stand-up comedy, Crashing follows an aspiring comic named Pete (Holmes), who finds out his wife Jessica (Lauren Lapkus) is cheating on him, forcing a move to New York to pursue his dream of being a comedian. Thrown into the deep end in a city that’s not for the faint of heart, the formerly sheltered Pete learns some hard lessons about life and comedy, encountering all sorts of stand-up talents along the way, from cynical guru Artie Lange, to outrageous provocateur T.J. Miller, to benevolent motivator Sarah Silverman, and many more. While trying to make ends meet by crashing on other people’s couches (hence the series name), Pete finds goodness in unlikely places, evolving into someone who’s a little more okay with the messiness of life. A love letter to stand-up, Crashing is a series about discovering humor, beauty and grace in the crazy den of thieves that is the NYC comedy scene.

Other comedy heavyweights and who also guest star in season 1 include Jim Norton (Louie), Hannibal Burress (Broad City) and George Basil (Flaked).

And we’re giving away two copies on DVD!

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

How tall is Pete Holmes?

Please include your name, and address (U.S. 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 August 20th, 2017.

‘The Night Of The Virgin’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Kevin Iglesias
Written by Guillermo Guerrero
Directed by Roberto San Sebastián
Starring Javier Bodalo, Miriam Martin,
Victor Amilibia, Ignatius Farray, Rocío Suárez,
Javi Cañón, Ernesto Fernández

A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

 

It’s New Year’s Eve beginning 2016 and Nico has been dragged out to the clubs by his friends. Dressed in the best suit he could find Nico attempts to pick up any girl he can with no luck until he catches the eye of Medea, an eccentric older lady.

Once back at Medea’s apartment the evening goes from weird to downright creepy as we learn more about her. It appears that Medea has dedicated her life to following the Nepali goddess Naoshi, the goddess of the unborn, and Nico may be an unwitting pawn in her plans.

The evening’s events quickly go from creepily awkward to terrifying with the arrival of Spider, Medea’s recently ex-boyfriend, who arrives at the apartment and is furious. Now with Medea’s behavior inside the apartment becoming more erratic and threatening and Spider pounding at the door screaming insults and threats Nico is caught in a situation in which his chances of escaping safely are getting slimmer by the minute.

The Night OF The Virgin is a curious film as it is at once a riotously disgusting splatter comedy and also an intensely gritty and atmospheric creep-fest. It is a strange aesthetic combination as if members of the French Extremist movement of the early 2000’s were shooting the early Peter Jackson films.

First time feature director Roberto San Sebastian has certainly set the bar high with his first feature as it includes a multitude of outrageous special effects while conveying an interesting story which happens to be soaked in bodily fluids. Plus, The Night Of The Virgin screenwriter Guillermo Guerrero has concocted an intriguing plot as well as unique and memorable characters and an interesting new mythology with the goddess Naoshi.

Unfortunately though I do have one minor issue with The Night Of The Virgin and that is it’s pace and running time. In many of the scene’s the films intentional slow build works wonderfully while in other instances it sucks the tension out of the situation leaving only the tedium of the shot. While this also plays into the second issue, which is that The Night Of The Virgin is just under two hours long and in my opinion, would be just as effective if it had been trimmed down to the ninety to one hundred minute range. But overall this isn’t a deal breaker for me enjoying the movie as I though it was an appropriately disgusting and entertaining outing.

So if you think you have a strong enough stomach to deal with the gallons of bodily fluids spilled in this splat-stick extravaganza then be sure to check out The Night Of The Virgin as soon as you can.

 

 

Archie Comics Announces Three New Ongoing Series

0
0

Archie Comics’ publishing line-up expands with three new ongoing series featuring fan-favorite characters in bold new storylines.

Get ready for daring new additions to the world of Archie Comics featuring a new superhero team, an all-girl biker gang, and aliens from outer space in three new ongoing series: B&V VIXENS, THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS, and COSMO!

“Archie can do anything,” said Archie Comics CEO/Publisher Jon Goldwater.

“It’s not just one kind of comic, show or concept. You can do a horror Archie story, you can do a superhero Archie story, you can do a drama or comedy. Archie Comics has a wide, diverse and multi-faceted library of characters and we’re trying new things with our IP in order to keep fans engaged.”

