This time around it’s about families again!

Grayson’s son (in the possible future) faces down death in his last issue, Zod’s son is reintroduced – twice (it’s comics, it happens), and Diana’s brother… continues to exist (I blow my tiniest party horn).

Action Comics #996
Words – Dan Jurgens
Pictures – Will Conrad, Ivan Nunes

Supes, Booster Gold and Skeets run into the (adult) son of Zod (Lor-Zod) in the near future on planet Jekuul they landed in.

Yes, this was a reveal on the last page and technically a ~spoiler~, but the issue spoils it for you on the cover.

If I don’t bring it up I can’t mention how bad a position his left arm is in. Try it (don’t try it!) it locks your arm above and behind you, and even without holding weight in that hand it’ll hurt!

Let’s get past that (Lor-Zod also has a Popeye right forearm) Lois was able to sneak into Logamban, and her son was able to shadow her without any big alarms being set off. Back on Jekuul (it was renamed New Krypton by Zod), after a fight Supes wants to smash everything, but Booster explains to him AGAIN how time travel adventuring works.

They “get captured” and Skeets gets to puppet master the robot that tried to kill them and cosplay as a security bot.

Potentially the worst plan yes, but it’s the only way to scrounge the spare parts to get them home.

Batgirl #19
Words – Hope Larson
Pictures – Chris Wildgoose, Jose Marzan Jr., Mat Lopes

It’s a cute straightforward crimefighting comic, and sometimes that’s refreshing. The pages are clearly drawn and easy to follow, the dialogue solid.

An issue like this feels like catching an episode of a comfortable t.v. show.

During an unexpectedly cold night Barbara stops donut thugs, but pays for it with the lack of sleep and sugar crash the next day (heroes don’t take payment, but gratis crullers are a o.k.!).

But she must try to stay awake to congratulate her friend Quadir on his new – secret lab job?

No time for that now, the unexpected weather is getting worse and all the while satellites are saying is a nice normal day.

What’s happening?

Eco Terrorists?

Computer Bugs?

Aliens?

Two of those things are true, and maybe Quadir’s new job ties in because there are no extraneous details here.

Blue Beetle #17
Words – Christopher Sebela
Pictures – Scott Kolins, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

We end the Road to Nowhere story with more questions than answers.

Brenda Paco and Naomi run until cornered by the flying ships, but defend themselves from the advanced future tech with lengths of rusty pipe (it’s a lot more effective than you’d think).

Meanwhile, Blue Beetle’s being beaten up/lectured to by the crazy semi-dead scientist trying to be alive again. Jaime uses the moment his focus is occupied with running the time experiment (again) to smash the equipment and (somehow) yank the time machine pieces out of the scientist.

Jaime’s friends are crushed by debris, then uncrushed (time powers are weird) and Brenda realizes Jaime is Blue Beetle (and she was the last to know). She demonstrates her anger at his lack of honesty as soon as they are safe.

The scientist is psyched at being alive again but he and and all the bad guys get sent to a “Metaprison”.

At the very end of the story after everyone goes away, in the desert the scientist (still semi-dead somehow?) meets up with his somehow free gang of age shifting criminals – and I am very confused.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37
Words – Robert Venditti
Pictures – Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Tomeu Morley

John’s troubled with the Guardian’s new hands on approach. He’s tempted to quit but his need to do good wins out.

An emergency call comes from the planet Jekuul (why does that name sound familiar?), there are reports of unauthorized resource exploitation.

Unfortunately it’s Zod and family building up their power on an especially nice (yellow) sunny day. Kyle and Hal get their buns kicked and captured.

This artist team really puts so much effort into making eyes wet and shiny, it’s almost a shame they’re on a book where the character’s eyes are so often shadowed or whited out with a mask.

Justice League of America #23
Words – Steve Orlando
Pictures – Neil Edwards, Daniel Henriques, Andy Owens, Hi-Fi

When your villain pulls an Athena-like escape out of the noggin of your team mate, things are only getting stranger.

I appreciate that Tsaritsa seems both honest and mad in a way that feels genuine. She does not care what anyone but her sister substitute (Frost) thinks of her, and she’s more than willing to explain the exacts of her plan if only asked the right questions.

Frost is regretting wishing her power/curse away, but is still convinced that a future where her ice kills everyone is a worse threat than the fear-eating Tsaritsa who has her giant “Woodsmen” building them a device for travel out of this world.

Ray comes back after realizing he’s needed and Vixen pulls a “Wolverine” to get back in the game. The team rallies just in time to see Tsaritsa at the device open a dimensional door but she’s met with forceful resistance from the other side!

I’m an easy mark for this, I can not wait to read next issue!

Looney Tunes #241
Words – Sholly Fisch, Frank Strom
Pictures – Robert Pope, Scott McRae, Rock Candy, Howard Simpson, Mike DeCarlo, Dave Tanguay, Digital Chameleon, David Alvarez

Three stories in this issue. It’s just as described on the tin, no more no less.

First is a night out at the movies for Granny, Tweety and Sylvester. Granny must have left her hearing aids at home, between the ruckus of Sylvester trying to eat Tweety and Tweety trying to get Sylvester kicked out, how else do you remain so blissfully unaware?

Next is Sylvester and son going after a mouse into a library. For the second time this week the issue revolves around Sylvester trying his best to catch his lunch while staying quiet enough not to get in trouble.

But the third story changes that up, Sylvester is being used as unpaid labor on Porky’s archaeological expedition.

It’s exactly as you remember such routines going in the cartoons, Porky doesn’t see the danger until the end and belittles the cat saving his life until then.

Nightwing: The New Order #6
Words – Kyle Higgins
Pictures – Trevor McCarthy, Dean White

Last issue folks!

Jake takes a break and watches some old footage of his dad as Robin. Kory tries grab a moment with her son but he’s not up to that yet.

Lex was able to unlock Freeze’s dampening of Flash’s powers and you feel a warm fuzzy with the familiar relationship Clark and Lex have built.

Dick grabs Jake and meets Kate at the entrance, as mentioned last issue he traded their freedom for this group’s plans. Jake wakes up mid-car ride and apologizes that he could not be as good a Robin to Dick as Dick was to Batman. That it could have made a difference, could have shown Dick that he could trust the best in people.

There’s fighting, and explosions, and robots, and bigger fighting, and unlikely last minute alliances and betrayals.

It’s fun, a good ending (no need to continue) and I’d be glad to watch it animated.

Scooby-Doo! Team Up #34
Words – Sholly Fisch
Pictures – Dario Brizuela, Franco Riesco

In this mostly ladies-only issue of Scooby-Doo, Daphne, Velma and Scooby are called to assist the Birds of Prey (Huntress, Batgirl and the Black Canary).

Mythological birds are terrorizing Gotham and after a lighthearted discussion on code-names for all (Velma might have to explain that her’s is a Poe reference if they ever meet the Teen Titans) they get to work investigating the clues.

Giant birds robbing diamonds? Was it an animal related criminal, a bird one, Mr. Freeze (diamonds are known as ice). They’ll need to figure this out before the town gets robbed and roasted!

In the meantime Fred and Shaggy meet the nicest mannequin fellow.

How nice? Shaggy doesn’t freak out that he’s talking to a living doll, that is a nice change of pace. (and if interested reader look up his history, the story inside and outside the comic page for Brother Power the Geek is intriguing)

The Demon Hell Is Earth #3
Words – Andrew Constant
Pictures – Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, Chris Sotomayor

Remember where we left off last time?

Little girl suddenly burned to a crisp down to her bones, yeah that happened. But it was okay because she was dead already and Merlin (Etrigan’s half brother) was using her as a disguise?