The next wave of new Archie Comics titles will arrive after the debut of the JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER and THE ARCHIES ongoing series in October, providing a variety of different genres and entry points for new and returning comic book readers.

The world’s most famous BFFs return with a vengeance this November! Betty and Veronica are the leaders of the toughest gang in Riverdale, the Vixens, in the new ongoing series from writer Jamie L. Rotante, artist Eva Cabrera (Kim & Kim), colorist Elaina Unger and letter Rachel Deering. An intense and action-packed journey alongside the girls of Riverdale High begins on November 15 in B&V VIXENS #1.

“Betty and Veronica aren’t just two young ladies who happen to like the same boy—they’re two hard-working, intelligent and strong women who maintain a friendship despite their differences; consistently defying all expectations to overcome the odds stacked against them,” said writer Jamie L. Rotante.

“That’s something I really wanted to explore with this series—and not just Betty and Veronica, many of the female Archie Comics characters will get a chance to tell their own unique stories in a way that’s fun and action-packed.”

“Working for Archie Comics is a dream come true for me, and this was the very reason I started doing comics!” said artist Eva Cabrera.

“I feel this project was meant for me because I adore Motorcycles AND the Archie girls! I’m sure everyone will love it! Besides, who doesn’t love all-girl motorcycle groups?”

B&V VIXENS #1 launches November 15.

 

Archie Comics returns to the world of superheroes with a new ongoing series from the Dark Circle Comics imprint, THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS, launching in December from fan-favorite writer Ian Flynn (JUGHEAD, MEGA MAN) and artist Kelsey Shannon (JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS).

Two generations of heroes including THE SHIELD, THE COMET, THE WEB, JAGUAR, DARKLING, FIREFLY, and STEEL STERLING must learn how to work together as they join forces to battle deadly new threats.

“I’m really excited to return to the Dark Circle heroes and pit them against the greatest challenges they’ve ever faced,” said writer Ian Flynn. “I think fans of the classic and newer Crusaders will enjoy our new, high-paced approach to their world!”

“The Mighty Crusaders is one of those dream projects that you always hope for but never dare expect will actually happen. The best of the golden age through the lens of the present,” said artist Kelsey Shannon.

THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS #1 launches this December.

 

In space, no one can hear you laugh! Writer Ian Flynn will revitalize COSMO THE MERRY MARTIAN as part of the Archie Action line-up, bringing the classic 1950s space alien into the present day (alongside some new friends) in a new ongoing series!

“We’ve got some really fun and exciting adventure brewing for Cosmo and his crew!” said Flynn.

“I’ve got high hopes that this will take off. You could say we’re…shooting for the stars?”

COSMO‘s new adventures begin in early 2018.

 

Adventure, action, and hijinks await you in the pages of these three exciting new series. Are you ready to get on board with the next wave of Archie Comics titles?

Visit the official Archie Comics website for more information, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates, and download the Archie App for iOS and Android to read all your favorite Archie Comics!

 

FOG! Exclusive: Clip From The Upcoming Film, ‘Dave Made a Maze’

0
0

Dave Made a Maze is coming off its critical acclaim and an Audience Award win for “Best Narrative” at the Slamdance Film Festival. In the offbeat comedy, Dave (Nick Thune), an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration (and cardboard, among other things), only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission.  Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.

Below check out an exclusive clip featuring Nick’s friend Brynn (Stephanie Allynne) becoming overwhelmed by the power of the Maze.

Dave Made a Maze opens in theaters and VOD on August 18th

‘Tiger Girl’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Ines Schiller, Golo Schultz
Written by Jakob Lass, Ines Schiller, Nico Woche,
Hannah Schopf, Eva-Maria Reimer

Directed by Jakob Lass
Starring Ella Rumpf, Maria Dragus,
Enno Trebs, Orce Feldschau

A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

 

Tiger is a savvy street punk with a flair for violent exchanges against those she feels have earned some sort of karmic wrath while Vanilla is a security officer studying to be a cop whom everyone seems to walk all over.

When the two girls meet in a coincidental series of run ins they form a fast bond and Tiger begins joining Vanilla on her patrols which the pair turn into their own escalating crime spree as they harass and rob those who they feel somehow deserve such treatment.

Vanilla immediately lets this new found sense of power drive her and soon the duo are attempting larger crimes such as break ins and robbing businesses but once Vanilla starts letting her newfound confidence and power take over her life. Vanilla gets expelled from her police training and starts venting her rage toward people that Tiger feels do not deserve to be attacked. On top of that Vanilla has brought unwanted attention to the whereabouts of Tiger and her friends and a police officer is harassing them. Tiger realizes she has aided in creating a bit of a monster and something should be done about it…

Tiger Girl is an entertaining gritty crime film peppered with action and comedy. Both lead actresses are great in their roles with Maria-Victoria Dragus playing the vulnerable turned threatening Vanilla and Ella Rumpf (RAW) as the unpredictable Tiger. Director Jakob Lass has delivered a fun film with great characters and some stylish set pieces. Be sure to check out Tiger Girl and maybe we’ll get a sequel continuing the saga of Tiger and Vanilla.

 

 


Welcome To The Planet: ‘Gotham Academy’ Lets Out, ‘Superwoman’ Returns to Smallville, ‘Scooby-Doo’ Dines Out & More!

0
0

The end of an era for the Gotham Academy, the beginning of a new one for The Machinist, the hunt for a legend, a myth comes to life, restaurateur ghosts, television and film seeping into reality and one hell of a party.

Think that’s a lot going on?

You’d be right! That’s a quick overview of the books but that doesn’t mean you should skim through yours this week! Some titles are racing through so you’ll need your wits about you to overlook the plot holes.

There are two books I wouldn’t be without this week but you’ll have to read the column to find out which!

This is my look into the DC Universe this week!

 

ACTION COMICS #985
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Guillem March

The Machinist is back!  Attacks across the world lead Superman to people and animals controlled by microscopic ‘tech mite’ chips.

Superman immediately sees ties to Luthor but when the duo realise that Lexcorp tech has been stolen and reprogrammed they hunt Machinist down to end his terrorist attack.  The villain is not caught off guard as his tech puts an old rivalry into play.

The Gene Luen Yang/John Romita Jr. run on Superman was pretty bad. A story arc best left forgotten, so imagine my surprise to see The Machinist (not named after an operator of a sewing machine – honest), coming back for a second run.

This time the crafty villain is using chips stolen from Lexcorp to cause havoc but for an unknown goal. It is good to see Luthor and Superman’s partnership is on fragile ground.

Lex has 75 years to make up for. The final scene plays up to that and it is great that in Rebirth they will be letting the ‘Supermen’ duke it out. The inking is a little overused in the linework but not so much in shading meaning a sketch-like appearance. The art is definitely stylized, I quite like the look. Williams does a good job utilising The Machinist as a credible threat after the social media misstep in his introduction.

I look forward to finding out why he’s back.

 

GOTHAM ACADEMY SECOND SEMESTER #12
Writers: Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan & Karl Kerschl
Artists: Adam Archer & Sandra Hope

While Maps confronts Olive, the rest of the team are in a race against time. Olive is desperate not to hurt her friends but can no longer control her actions.

Maps tries reaching out to Olive and the gang begin an exorcism to purge the malevolent spirit causing havoc in Gotham. Friendships are tested and the city itself hangs in the balance in one final conflict.

Can the Academy alumni succeed or will Olive’s fate be sealed?

A beautiful book from start to finish, both visually and literally. I sincerely hope that this is not the last we’ll see of the gang as their relationships are what drive this book.

Batman of course makes a cameo but via flashbacks and that is a good thing as it doesn’t detract from Olive, Maps or the others.

Everything is neatly tied up in the story but though it is a rare happy ending in Gotham, things are left open for them all to return. This is perhaps the most creative in the ‘Gotham’-sphere so it definitely deserves your attention.

 

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #26
Writer: Robert Vendetti
Artist: Rafa Sandoval

The Mighty Metal Golems have awoken but their prophecy must not come to pass. As the Lanterns readjust after the Yellow Lanterns departure, Kyle and Hal are out in deep space investigating the destruction of an entire solar system and all life within it.

A Boom Tube opens to reveal Orion escaping from Omega Beams. The New God is hit square in the chest by the deadly energy and collapses in the arms of the Lanterns.

Heading the the nearest planet, Slyggia, Hal and Kyle seek medical attention for their wounded friend. The revived Orion reveals he is being hunted and being brought to a populated planet has put everyone at risk.