Merlin’s perturbed the fire hurt/he got outed. I was in full agreement with Blood when he looks away (but smirks) half heartedly saying “No Etrigan. You Shouldn’t. Bad.” as Etrigan wallops the wizard far enough for a field goal.

They will have to work with Merlin though, the Demon behind this whole “Hell on Earth” plan is none other than Merlin and Etrigan’s papa, Belial.

He literally caged Lucifer (who’s doing his best glowing-eyed brooding attractive guy impression) and is going to take both realms.

An approaching army of demons lead by a fiery-headed red brute (Etrigan’s uncle actually) on a half smoke horse with bone legs interrupts their squabble. Who doesn’t love sudden overwhelming odds?

The Hellblazer #18
Words – Richard Kadrey
Pictures – Davide Fabbri, José Marzán Jr., Carrie Strachan

John’s in a place you go when you die, so it’s a good thing he’s not dead cuz’ he’s gonna have to convince the flaming guy with three eyes standing behind him of that.

The isolationist putz who plugged John calls the cops to the the scene, then scoots with his partner.

Jackie the witch is hurt, but still alive (yay) and calls for help while avoiding the two killers who attacked them.

John does a good job of pulling info out of the scary deity.

Partially just to get rid of him the deity knocks John back into his body and he has minutes to get out of the crime scene before the police arrive.

The witch coven is demanding he solve this, the killers want him dead, the police are chasing him and John is just so done with it all.

Wonder Woman #39
Words – James Robinson
Pictures – Emanuela Lupacchino, Carmen Carnero, Ray McCarthy, Romulo Fajardo Jr,

In the house of the Darlings, the family lies sliced and bleeding on the floor and Vanessa (Silver Swan) is anger monologuing at Wonder Woman as she cuts at her with her sharp feathered wings.

Wondy won’t fight her at full power (even though Vanessa just killed innocents) out of their brief history and feelings of responsibility.

I am confused by Vanessa’s gimmick here, she was a dancer but she’s using sonic “singing” powers. Why not make the power dance-related or have had her have been a singer?

Some pages of Darkseid and Grail having a father/daughter talk in the Amazon.

The Furies are sent to grab needed equipment.

I’m sure this is setting up something, but it seems Grail’s only use is exposition and being a cute young version of Darkseid.

Meanwhile, Jason sees Wondy’s fight on the news and decides to be a hero.

With him added into the mix, one of the two whiny people in this fight don’t look like they’re making it out alive. We’ll learn the outcome next time.

Normally, anything revived from the dead is something to be feared. But when dedicated fans broke crowdfunding records to bring back the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 after a nearly 18-year hiatus, it was an event worthy of the finest disco cannons! On April 17^th, 2018, fans can bring home their pals from the Satellite of Love in an eight-disc Blu-ray or DVD set, which featuring all 14 episodes from Season 11, as well as the feature-length documentary, We Brought Back MST3K. With a Certified 100 % Fresh critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the new season has been a hit with critics and fans alike, and is a must-own for MSTies. Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com

In Mystery Science Theater 3000, hapless Jonah Heston (Jonah Ray) is trapped on the dark side of the moon and forced to watch cheesy movies by the evil, profit-obsessed mad scientist Kinga Forrester (Felicia Day) and her snarky henchman Max (Patton Oswalt). So Jonah does what any gadget-savvy kidnappee would do: make fun of the films with the help of his wisecracking robot pals, Tom Servo (Baron Vaughn), Crow (Hampton Yount) and Gypsy (Rebecca Hanson). With luminary guest stars including Mark Hamill, Neil Patrick Harris, Joel McHale and Jerry Seinfeld, and the return of some familiar faces, MST3K: Season 11 is sure to keep you laughing ‘til you bust a seam in your jumpsuit!

MST3K Season 11 Episodes

• Reptilicus
• Cry Wilderness
• The Time Travelers
• Avalanche
• The Beast of Hollow Mountain
• Starcrash
• The Land That Time Forgot
• The Loves of Hercules
• Yongary
• Wizards of The Lost Kingdom
• Wizards of The Lost Kingdom II
• Carnival Magic
• The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t
• At The Earth’s Core

MST3K: Season 11 Bonus Features:

• We Brought Back MST3K Documentary. This feature length documentary provides fans with an insider’s look at the creation of Season 11 and its triumphant debut on Netflix. Featuring new interviews with Joel Hodgson, Jonah Ray, Felicia Day, Patton Oswalt and many others, interwoven with previously unseen footage from all stages of MST3K’s miraculous comeback.

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown!

It’s a hell of a week for reading comics. Let’s waste no time!

Doomsday Clock #3
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Gary Frank

I love how this book is turning out.

I know there’s been a few naysayers about it. I can defend it though: Geoff Johns has written a strong and emotional narrative that is also very fluid. He just bravely went where no writer would and I can’t help but admire that.

It also makes it a hard comic book to review because you don’t want to give anything away.

Every issue so far has kept me on my toes and this one is no different. Suffice to say, the story twists here and it’s something I didn’t expect or see coming. It’s the best when that happens. The ending of this is truly awesome.

The art by Frank is the best of his career. Hands down. It’s impressive how easy he makes it look.

He’s got the entire DC Universe down as well as the entire Watchmen universe. Pick it up. It’s a must read.

RATING: A

Batman Beyond #16
Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Phil Hester

This is the best book Dan Jurgens has written. I don’t know why, but for some reason he really has the characters down. I love the way he handles Terry McGinnis and the story is quite strong.

This is part three of the storyline: “The Long Payback!” The character of Stalker has arrived in Gotham City and he’s got one thing on his mind: he wants to take down the Batman!

Stalker has more training than Batman and not even Bruce Wayne might be able to help Terry!

Will he survive?

Find out here!

The art by Hester is wonderful. This issue is just essentially a huge fight. But what a fight it is!

Hester keeps the pace moving and is a surprisingly good choice for this comic. Pick it up. It’s a heck of comic book for sure!

RATING: B+

Detective Comics #973
Written by James Tynion IV
Illustrated by Jesus Merino

This is the finale of the “Fall of The Batmen” story! I wish it was a bit stronger. There were some “twists” in it I saw coming a mile away. Tynion writes a pretty standard story that didn’t really excite me.

The team of Batmen has been taken apart!

They still have to face a powerful adversary!

Can this adversary be beaten?

All this and Batwoman has to make a decision. That decision may take apart everything that Batman has built!

The art is the best part here. Merino does a really nice job of telling a story. His figure drawing is pretty spot on too as usual.

Still, the issue as a whole is a little boring and flat. Maybe it’ll pick up next issue!

RATING: B-

The Flash #39
Written by Joshua Williamson
Illustrated by Carmine Di Giandomenico

This is being billed as the 700th tale of the Flash!

It’s also the start of a brand new storyline!

“The Perfect Storm” begins here and Williamson gives us one hell of a setup for a cool comic book tale!

In this story, Barry Allen wants to make it up to the people he has hurt.

What a guy! But he’s going to be stopped by none other than Gorilla Grodd. This may seem like a simple confrontation but it’s anything but. In fact, it may even have something to do with Barry’s origins with the Speed Force!

The art is fantastic. For my money, Carmine Di Giandomenico is one of the best Flash artists ever. I love his work in general and I love it here. This is one hell of a package.

Pick it up. It’s a must read if you’re a Flash fan!

RATING: A

The Wild Storm #11
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Jon Davis-Hunt

Warren Ellis is writing some classic comic books right here! I hope you are reading. He has taken these almost forgotten about characters and breathed an intense new life into them. The story feels fresh and new and it’s a thrilling adventure month in and month out.

In this issue the Wildcats have to get into the Hightower site without being detected.

What does that mean?

It means an all out cyber attack on Skywatch!

Who will live?

Who will die?