Hal and Kyle swear to fight whatever threat reveals itself with all the might of their rings, sadly against one of the Metal Golems they may be facing a threat they cannot hope to beat.

I’m not sure what to make of the issue.

After such a huge series of bombshells last issue, it is barely dealt with.

Kyle acts and seems like the whole ordeal didn’t occur… weird and disappointing. Moving right along we meet Metal Golems and Orion. Anyone old enough to remember the Millennium Giants might feel a shudder of fear over the arrival of these immensely powerful goliaths but lets see how it plays out.

Orion is an interesting character so having him and the New Gods added to the mix might make things a little interesting but so far it is too early to tell.l

 

SUPERGIRL #12
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artists: Robson Rocha & Daniel Henriques

As a Cat Grant imposter shoots Kara with an energy pistol, the girl of steel finds her powers are being overloaded at random times. Meanwhile Emerald Empress joins forces with Solomon Grundy, Indigo, Magog and Selena to recreate the Fatal Five.

Unsure of her powers and having almost jeopardiscer secret identity, Supergirl visits The Blade to visit her father Zor El. Zor is no longer Brainiac’s acolyte, having had his cybernetics removed and a synthetic polymer grafted to replace its functions. Zor is still hurting from his daughters betrayal and refuses to acknowledge her.

Emerald Empress confronts Director Chase while Magog sends a super enhanced Solomon Grundy on a rampage.

Now a gigantic beast, Grundy attacks National City and only Supergirl can stop him!

Remember the episode of the Supergirl show ‘World’s Finest’ where Silver Banshee & Livewire join forces out of the blue? It was an awesome crossover with The Flash but it felt rushed? This is what this issue felt like. These was so much going on; the Cat Grant doppelganger, the over powering, the scene with the floor collapsing, the scene with Zor El and it was all so rushed through that it felt a bit flakey.

They were in such a hurry for the villain team-up that it just ‘happened’. Supergirl hasn’t even MET Selena, Solomon Grundy or Indigo yet, so why they’d team up against her feels odd. I do like the fan-service acknowledgements but they aren’t making sense just yet. One thing of note that the book does right is addressing the continuity clash of Hank Henshaw returning as Cyborg Superman.

To be clear, I like the ideas – all of them, but I would like to see them all fleshed out.

 

SUPERWOMAN #13
Writer: K. Perkins
Artist: Stephen Segovia

Lana has returned to Smallville seeking answers to her powers but as she does she meets a superpowered being named Red Sun. Red Sun is influencing Superwoman and they are causing terrible damage to the small town.

Flashbacks reveal the early days of Lana and Clark’s friendship and when they were pulled in different directions. Clark by Lex Luthor and Lana by Amos Aimes.

Lex, of course, grew to be a nemesis of Superman and then the battle armoured Metropolis Superman. Amos after being in a motorcycle accident with Lana witnessed Clark being hurt by Lana’s necklace. Seeing its power lead Amos to work in Lexcorp and conduct unauthorized experiments on Red Kryptonite, the result was his transformation into Red Sun.

Lex chased his old school friend back to Smallville and found he has control over Lana, mirroring their teenage years.

With Lex being beaten to a pulp by Amos and Lana and Smallville facing ruin, Supergirl races to the rescue.
                                                                                                                                                                            Can she even the balance before Smallville and Superwoman are destroyed?

Someone has been watching Smallville.  Amos Aimes is clearly an allegory of Whitney Fordman but the bad boy could easily have been Kenny Braverman (aka Conduit). Still there’s no harm, no foul in creating yet another Smallville classmate with a chip on his shoulder. I half expected Chloe Sullivan to appear in the flashback if Perkins was going the whole hog.

Like Supergirl, this issue rushes headfirst into a story without thinking. The flashback establishes the relationship between Amos and Lana, even throws in the old kryptonite necklace and while it established history it does little to address how or why Red Sun has come to Smallville after working for Lexcorp in Metropolis. If Amos is hunting for Lana and knows her secret identity somehow, fine, show me how. Throwing in Lex makes more sense in that case but so far it seems like I started reading the book with the first chapter omitted.

 

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #16
Writers: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Artists: Ron Wagner & Andy Owens

Rivalry between Scrappy and Mystery Inc reaches fever pitch but their differences must be put aside before it’s too late.

The monsters have discovered they possess an ability that can help them with world domination and they merge into a Megamonster controlled by a tiny creature within it, called the Amalgamind. As Daisy, Cliff and Fred try to battle the Megamonster’s smaller ‘parts’ Scrappy and Scooby attack the huge beast themselves.

As Scooby is pushed away Scrappy fights his way inside the beast coming face to face with Amalgamind. A psychic explosion rips through everything in sight. Did Scooby and Scrappy make it out alive and without Amalgamind what of the monsters’ attack? Mystery Inc are in for a devastating future.

The first chapter I’ve really enjoyed in this ‘reimagining’ now that the team is all together against a single threat.

The breakdown of the plot says it all really, this is the big visual issue. Nothing much in the story department really happens except in those last few pages. Scrappy’s sacrifice is a noble one and I hope it isn’t in vain. This is still nowhere near as fun or interesting as the books based on the show itself but I like that it keeps trying to expand upon the legend. The scene where Scrappy asks Daphne and Velma to pass a message on to his owner was touching and Scooby has proven to have matured. I miss the days of unmasking a monster instead of running from real ones but now Amalgamind is gone as the driving force its a whole different ballgame.

 

SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #84
Writers: Sholly Fisch, Jymn Magon & John Ruzum
Artist: Randy Elliot, Scott Jeralds, Jack Purcell & Fabio Laguna

Joust in Thyme a medieval theme restaurant is being haunted by an 800 year old spirit, The Stormy Knight!
Scooby and Shaggy must put their fears aside and don suits of armour to protect the diners, their friends and the the restaurant. It is a race to discover the knights identity before they fall under the knight’s blade.

Another restaurant, the Yummaguchi is under attack from a vengeful Samurai warrior.
The team visit Meiko, a friend of Daphne’s and discover her aunt is facing ruin, not only from the warrior but the burger bar next door. Meiko is kidnapped and the samurai is bringing Yummaguchi to its knees. Even Scooby and the gang might not be able to stop it before it’s too late.

The final tale is one from Velma herself as she teaches us and the Mystery Inc about the origins of Zombies and how different cultures have different tales to their strange beginnings. As they prepare for bed has the Mystery Inc base been infiltrated by a zombie?

Another issue another three stories to enjoy. Two culinary themed stories around the same premise and one with Velma showing her vast knowledge of the supernatural. It seems odd that two stories about restaurant hauntings should be in the same issue, but they were fun and showed you can be creative with the theme. I preferred the Stormy Knight if I had to pick, but I liked that Meiko was in genuine danger and gave the team an impetus to solve the mystery quickly.

The third story was more akin to a profile but the ending did give me a chuckle.

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Ivan Reis

Ryan reaches out to the team about Professor Palmer’s signal and they agree to help him find his mentor. Following the events in The Ray’s city, Vixen, Black Canary & The Ray stay behind in case The Might Beyond The Mirror reappears. Batman, Lobo, Killer Frost & Ryan build a spacecraft of Ray Palmer’s design and head into the Microverse.

This universe is the microscopic fabric of reality. If it unravels, it will destroy everything that is and reality will cease to exist. The team crash land and track Ray Palmer’s signal but what they find is not what they’d ever expected.

I really enjoyed this issue, it was great to see the team delegate missions.
The character moments drove the story and the lack of a lame villain proved to make the issue one of the strongest for this title to date.

The art was striking and the revelation that the microverse is tied to the fabric of reality suddenly elevated the team to multiverse saviors… if they can find Professor Palmer first.

Speaking of Palmer, is that him? Has he ‘turned to the dark side’? Or was his bio belt stolen?

Orlando just got me cheering for the book. I think after so many issues of cementing the relationships of the team, I was ready for them to make their mark, this looks like their defining moment.

 

HARLEY QUINN #25
Writers: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Paul Dini
Artists: Chad Hardin, Bret Blevins & J. Bone

Harley is hosting the party of all parties. As Sy Borgman celebrates with a whole host of guest stars.

From her gang of Harleys, to Catwoman, to Poison Ivy even Power Girl stops by to help the celebrations along.

While they gather for the big bash, armed enemies surround the building and attack.

Harley is less than pleased and unleashes all kinds of fury against the party crashers.

It will all end in tears and plenty of bloody. Naturally.

Elsewhere the Joker & Harley story comes to a close ready for a spin off as the Joker uncovers Harley’s plot to create the ultimate hideout for the Clown Prince of Crime.