Why is this comic book so damn exciting?

Find out here!

The art by Davis-Hunt is very good. He can tell a story very well. He can also make his characters “act” incredibly well. Together, with Ellis, they make a heck of a team. Pick this up. It’s excellent.

RATING: A

Doom Patrol #10
Written by Gerard Way
Illustrated by Nick Derington

This is a great comic book.

I love the Doom Patrol.

Gerard Way has such an affinity for these characters you can’t help but fall in love with his take. I am in complete love with what he and Nick Derington are doing here.

It’s a weird storyline for sure. I can’t even tell you I knew where I was before starting the attempt to read this issue. But I went back and reread the last three to refresh myself. You have to. There is such a long wait between issues you can’t read t otherwise.

The wait it worth it though. The story is completely delightful. The art by Derington is amazing. He’s one of the best artists in the field and his art truly pops.

Pick this up. It’s a weird and wild ride for sure. It’s also wonderful and it’s what good comic books are made of.

RATING: A

Suicide Squad #34
Written by Simon Spurrier
Illustrated by Fernando Pasarin

This is another fine issue written by Simon Spurrier. I prefer him writing Suicide Squad as he is more grounded in his writing than Rob Williams was on this title. He could do some really great things here. Let’s hope he sticks around for a good healthy run.

This is the finale of the storyline “The Chosen Juan!”

Harley is out of commission!

Deadshot is out of commission!

Killer Croc is out of commission!

And only one person stands in the way of the alien armada!

That would be the criminal known only as Juan!

Can he do it?

The story is fast and fun. The artwork is pretty damn good as well. Pick this up. I hope this is the beginning of a new era for the Suicide Squad. I’ve enjoyed these past few issues.

RATING: B

Gotham City Garage #8
Written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Illustrated by Ming Doyle and Colleen Doran

This is a great alternative take on the DC universe. I have been enjoying each and every issue immensely. Pick this up and give it a shot.

The issue starts off with a Tula Lotay cover. Lotay is one of my favorite artists and the cover image is beautiful.

Then, you read the story within. Diana and Kara go on a trip in this issue. It’s funny and quite a good time overall.

The art is good too.

It is great to see Doran on this title as well, even if her contribution isn’t huge. She still makes an impact.

This was a good issue. Pick it up and enjoy it!

RATING: B

The Ruff and Reddy Show #4
Written by Howard Chaykin
Illustrated by Mac Rey

This book makes me laugh out loud. Howard Chaykin writes a fun tale that makes you chuckle and think. It’s smart. But what else do you expect from Chaykin?

This book is about betrayal. Ruff and Reddy do the unthinkable! They betrayed the one person who actually believed in them. And now?

Now, there’s going to be hell to pay!

And they have to be prepared to pay over and over again!

The art by Mac Rey is perfect for this book. He and Chaykin work well together.

Pick this book. It’s a heck of a lot of fun and I have been enjoying it immensely.

RATING: B+

Imaginary Friends #3
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Stephan Molinar

So, what if your imaginary friends were indeed real?

That’s the premise behind this book. And it’s okay.

I wish the writing was stronger. It is a throwback to old Vertigo comics. It just doesn’t work as well as those classics.

Agent Melba Li and her imaginary friend Polly Peachpit continue looking for a missing child. A conspiracy is unfolding in front of them.

Can they solve the mystery in time?

And will things be the same after?

The story is decent enough. The art of pretty good. It’s not a bad read overall. It’s just not as thrilling as I hoped it might be.

RATING: B-

Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1
Written by Marv Wolfman
Illustrated by Pop Mhan

Marv Wolfman is back writing Raven and all is right in the world again. I love his take on the Titans and man, did I like this comic book. Nobody can write like Wolfman and he still writes one hell of a comic book.

This book follows up the previous Raven miniseries which was pretty damn good as well. Raven is now going against another super supernatural threat.

Over the course of the first issue, the threat is introduced. We also see Raven’s allies. But are they allies at all? Wolfman’s writing is sure to keep us guessing.

The art by Mhan is strong. He needs the right book for his artwork to shine. This is the right book. This is a good first issue.

I eagerly await the rest of the twelve issue miniseries.

RATING: B+

Titans #16
Written by Marv Wolfman
Illustrated by Tom Derenick

And speaking of Marv Wolfman doing some writing, here he is again!

This time he’s writing on a Titans book! I feel like a child again! This is some good stuff and I enjoyed it very much!

A villain has taken over the minds of the people of San Francisco! That villain plants an idea into their minds: Destroy Starfire!

This leads Kory and her team to try and save the people and find out who this villain might be!

The story is great! I’m sad it’s just a one off for Wolfman as he writes an awesome story.

The art by Derenick is wonderful as well. Pick this up! It’ll put a smile on your face and make you nostalgic.

RATING: B+

Produced by Joanna Bowzer, Daryl Goldberg
Executive produced by Jonathan Gray,
Roslyn Greenfield
Written and Directed by Jamie Greenberg
Starring Nick Westrate, Betty Gilpin,
Robert John Burke, Ethan Phillips,
Sophie von Haselberg, Ilana Becker,
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sean Young

There’s something delightful about science movies; watching characters travel through different time periods effortlessly educating us about the past, teaching us something amazing about an alien or in Future ’38‘s case: killing Hitler.

In this “found footage” movie presented by the  Neil deGrasse Tyson (who giddily makes fun of himself), director Jamie Greenberg asks what would it take to save the world by stopping Hitler?

The year is 1938, three years before the destruction of Pearl Harbor and the creation of the “Formica Atom,” a device powered with enough energy to destroy cities that’ll have a lasting impact on the earth, especially if technology continues to advance. With Hitler becoming more powerful, there’s no way to presently stop him nor this device, however if someone is sent to 2018 they may be able to steal the device and bring it back to the past. Convoluted? Yes but that doesn’t stop Future ’38 from being so damn fun.

Despite the risks and with literally nothing to lose and no dignity to his name, Essex (Nick Westrate) volunteers his services just so he can make a quick $10,000 to travel to 2018 and retrieve the device to stop Hitler. Unlike Back to Future or other time travelling movie, the use of 2018 technology is grounded in realism. There’s no flying cars or other Jetsons-like inventions used as shock-value.

Instead, technology is advanced but very basic in its usage.

While this tactic is questionable at first, since we know how advanced cell phones are, it is effective when looking through the lens of someone living in the 30’s. As a result the movie is corny but sharply aware of its corniness. This is where the charm shines through the most, despite this ridiculous concept everyone plays their role with genuineness and brains to match.

Throughout the zaniness of the movie, there is also a love story between Essex and Banky (Betty Gilpin) that starts to brew. Unlike other movies that loses focus once love is introduced, it further enriches the story making the script more meatier and well-rounded. It’s easy to take pleasure in Essex’s insecurity about dating in modern times, even with Banky as his guide . Her sharp wit and bold attitude is hilarious compared to Essex’s unsure clumsy nature. Instead of being forced together for the sake of a love story we watch as these two characters naturally become fond of each other as their unexpected romance builds.

Other cast members such as Tom Riis Farrell, Hillel Meltzer, Tabitha Holbert and Sophie von Haselberg help to bring humor as the script pokes fun at Nazi Germans, technology, spies and sexism. Despite the sight gags, they are all grounded in a sense of realism and importance. It’s clear to see that Greenberg (both the screenwriter and director) took careful time placing in these moments that further drive the script forward. All characters, gags and lines written are so enjoyable the movie never feels like its dragging. Every moment serves a purpose and as a result each actor is allowed to shine in their role.

Greenberg has created a phenomenal movie with an unlikely superhero. He takes chances that’s smart enough to pay off, and fun enough to bring us from the brink of what could have been a destructive mess of a movie. Future ’38 is the delightful almost mockumentary that we deserve.