It’s a twenty fifth issue so why not have a party?

Cameos abound, this issue was a lot of fun, exploring many of the relationships that have laid dormant for whatever reason, though I guess Harley’s hectic lifestyle is more to blame than anything. I loved the Power Girl scene. I think their relationship is genuinely entertaining and that Power Girl is criminally underused in the DC Universe. The ambush was to be expected though I thought it would be more a Justice League operation to bring Harley and the various criminals in and not these soldiers.

The attack threw a spanner into the works at just the right moment – before it got too sugary! Harley Quinn is a unique title, sometimes it makes me smile, sometimes facepalm, but it is always a great read!

 

‘Bad Black’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced and Written by
Nabwana I.G.G., Alan Hofmanis

Directed by Nabwana I.G.G.
Starring Nalwanga Gloria, Alan Hofmanis,
Bukenya Charles, Bisaso Dauda, Kizito Robert

A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

 

An American doctor, Alan Ssali, working in Uganda is robbed by Bad Black, the leader of a gang of street thieves. Ssali gets training and encouragement from his assistant, a child named Wesley Snipes, so that he can go up against Bad Black and her gang to retrieve his belongings.

Bad Black is the latest action extravaganza from Ugandan one-man studio Nabwana I.G.G. and boy is it a doozy.

Now to be fair I am not judging this movie harshly over it’s lack of technical skill but rather I am judging it for its entertainment value and intent.

Bad Black is a cheaply produced, shot on video movie made with non-actors and homemade CGI, but its level of enjoy ability is through the roof and to criticize it’s technical shortcomings would be a cheap shot. And really, what can you expect from a movie supposedly made for the equivalent of $65.00 other than to at least be entertained?

Much like the fandom for 80’s shot on video fare and Turkish knockoff cinema the recent explosion of low budget action and horror movies from Africa has begun amassing a fan base around the globe and Nabwana I.G.G. is one of the leaders in the field. Bad Black is sure to garner the international notoriety as his first feature Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010) and is bound to become a classic of a genre one can only refer to as weird world cinema.

Plus, if you can see Bad Black at a festival screening word is that the filmmaker customizes the film to each event, which is an added level of great showmanship.

 

 

‘Junk Head’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Takehide Hori, Surprised Red
Written and Directed by Takehide Hori
Voices by Takehide Hori,
Atsuko Miyake, Yuji Sugiyama
A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

If the world asked what would happen if David Cronenberg did stop motion animation the answer would be Takahide Hori’s Junk Head.

This feature length follow-up to the award winning short film Junk Head 1 from 2013 continued the style of the short while expanding the story both forward from and prior to the action of the short.

The story followed an unnamed adventurer exploring the depths of a dystopian post apocalyptic underground civilization in the wake of a 1,200 year truce after a war with humans and clone worker slaves. Humanity has changed a lot with no need for a body for the head to survive. The clones have mutated into a variety of cute and horrific creatures with many variations on the human form reminiscent of the creations of the Umbrella Corporation from the Resident Evil game franchise.

The adventurer was beset from the beginning and his body changed throughout the film. After his initial drop into the subterranean world was interrupted by a missile, the pieces were reconstructed into a white robot shell. With amnesia he forgot his purpose and played a compliant fish out of water being attacked by many of the well constructed and somewhat gruesome mutated clones of the underworld. After a harrowing trauma restored his memory, panic drove him to nearly destroy himself again as he fell deeper into the abyss of the mutant clone domain. He was reconstructed again and again subject to amnesia and acquired the name Junkers.

Slowly through other adventures and some concussive memory restoration the reason for the trip below and information about life above were revealed. The characters all spoke a gibberish of fake languages with subtitles letting the audience in on what was said. This followed from the original short where the gibberish was subtitled in Japanese or English. There was no dubbed version for those that don’t want to read.

Something seemed familiar about the film when I first watched it: the first 30 minutes of the feature were the original short film Junk Head 1. The rest of the feature picked up immediately after the short’s last scene. The middle of the film dragged a bit with an episodic repetition of attack, run, get damaged. The third act broke the sequence and brought together elements from earlier in the film culminating in a touching climactic scene.