Future ’38 is now available on Digital HD

Every year there are certain trends that gain a footing on social media, and often transform it completely or at very least alter it in some way or other. Although it is still early in 2018 there are already some social media video trends that seem to be doing just that – and are likely to continue to do so over the course of the year.

Out of the trends that have already emerged this year, there are 3 that seem as though they’re likely to play a big role in the future:

Live videos

Ever since live videos were introduced on social media they have become more and more widespread. Not only are these videos able to attract more viewers than most other types of content, but they are also able to engage viewers and get them to watch for longer as well as comment, and react much more frequently.

While live videos aren’t likely to completely supplant other types of videos, their popularity is definitely on the rise as more and more brands and businesses start producing live content of their own.

360-degree videos

In the past 360-degree videos were popular – but mostly as a novelty. That seems set to change however, especially as both AR and VR continue to steadily appeal to a wider audience.

One of the main problems with 360-degree videos was that they were difficult and expensive to produce, but nowadays the equipment is cheaper and more readily available. Coupled with the fact that it is the easiest type of VR video to produce, it is likely this trend will continue growing.

Serialized content

When Facebook introduced the ‘Watch’ tab and started to attract serialized content – many people were skeptical. Although it is still too early to judge, the serialized content that has been published seems to be doing well, and that could have a big impact on social media videos in general.

In recent years the main trends for videos was to make them short and bite-sized, to cope with the fact that people aren’t willing to watch longer videos. However so far serialized content seems to buck that trend and is able to keep viewers watching for longer, and increase engagement levels.

While all these trends are likely to affect the types of videos that you want to create for social media – there’ll still be room for high quality and engaging content of other kinds too. As such if you’re looking for a place to start you may want to try out Movavi Screen Recorder for Mac. It is a simple video capture software Mac that will let you record your screen, and create various types of content in the process.

Because Movavi Screen Recorder for Mac will let you adjust the capture area, audio source, sound levels and other recording parameters – you can easily set it up to record anything at all from your Mac. That makes it perfect to create how-to guides, interviews, demonstrations and other types of content that are likely to do well on social media – trending or not.

Guest post by Chris Ludovici

Twin Peaks wrapped up this year and, if David Lynch is to be believed, it may be the final chapter not just on Laura Palmer and Agent Cooper but also Lynch’s final cinematic statement. If so, it’s a fitting end. The majority of Lynch’s post Twin Peaks Season One career has been devoted to examining the success of that season. The massive interest in Twin Peaks and in who killed Laura Palmer, combined with the fallout from being forced to prematurely resolve the mystery, seems to have had a profound effect on Lynch, one that colored much of his work afterward. It’s not hard to believe he was rattled by the experience and expectations placed on him, by the network and his suddenly large fan base.

Everybody knows the basic story of Twin Peaks’ creation, a mystery that wasn’t actually interested in resolving the mystery but wanted to use it as a series-long MacGuffin to explore the titular town and its strange inhabitants. Then it became a ratings phenomenon and the network forced Lynch and his creative partner Mark Frost to reveal the killer, which led to a catastrophic decline in creative inspiration and viewership. An abrupt cancellation followed the second season.

Threads of Lynch’s unhappiness weave through Season Two. The most obvious is the identity of Laura’s killer. Some people argue that Lynch and Frost always knew who Laura’s killer was, that it was decided before they began shooting, but I’ve never believed that. For one thing, Lynch is a famously instinctual filmmaker, more than willing to follow his inspiration to see where it takes him. Killer Bob, the evil spirit responsible for so much pain and suffering in Twin Peaks, came about because set-dresser Frank Silva was accidentally caught on film reflected in a set mirror and Lynch liked the look of him on film; and the sinister Black Lodge where Killer Bob resided when not possessing someone was an image that popped into Lynch’s head when he leaned onto a hot car hood on a warm day. It seems unlikely that a man willing to come up with so much of his show’s mythology on the fly would settle on something so significant as the killer’s identity before he began filming.

Especially considering Lynch never intended to reveal the killer at all. Plus, Lynch and Frost never told anyone who the killer was until they filmed the episode where they revealed his identity, not even to the actor who played the killer. It’s reasonable to believe that the decision to make Laura’s father her killer wasn’t made until the second season, after the network pressured Lynch and Frost to resolve the mystery.

That Leland Palmer is Laura’s killer is just about the darkest, cruelest, resolution possible. For Laura’s own father, the man that raised and loved her and who was so visibly shattered by her loss, to also be the author of all her pain means there was no way for her to avoid her fate. There was no choice she could have made, no other road she could have gone down, no authority she could have appealed to for help. The evil that consumed Laura was with her from birth; it walked with her every step of her short life. It also ties Leland to Lynch and Frost in interesting ways, because who are they in the end but Laura’s two fathers? They created and developed her for the sole purpose of striking her down. It’s a merciless act on Laura, and by identifying Leland as her killer they identify themselves as the true guilty parties.

Lynch’s attitude about fans is then revealed through the show’s second season ending. Lynch wasn’t as involved with the second season as the first, but he returned to direct several episodes, including the episode that revealed Laura’s killer and the season finale. And what a finale it is.

Aware of the show’s likely cancellation, Lynch refused to offer anything in the way of a conventional conclusion for his show. He reportedly ignored Frost’s more grounded script and instead filmed what can only be described as an hour of avant garde television, filled with phantasmagoric horror and wild cliffhangers that would never be resolved. In the end, the saintly protagonist, Dale Cooper, is possessed by Killer Bob. This is another sign, I think, of Lynch’s uneasiness with the Twin Peaks phenomenon. Lynch could have wrapped up some or all of the plots and returned everyone to a stable or at least safe place, but instead decided to unsettle nearly every character and plot line, and leave everyone’s fate in limbo.

Lynch followed up the Twin Peaks series with the Twin Peaks movie, but it’s not a follow-up designed to answer questions and resolve the numerous cliffhangers or even to save Cooper. Lynch decided to use his first trip back to explore the last days of its most famous citizen. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is an anti-mystery, it’s a story about abuse and suffering, the outcome of which is never in doubt. This is no watch-this-sweet-little-boy-turn-into-Darth-Vader fall from grace. It is a clear-eyed chronicling of the last few days of a young woman doomed and destroyed well before the story began.

It’s as if Lynch is punishing his viewers for being so obsessed with Laura and instead of denying them their desires, gives more than we could possibly handle. “Look at her,” Lynch and FWWM seem to say, “I gave you characters and humor and heart, but what you wanted was this girl. Okay, look at her. Look at how sad she is, how broken. Look at how hopeless her existence is. Look. Look.” Fire Walk With Me is the cinematic equivalent of your dad catching you smoking a cigarette and making you smoke the whole pack in front of him. It’s an unrelentingly, intense, brutal experience.

After Fire Walk With Me, Lynch made four other movies. One of them, 1999’s The Straight Story, is a lovely G-rated family film about a man driving his lawn mower cross country to reunite with his estranged brother. It’s the only movie that Lynch directed that he didn’t also write. It also doesn’t really fit the themes of this article, so I’m just going to say that it’s great and curious and move on to the other three.

Of the three movies that he wrote and directed after Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me, there are some unavoidable similarities that link the movies and, I would argue, to his experiences making Twin Peaks.

Consider: all are movies about artists living in Los Angeles, driven to madness and beyond, in part, by their art. In Lost Highway, Bill Pullman is Jazz musician Fred Madison, a passive, mild mannered man in everyday life, but whose music is loud, chaotic and angry. It’s easy to see the murderous Fred as another stand-in for Lynch, a famously sweet man who makes aggressively dark and frightening art. Lynch even used his own home in the film as the Madison’s home, furthering the Fred-as-Lynch metaphor.

In Mulholland Drive, Naomi Watts plays the plucky wannabe starlet Betty who falls in love with beautiful amnesiac Rita and is ultimately consumed by jealousy and lust, leading her to take a contract out on Rita’s life and then commit suicide.

And in Inland Empire, actress Nikki Grace disappears into an alternate universe of madness and terror while preparing for a role in a film where she’s unable to distinguish where she ends and her character begins.

Hollywood is no safe place in David Lynch’s world after Twin Peaks.

It’s a place where lives are cheap, violence is bubbles beneath the surface, and artistic integrity is nowhere to be found. Beyond the murderous protagonists of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, we also meet directors who are cuckolded by their wives and pushed around by executives, unable to even cast performers they want. We meet pornographers and mobsters and drug dealers and killers. Lynch’s Hollywood isn’t a place for innocent people or creative people or even decent people. It’s a pit of vipers emoting only rage.

Before Twin Peaks Lynch never showed much interest in Hollywood, but afterward the city of Los Angeles and the costs and compromises of living and working there are never far from his mind. It’s not hard to imagine that this view point was informed by the interference experienced by the previously unencumbered Lynch on Twin Peaks and the very public fall from grace of his show that resulted in that meddling.

Consider also how Twin Peaks seems to be the point in Lynch’s career where he begins his break from conventional plotting. Before Peaks Lynch was certainly an idiosyncratic filmmaker, but his movies made coherent sense. His plots were bizarre and challenging, but they unfolded in linear fashion, following identifiable structures and genres. After Twin Peaks and its unsatisfying conclusion, Lynch seemed to abandon conventional resolutions altogether. His later works are filled with clues that go nowhere, deliberately impossible plots, narratives that fold time and space and collapse back onto themselves and crawling with doppelgangers.

The most obvious analogue between Twin Peaks and his later work is Robert Blake as the Mystery Man in Lost Highway. It’s hard to watch Blake’s terrifying Mystery Man and not think about Michael J. Anderson’s sinister Man From Another Place in Twin Peaks.

Both are small frightening men who seem to exist outside of time and space and who step into the narrative to both drive the plot forward and to distort any hope of conventional plotting. But, beyond that, all the protagonists in Lynch’s post Peaks movies go through transformations where they become different people. Unable to resolve the Evil Cooper cliffhanger from Peaks, Lynch plays it out again and again, in increasingly abstract forms. The mobius strip narrative of Lost Highway becomes the dream turned nightmare logic of Mulholland Drive becomes whatever the hell is going on in Inland Empire.

After Twin Peaks David Lynch seemed to delight in doubling down on everything that frustrated his mainstream audience about the show. First, by grinding their noses in the grime and hopelessness of Laura’s death and refusing to resolve any of the dangling plot threads in the movie and then by making increasingly abstract and logically incomprehensible movies. This isn’t to say that his work before Twin Peaks was bright and cheerful, but it’s hard to refute the fact that after Twin Peaks Lynch’s work returns to the themes of how Los Angeles is a violent, soulless place that challenges and corrupts artists. And it’s also hard to refute that his post Peaks work is increasingly abstract and narratively incomprehensible where mysteries are unresolvable.

I don’t think Lynch necessarily actively tried to antagonize his audience, but I do think that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with mainstream success and that his work afterwards is an attempt to engage and examine that ambivalence. I don’t know if he ever trusted his audience after the response to that second season, and I think that ambivalence and mistrust came to a head in Twin Peaks: The Return, his return to the scene of the crime and potential climax of his entire cinematic career.

There are two important moments in Twin Peaks: The Return that speak directly to Lynch’s ambivalence about Twin Peaks and its success.

One is in the first episode and the other is in the last. The first episode starts with a young man tasked with sitting in a room and watching a large clear box surrounded by cameras. All he has to do is watch the box, but he doesn’t do it; instead he gets distracted by a pretty young woman who delivers him coffee. The two of them start making out and are shredded by a monster that emerges from the box.

The opening credits for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me famously end with a television being destroyed by a cudgel, a sign that the series has moved past its origins as a television show and into the world of film. But The Return ends its first episode with the death of the audience. And not just any audience – it kills the inattentive audience, the distracted audience, the untrustworthy audience that won’t do its job and just pay attention to the big box in front of them. Lynch has one more story to tell, and he isn’t interested in telling it to anyone who isn’t going to give their full attention.

And that last story is ultimately about one thing, taking back the death of Laura Palmer. David Lynch spent four years writing an eighteen hour movie devoted to undoing the thing for which he is most famous. If there is any question about Lynch’s ambivalence about Laura and Cooper this should settle it. None of this is to say these themes were consciously in Lynch’s mind while filming.

As I said before, he’s a famously instinctive filmmaker who makes art more by feel than by thought. He also prefers the work speak for itself, and I think it does. Clearly.

If this is the end of the cinematic road for Lynch, it’s quite a mic drop.

Shadows on The Grave HC
Written and Illustrated by Richard Corben
Published by Dark Horse Comics
ISBN-13: 978-1506703916
Released 1/17/18 / $19.99

Richard Corben used to be known as “Gore” in his early underground stories.

He was also known for his innovative and pioneering uses of color, both in the normally black and white comix and in the mostly black and white Warren magazines of the 1970s.

And boy, did some of his color stories really show him living up to that “Gore” nickname!

Four decades on, Richard Corben is once again causing nightmares for whole new generations.

Some of the more than 20 stories in this collection from his recent Dark Horse series, Shadows on the Grave, see the now legendary comics creator reunited with his old collaborator Jan Strnad as well as his own daughter Beth — a chip off the rotting old block — and Mike Shields, who also provides an enjoyable personal introduction.

That intro informs us that Corben, the master of color, has purposely planned these stories for black and white. This gives them at once the feel of both his own first undergrounds and of early 1960s horror television series such as Way Out!, Thriller, or Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

As on those series, you’ll find as many human monsters here as inhuman ones, although you’ll also stumble across a handful of walking corpses, supernatural beings, and ancient curses. As we see all too often in real life anymore, the things humans are capable of doing to each other make them scarier than any fictional monsters ever.

“Disturbing” is the best word to describe Corben at any phase in his long career. Shadows on the Grave is definitely disturbing. The book is best read in a well-lit room. You can do it one story at a time but that will just draw out the uneasy feeling that you get right from the very first story. I suggest instead reading them all in one sitting…early in the day. Get it over with and hope you can survive the nightmares you get.

There have been a lot of good horror anthologies coming out again in recent years, many done up in the classic EC or Warren tradition. This dark, intense collection from Richard Corben’s Shadows on the Grave is (chopped off) heads above most of them. If you’re at all a horror fan, you’re probably already reading Corben’s new stories. If not, though…

Booksteve recommends.

February is a month for lovers. And apparently flu sufferers.

As Stephen King’s The Stand becomes a fact-based docudrama, Netflix has your back with a ton of no-brainers, movie franchises and series that will make the tissue-laden hours pass before your Nyquil hazy eyes.

This month, Duncan Jones’ uber-dark Mute makes its debut on Feb. 23. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux, actioner follows a man of few (actually, no) words as he attempts to rescue his lady love from thugs in a futuristic underworld.

Binge-worthy items this month includes The Frankenstein Chronicles starring Sean Bean. The series is refreshing take on the classic Mary Shelley tale from the point of view of the inspector looking into the sudden rash of grave robbings in the area.

For those who missed out on the magical time that was the ‘90s — a time when medical insurance covered everything and 20-somethings could still buy a house — there is Everything Sucks!, about the AV Club vs. the Drama Club.