The original short took four years to complete, from 2009 to 2013, and was worked on only by Takehide Hori, working under the name Yamiken. The feature took four more and expanded the short from 30 minutes to 114. He also acquired a few extra helpers but it boggled my mind to know that a handful of people made this entire feature length stop motion animation film. In another nod to the D.I.Y. Nature of the film it was shot using a Canon Kiss X4 camera; sold as the T2i in the U.S. and was considered to be a low-end consumer DSLR.

The animation style was still pretty rough and reminiscent more of A Town Called Panic than the ultra-slick Laika stop-motion animation from something like Kubo and the Two Strings. The character models and sets were all very well done. The creatures were raw and sometimes profane. The violence was not held back with blood, guts and dismemberment used to good effect. This was not a film aimed at children.

 

‘M.F.A.’ (Fantasia Film Festival review)

0
0

Produced by Shin Shimosawa, Leah McKendrick
Written by Leah Mckendrick
Directed by Natalia Leite 
Starring Francesca Eastwood, Leah McKendrick,
Peter Vack, Clifton Collins Jr., Marlon Young,
David Sullivan, Michael Welch, Mike C. Manning
A Fantasia Film Festival Selection

 

Noelle is a socially awkward introverted art student attempting to come out of her shell. When she accepts an invitation to a party from a guy in one of her classes Noelle hopes to have a fun evening, but when he sexually assaults her it turns into a horrific ordeal.

After realizing that the school’s counselors will do little to nothing about what happened Noelle decides to confront her attacker and in the encounter he accidentally falls over a railing to his death.

With little attention paid to her and no suspicion shown toward Noelle over her attacker’s death she turns to her art as an outlet.

But soon after the incident Noelle becomes driven to avenge girls whose assaults went unpunished and soon finds herself researching other attacks who’s perpetrators were unfairly let go or not prosecuted.

M.F.A. is a solid thriller with a compelling and unfortunately believable story. Writer Leah McKendrick and director Natalia Leite have devised a strong narrative shot in a practical fashion that solidifies the realistic nature of the narrative and actions while pulling the viewer in. On top of that the cast are all great, but Francesca Eastwood (daughter of Clint) stands out as her performance is full of the awkward nuance and mannerisms. The small actions and expressions that let you believe Noelle is at first introverted and later focused on a “mission” which most actors would forgo for a more outward performance.

I’m not sure what the release plans are for M.F.A. but I urge anyone interested in horror, thriller, or gritty crime films to add M.F.A. to your must see list and bump it to the top.

M.F.A. is an entertaining film about an important subject and should be seen by as many people as possible. M.F.A. is more than a just an emotionally gripping thriller, it is a rape revenge film for the post Hunting Ground (2015) world.

 

 

Pilot Error: More Animated Disasters

0
0

More animated pilots this time and all from the glorious 1980’s. Well one is from 1992 and another aired in 1992 but it was made in the 1980’s.

Look, it’s more fun if you pretend they are all 1980’s okay?

Jeeze.

 

Solarman

Here we have a cartoon based on a comic book AND produced by the same Marvel Animation team just like last column’s Pryde of the X-Men pilot (in fact it was made to be the sister series to that X-Men show).

Despite Solarman being a comic character and this pilot being made by Marvel Animation Studios, oddly enough, Solarman is not a Marvel Comics character. It’s a cartoon based on a comic book that Marvel did not own and yet Marvel would make comic books for.

Created in 1979 by David Oliphant and Deborah Kalman for an indie studio (Pendulum Press) Solarman was only licensed to Marvel Comics in 1988 for this (potential) series and a short lived comic book.

After the pilot was made it was reported by Oliphant that he was offered $15 Million to make it a stripped (5 days a week) cartoon, but they then pulled their offer once it started to look like weekday and Saturday Morning cartoons were not as popular as they had been.

So the pilot (made in 1988) and released on VHS in 1989 and eventually aired on Fox Kids in 1992 as a companion to the Pryde of the X-Men pilot is interesting to say the least.

By the way, that VHS goes for a ton these days. A beat up copy can go for $40.

Anyway the show itself was standard stuff. An evil alien (Gormagga Kraal, now there is a bad guy name) wants to blow up our sun and kill our solar system. His minions betray him and give the CIRCLET OF POWER to a comic book artist in earth so he can become SOLARMAN and defend the planet.

The rest plays out like you think it does.

The villain is literally a mass murderer though which is interesting in a kids show. He blows up entire planets full of people and attempts to blow up the earth. There are even two characters that die in this pilot. This was highly unusual for a kids cartoon to actually deal with death.

There are problems with the hero though.

First off this is a hero that NEEDS the sun to be a hero so literally this is a hero that can be stopped by an eclipse… or CLOUDS (this happens in the pilot).

Didn’t the Nuclear Man from Superman IV tread this same territory?

Lets not even get into the fact that the main human character is a meek nobody that is scared of everything and can only become a “hero” when he pretends he is someone else.

That is a bad message for kids. “Hey kids, if you suck as a person, pretend you are someone else”.

Don’t forget the use of the stolen Star Wars sound effect, too.

There are references to Spider-Man and The Hulk as comic book characters so I wager this was not meant to crossover with the other Marvel Animation properties at any point.

Not sure how this would have done if it had been picked up but I have honestly watched way worse cartoons that did go to full series.

 

Defenders of Dynatron City

This is a weird one. In this case I am not sure if this was ever going to make it as a series as this was more of a tie-in to the video game out at the time and less of a pilot per se.

Also the behind the scenes nonsense that went on indicated they were not serious to bring the Defenders of Dynatron City to kids.

“Thinking is boring.” That quote sets the tone and I mean that in a good way.

They had Whoopi Goldberg and Tim Curry on the voice cast and originally Christopher freaking Walken voiced the villain Doctor Mayhem.

For some reason which no one can discern (even the producer dose not know), shortly before the special aired Walken was replaced by veteran voice actor Charlie Adler who re-recorded all of the dialog for the character.

No one on the production is sure why this happened as word has it that Walken was great in the role and had a lot of fun doing it.

The Walken version has never leaked out. Then again animation studio DIC (known in the industry by the unflattering moniker “Do It Cheaper”) was having severe financial issues at the time so perhaps they realized if this went to series they could not afford Walken.

This makes it odd when you hear Doctor Mayhem speak. You can see that Adler did not have the same cadence that Walken did and the voice does not match the lip movements while the other characters animation DO match their lips. The animation was clearly done to Walken and not Adler.

A mix of super bad early 90’s CG and traditional animation Defenders of Dynatron City is a curious specimen. First off it is very fun and the target audience seems to be teens rather than children and second with this being pretty much a tie-in for the game and the game failing to live up to promises you can easily see how this failed to gain an audience.

Lets not let that “not aimed at kids” thing go either. The writing here was well above that of the standard Fox Kids fare of the time. Hell the entire premise of the show is more or less “what if a 50’s SF novel was made today”. There is a sly subversive nature to this entire thing which I think might have been lost on 1992 kids.

The pilot/special aired in 1992 on Fox Kids and was released on VHS and unlike Solarman this VHS can be found quite cheap. Although it was put on a shit SLP dub so good luck tracking that.

 

Defenders of the Earth

This is really odd. In 1986 King Features (owners of many newspaper comic strip properties) had the idea of combining all of their adventure characters into one new property. The Defenders of the Earth.

The Defenders would consist of Flash Gordon, Mandrake The Magician, Lothar and the Phantom along with their respective children (it was an 80’s cartoon, of course it had teen characters in it). The main big bad guy was Ming from the Flash Gordon serial as he attempted to take over the Earth.

Biggest change one might notice is that Lothar is no longer Mandrake’s Man-Servant as he was in the comic strips (man it was a different time back then). Lothar now is (according to his action figure) a “Caribbean Ninja”. Nice step up from the comic strips of the 1940’s.

Lasting for 65 episodes from 1986-1987 the show was a modest success with comic books, an action figure line and a few video games (mostly in the UK).

With the animation being done by Marvel Productions you know it was well made for what it was but this test reel might not let you know that.

This was a test reel made to sell the show (being a first run syndication series it was sold to each station rather than a network). You will notice that this has a 1985 copyright on it allowing that quite a bit happened between this test reel and the final pilot.

This test reel is more of a trailer FOR the TV stations as the narrator is speaking directly to them but it’s still a pilot. You will notice that while the style of animation is the same the character models are all different, the voices are all different (Lothar is a borderline racist caricature here still) and the reuse of music from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. But since the show went on to be a success it worked.

Next time I will look a tale of the two Ghostbusters cartoons (yes, there are test pilots).

 

Viewing all 17882 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images