If your mixture of cold medicine has you high as a kite, there is also every American Pie movie ever made, now available for you to barely stay awake to. Other franchise movie sets to set on autoplay include the Kill Bill series, Ocean’s 11-13 and Meet the Focking franchise.

So, stay in bed, get better, order in a little soup and watch up. It’s good for you.

FEBRUARY 1

• 3000 Miles to Graceland
• 42 Grams
• Aeon Flux
• American Pie
• American Pie 2
• American Pie Presents: Band Camp
• American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
• American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile
• Ella Enchanted
• Extract
• Goodfellas
• How the Beatles Changed the World
• John Mellencamp: Plain Spoken
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1
• Kill Bill: Vol. 2
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
• Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution
• Lovesick
• Meet the Fockers
• Meet the Parents
• Men in Black
• National Parks Adventure
• Ocean’s Eleven
• Ocean’s Thirteen
• Ocean’s Twelve
• Paint It Black
• Scream 3
• The Hurt Locker
• Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
• Z Nation (Season 4)

FEBRUARY 2

• Altered Carbon (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“After 250 years on ice, a prisoner returns to life in a new body with one chance to win his freedom: by solving a mind-bending murder.”

• Cabin Fever
• Coach Snoop (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“Fueled by his own rough upbringing, Snoop Dogg creates a youth football league to keep at-risk kids off the streets and focused on their goals.”

• Kavin Jay: Everybody Calm Down! (Netflix original special)

“On a mission to defy stereotypes, Malaysian stand-up comedian Kavin Jay shares stories about growing up in the VHS era with his Singapore audience.”

• Luna Petunia: Return to Amazia (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“With help from her magic toy chest, fun-loving Luna Petunia enters the fantastic land of Amazia, where adventures, friendship and learning await.”

• On Body and Soul (Netflix original movie)

“Eighteen years after winning Cannes’ Caméra d’Or and nine years since her last feature, Hungarian writer/director Ildikó Enyedi (Tamas and Juli, MIFF 1999) returns with a poetic and haunting exploration of what it means to be human – and to share the same dream about animals.” – Film’s entry on MIFF’s official site

FEBRUARY 6

• Fred Armisen: Stand Up For Drummers (Netflix original special)
• Valor (Season 1)

FEBRUARY 7

• Imposters (Season 1)
• Queer Eye (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“With a new Fab 5 and some very tough missions, the Emmy-winning show is back and ready to make America fabulous again”

FEBRUARY 8

• 6 Days
• The Emoji Movie

FEBRUARY 9

• Fate/Apocrypha: Part 2 (Netflix original movie)

“The theft of the Greater Grail from Fuyuki City leads to a splintered timeline in which the Great Holy Grail War is waged on an unprecedented scale.”

• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: George Clooney (Netflix original)

“TV legend David Letterman teams up with fascinating global figures for in-depth interviews and curiosity-fueled excursions in this monthly talk show.”

• Seeing Allred (Netflix original movie)

“Explore the public and private sides of feminist firebrand attorney Gloria Allred, who’s battled some of the biggest names in politics and business.”

• The Ritual (Netflix original movie)

“Desperate to save her dying sister, Ayia enlists the help of a priest, who subjects them to a harrowing journey through their subconscious minds.”

• The Trader (Sovdagari) (Netflix original movie)

“A traveling trader provides a window into rural life in the Republic of Georgia, where potatoes are currency and ambition is crushed by poverty.”

• When We First Met  (Netflix original movie)

“Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him.”

FEBRUARY 14

• Greenhouse Academy (Season 2; Netflix original series)

“When teen siblings Hayley and Alex enter an elite boarding school, they find rivalry, romance and a mystery related to the recent loss of their mom.”

• Love Per Square Foot (Netflix original movie)

“In this quirky Bollywood romantic comedy, a couple enters into a marriage of convenience so they can buy a flat in Mumbai together.”

FEBRUARY 15

• Deep Undercover Collection: Collection 2
• Re:Mind (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“Eleven high school classmates awaken, restrained to a large dining room. While fearing for their lives, they question a motive to this bizarre act.”

FEBRUARY 16

• DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge  (Season 6; Netflix original series)

“Join Hiccup, Toothless and friends as they rise up against a dangerous army of hunters in a high-flying new adventure from the land of dragons.”

• Evan Almighty
• Everything Sucks! (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“Two groups of high school misfits — the AV club and the drama club — collide in this quirky coming-of-age story set in 1996 Oregon.”

• Irreplaceable You (Netflix original)

“When Abbie is diagnosed with cancer, she sets out on a humorous mission to find a new love for Sam, her fiancé and best friend since childhood.”

• First Team: Juventus (Season 1; Netflix original series)

“Go in-depth with Italy’s Juventus FC in a series that spotlights the storied soccer club’s superstars and rising prospects looking to make an impact.”

FEBRUARY 17

• Blood Money

FEBRUARY 18

• The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale (Netflix original series)

“Trending news, pop culture, social media, original videos and more come together in host Joel McHale’s new weekly comedy commentary show.”

FEBRUARY 19

• Dismissed
• FullMetal Alchemist (Netflix original series)

“Brothers Edward and Alphonse use alchemy to resurrect their mother, but they unleash a chemical reaction that tears apart their bodies.”

FEBRUARY 20

• Bates Motel (Season 5)
• The Frankenstein Chronicles (Season 1 and 2)

FEBRUARY 21

• Forgotten (Netflix original movie)

“When his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, in-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping. ”

• Lincoln
• The Bachelors

FEBRUARY 22

• Atomic Puppet (Season 1)

FEBRUARY 23

• Marseille (Season 2; Netflix original)

“The longtime mayor of Marseille is preparing to hand over the reins to his protégé when a sudden and ruthless battle erupts for control of the city.”

• Mute (Netflix original movie)

“A mute man with a violent past is forced to take on the teeming underworld of a near-future Berlin as he searches for his missing girlfriend.”

• Seven Seconds (Season 1; Netflix original)

“The death of a 15-year-old African American boy in Jersey City sets off a police cover-up and a search for the truth.”

• Ugly Delicious (Season 1; Netflix original)

“David Chang and other chefs, activists and artists travel the world using food to break down cultural barriers and uncover shared experiences.”

FEBRUARY 24

• Jeepers Creepers 3

FEBRUARY 26

• El Vato (Season 2)
• Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards
• People You May Know
• Sin Senos sí Hay Paraíso (Season 2)
• Winnie

FEBRUARY 27

• Derren Brown: The Push (Netflix original)
• Marlon Wayans: Woke-ish (Netflix original)

GOODBYE SWEETHEART, IT’S TIME TO GO
Everything Leaving Netflix In February

LEAVING FEBRUARY 1

• Brubaker
• Corpse Bride
• Day Watch
• Desk Set
• Enquiring Minds
• Everyone’s Hero
• Hard Candy
• How to Steal a Million
• King Arthur
• Magic City (Season 1)-2
• Night Watch
• Open Season: Scared Silly
• Perfect Stranger
• Project X
• Silver Streak
• Stranger by the Lake
• The Benchwarmers
• The Five Heartbeats
• The Fury
• The Longest Day
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Tin Man
• Top Gear: Series 19-23
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

LEAVING FEBRUARY 2

• A Ballerina’s Tale

LEAVING FEBRUARY 3

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

LEAVING FEBRUARY 5

• Hannibal Buress: Animal Furnace
• Hannibal Buress: Live from Chicago

LEAVING FEBRUARY 10

• Dragonheart: The Shadowed Claw

LEAVING FEBRUARY 11

• A Little Bit of Heaven

LEAVING FEBRUARY 12

• Honeymoon

LEAVING FEBRUARY 14

• Family Guy (Season 1-8)

LEAVING FEBRUARY 15

• 12 Dog Days Till Christmas
• A Christmas Kiss II
• Before I Go to Sleep
• Burn Notice (Season 1-7)
• Christmas Belle

LEAVING FEBRUARY 16

• Our Last Tango
• Save the Date

LEAVING FEBRUARY 17

• Freakonomics

LEAVING FEBRUARY 19

• An Idiot Abroad (Season 1-3)

LEAVING FEBRUARY 20

• Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious

LEAVING FEBRUARY 21

• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

LEAVING FEBRUARY 24

• Jane Got a Gun

LEAVING FEBRUARY 28

• American Genius
• Brain Games (Season 3-4)
• Cesar 911 (Season 1)
• I Am Ali
• Miami SWAT (Season 1)
• The Catch (Season 1)

Look At Me Films has released the poster for its newest genre film Hunting Season, with Deanna Russo (The Ice Cream Truck, Being Human, Rest Stop) set to team up again with director Megan Freels Johnston (The Ice Cream Truck, Rebound). The screenplay is written by Freels Johnston. The casting process is still underway.

Hunting Season is the chilling story of a single girl whose weekend getaway with her dashing new boyfriend at his family’s hunting lodge puts her directly in their crosshairs. When she goes dark, her roommate tracks her to the lion’s den—just in time for dinner.

The movie will be produced by Freels Johnston and YuMee Jang (The Ice Cream Truck, The Valley) via their production company Look At Me Films.

Production is set to begin later this year.

About Look At Me Films
Look At Me Films, an independent production company, produces character-driven films of all genres and gives a voice to independent filmmakers. Founded in 2007 by Megan Freels Johnston, Look At Me Films has produced several critically acclaimed films, including Sundance short film Sparks and cult horror favorite Rebound. Most recently, Look At Me Films produced The Ice Cream Truck, starring Deanna Russo.

Since the dawn of time, humanity has been fascinated with myths, legends and lore, we’re social animals and some of our oldest stories can be traced back to thousands of years. Whether through religious superstition, oral tradition, stories and songs passed down through centuries, written accounts, fictitious embellishments describing strange mythical creatures and legendary protagonists, there’s no doubting humankind loves a good story.

Image via Wikicommons

It’s no surprise then, that one of our most popular forms of entertainment has oft looked to myth and legend for inspiration, I want to explore some of the video game characters that are imbued with mythical history or inspired by tales of old.

I’ll begin with an obvious game, one that probably came to mind while you were reading the previous two paragraphs, Pokémon. While not all pocket monsters are based on mythical beasts or creatures, this game series possesses multiple examples. It’s true that the majority of Pokémon stem from Japanese folktales however there are some that find their origins elsewhere.

For instance, Zapdos, the flying bird that can summon lightning shares an uncanny similarity with a mythical bird found in Native American lore. Many tribes along the Pacific North West believed that there was a bird that brought with it, thunder, rain and lightning. These birds were said to have made a thunderous sound overhead as they flapped their wings, the Native Americans called these spirits, thunderbirds and they often adorned the tops of totems.

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

Sableye is another Pokémon that shares its origin somewhere other than Japanese folklore (I have plenty of examples of mythical game characters that relate to Japan, which I will get to later). In the late 20th century, there were multiple eyewitness accounts of a small extra terrestrial creature with bright glowing eyes, pointy ears and a slender frame (fun fact, the film Critters was also apparently based on these accounts).

The sightings were contained to Kentucky and the whole occurrence has since become referred to as the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter giving the critters in question the imaginative nickname of Hopkinsville Goblins.

Image via Wikicommons

Another small goblin-like character is Kapp’n from Animal Crossing. In the game, he’s a green sea turtle however, he is actually based on a mischievous water spirit called a kappa. In Japanese folk tales, kappas haunt lakes, rivers and ponds and people often blamed them for drowning horses or… children. This extremely dark tale unnerved people so much that the superstition arose that you could appease kappas by throwing cucumbers into the water in order to swim unaffected. Why cucumbers, you ask? Well, cucumbers are a kappas favourite food and Animal Crossing writers even felt it necessary for Kapp’n to share this love of long, green vegetables made of up of 97% water too.

Image via Nintendo Wikia

Of course, another well known Japanese folktale can be found in the game Okami. It’s a direct interpretation of the story of Amaterasu from the Japanese Shinto religion. Amaterasu (or Ammy) is the Japanese sun goddess who inhabits the body of white wolf, Shiranui. In the Shinto historical texts there’s no mention made of a wolf but the game tells the story in such a beautiful way and includes other iconography that are true to the tale. What’s more, this game adopts the traditional Japanese sumi-e ink art style, making it so breathtaking to look at that you can almost forgive the inclusion of a wolf. She’s pretty cute too..who’s a good girl? Yes, you are Ammy! Yes you are!

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It’s not just mythical creatures and animals that inspire our games, more often than not mythology from all over the world presents us with stories of brave warriors and heroic protagonists overcoming fearless foes or supernatural enemies. Greek mythology is rife with these tales and you only need to look at the God of War series, Kid Icarus, Wrath of the Gods or Battle Of Olympus to see direct reiterations of these characters and stories.

Greece doesn’t get all the good stories though, various mythology informs the groundwork of some of the most popular games, MMORPG Dark Ages was based on Celtic mythology and the shape shifting character from Dragon Age: Origins, Morrigan, has her roots Irish mythology. Not to mention that there’s usually a Cait Sith (or Cat Sidhe) in every iteration of Final Fantasy. In Celtic mythology this legendary creature is a phantom cat that could steal a human souls.

Nearly everything in the Turok games comes from Native Amercian mythology and the Prince of Persia games took their inspiration from Arabian Nights and other folk tales in and around Persia. Perhaps a more recent character based on myth is Mercy from Overwatch, who is literally a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. Valkyries choose who live and die on the battlefield, much in the same way that in Overwatch, Mercy is a healer, choosing to keeping her teammates alive.

Image via Wikicommons

Valkyries are often depicted with wings, again…like Mercy, who even has a skin called Valkyrie and a recolour of it, called Sigrún, both of which are directly linked to accounts in the Prose Edda, the main literature that informs most of Norse mythology, written in 13th century.

There’s an interesting mythic concept called the monomyth, the idea that all cultures and religions have recurring ideas within their mythologies. English literature graduates will know the name Joseph Campbell. Campbell wrote about monomyths and how regardless of culture or religion, certain stories appear, the most popular theme being the hero’s journey. He splits this myth up into three parts, departure, initiation and return.

If you look at video games with a sole hero, such as The Legend of Zelda games, you can see this pattern emerge. They follow the hero’s journey almost identically. The ‘departure’ sees the hero set out on a quest upon finding out they are special or have greater power than they realise, the reason for setting out is a disruption the status quo which needs to be put right. Link often discovers his power in each game and is almost always contacted by Princess Zelda who asks for his help to fight off evil forces that have invaded Hyrule or threaten its existence.

Image via Nintendo

The second part of any hero’s journey is ‘initiation’ which focuses on the struggles and encounters along the way that make up the majority of the characters adventure. This could easily be applied to Zelda games (or most RPG-based adventures) where this part of the adventure takes up the bulk of the game. Lastly, the ‘return’ is the part where the hero returns, full of knowledge and experience, status quo is resumed and the cycle can begin anew again, that might explain why we’ve had quite so many games in the franchise!

The myths of the past were characters and stories that have changed with us, guided us and inspired us, in that sense, the stories and characters that grace our video games today could one day be the myths of the future. I mean, imagine a dystopian future, a time without electricity or technology, an old man sits around a fire telling stories of old, “Come children, let me tell you the tale of Mario the Brave and his Courageous Brother, Luigi…”

Donal is a farmer who still lives at home in a little Irish village with his mother Florence. He works the fields during the day and drinks in the local pub at night. He seems content with a simple, quiet life. The only sense we get of his wish for something more is an old camper van, which he has lovingly restored. When Florence is killed in an apparent home invasion Donal sets off for Belfast in the little red van, looking for revenge. What he finds is a world of violence and brutality that he can’t understand and a secret about his mother that will shake him to his core.

And we’re giving away three copies!

To enter, send an email with the subject header “BAD DAY FOR THE CUT” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following question:

How many short films did Chris Baugh write and direct before making BAD DAY FOR THE CUT?

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 February 11th, 2018.

CHAMPION OF THE COMICS: “DEAN OF AMERICAN CARTOONING”
MORT WALKER DEAD AT 94

Beetle Bailey Creator Was One of the World’s Most Prolific Cartoonists
Comic Strip to Continue Under Seasoned Hands of Sons Brian and Greg Walker

“Old cartoonists never die. They just erase away…” It was one of Mort Walker’s favorite sayings, and until his final days, Walker lived by the word of his motto, engaging millions through his beloved comics. At the age of 94, Walker died peacefully at home.

Dubbed “The Dean of American Cartooning,” Walker was one of the most prolific cartoonists in comic art history, with the creation of as many as nine different syndicated strips to his credit during his lifetime, including Beetle Bailey, the third-most widely syndicated strip in the world. The fact that the comic is still in syndication today with original material via King Features gave Walker the longest tenure of any cartoonist on his original creation in the history of comics.

“Mort has been a creative bridge between today’s talented artists and those of the earliest days of cartooning,” said Frank A. Bennack, Jr., executive vice chairman and former CEO of Hearst. “With sons Brian, Greg and Neal having worked in tandem with their father for many years, his greatest comic creations are in great hands and will remain so going forward. Not only did I greatly value my professional relationship with Mort but he and I shared a warm personal relationship that spanned three decades.”

“All of us at King Features join Beetle in giving a heartfelt final salute to his legendary creator and close personal friend,” said King Features Chairman Joe D’Angelo.

“Mort was an incredibly personable, compassionate man, a towering artistic talent the likes of which will not soon pass this way again,” added TR “Rocky” Shepard, current advisor to King Features and its former president, who worked with Walker over the last 20 years. “He founded the International Museum of Cartoon Art with the help of his wife Catherine and has served for decades as a tireless advocate for cartoonists, the profession of cartooning and the important place in history and in our culture that the comics have played.”

“Mort was an icon in the world of comics who set the standard for generations of cartoonists,” said King Features President C.J. Kettler.

On the Diamond Anniversary of Beetle Bailey, Walker said, “When I think back to where it all began, it amazes me that millions of people are still reading Beetle every day, 60 years later! Life with Beetle has been good to me and I am still having loads of fun with him. Somehow over time, I have managed to accumulate a tremendous archive of around 50,000 unused gags that should keep Beetle’s buddies in the Army and everyone else laughing well into the next century.”

Walker is survived by his wife Catherine, sons Greg, Brian, Neal and Roger Walker and Whitney Prentice, daughters Polly Blackstock, Marjorie Walker Hauer and Priscila Prentice Campbell. He had fifteen grandchildren and one great granddaughter. Funeral arrangements are private. The family has requested donations to The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at The Ohio State University.

DC Comics

ACCLAIMED WRITERS SCOTT SNYDER, JAMES TYNION IV AND JOSHUA WILLIAMSON JOIN FORCES THIS MAY FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE

Artist Francis Manapul Delivers Epic Action Featuring The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes
Weekly Four-Issue Miniseries Follows Events from the Cataclysmic Conclusion of DARK NIGHTS: METAL

At the conclusion of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo’s DARK NIGHTS: METAL (issue #6 on sale March 14), the bestselling BATMAN talent team will shake the DC Universe to its deepest foundations and do something that even the most passionate fans will characterize as unimaginable and utterly audacious.

This event sets the stage for even more bold and daring storytelling, as Snyder, along with co-writers James Tynion IV (DETECTIVE COMICS) and Joshua Williamson (THE FLASH, Vertigo’s DEATHBED) plus all-star artist Francis Manapul (TRINITY) take readers on an adventure that will break the very boundaries of the DC Universe in JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE, a four-issue weekly miniseries, beginning May 9.

“We thought we knew the entire map of the DC cosmos,” says Snyder. “We thought we had explored all there was to explore. But now we know that all this time the Multiverse was nothing but a fishbowl, and now we’ve been dumped into the ocean, unleashing terrifying new threats, and wondrous new possibilities. METAL opened up channels of storytelling that Francis, James, Joshua and I are excited to explore in a big way. When we’re finished, fans will never look at the Justice League in the same way again.”

In this four-issue miniseries, the super-villain Brainiac arrives on Earth with a dire warning for the Justice League: there’s a threat coming to destroy Earth, one that the heroes are ill-equipped to handle. Brainiac thinks he holds the key to victory, but it means combining members of the League with some of the most dangerous villains in the DC Universe and sending them into battle against this extinction-level menace. The stakes are at their absolute highest; if one of these teams fail. It’s game over.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE promises to deliver over-the-top blockbuster action, courtesy of artist Francis Manapul.

“I’m laying out the biggest action of my life,” says Manapul. “The Justice League realizes that they need to expand their reach to become something bigger than they have ever been before. If you thought my work for JUSTICE LEAGUE: DARKSEID WAR was huge, I’m taking the League to the edge of the cosmos with NO JUSTICE. Anyone who has asked for Harley Quinn, Martian Manhunter, Starfire, Zatanna, the Atom, Raven, or Doctor Fate to be in their personal Justice League will stand up and cheer.”

This can’t-miss miniseries sets the stage for a “family” of Justice League titles, beginning in June, headlined by Snyder on JUSTICE LEAGUE with additional titles written by James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson and more in the coming months.

LOST SIEGEL AND SHUSTER SUPERMAN STORY TO BE PUBLISHED IN NEW
ACTION COMICS #1000: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN HARDCOVER BOOK

Special Collection of Superman Stories and Essays is Part of DC’s Star-Studded ACTION COMICS #1000 Celebration

Edited by Paul Levitz with a New Jim Lee Cover and an All-Star Talent Line-up Including Laura Siegel Larson, Jules Feiffer, Gene Luen Yang, Al Plastino, Otto Binder, Curt Swan, Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Dick Giordano, Grant Morrison, Len Wein, Carmine Infantino and More!

A new hardcover book, ACTION COMICS #1000: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN, is being published by DC Entertainment as part of its celebration of the one-thousandth issue of ACTION COMICS—the longest continually published comic book of its kind in history, the series that introduced Superman to the world and the title that launched the superhero genre. The collection features a series of essays and iconic Superman stories edited by former DC Publisher Paul Levitz. Most notably, the book includes a never before published 12-page story from original Superman writer Jerry Siegel with art by the Joe Shuster Studio titled “Too Many Heroes.”

“The found Siegel and Shuster story is a true treasure with a fascinating backstory,” stated Levitz. “Back when DC did regular tours of the New York office, it was common for fans to get original art that would have been otherwise disposed of as a tour souvenir. As a young fan on a tour Marv Wolfman found this Superman story and kept it all these years. It’s incredible to think that Marv not only rescued this unpublished story, he then went on to become one of DC’s most prolific writers, and shared the story with DC to publish as part of this special new collection.”

Levitz continued, “It’s an honor to edit this collection of stories and essays that chronicle key moments and contributors to Superman’s epic 80 year run as one of the most iconic characters in all of pop culture. I’m particularly happy that Laura Siegel Larson’s tribute to her father and his legacy are part of the book.”

The 384-page hardcover book will cost $29.99 and hit store shelves on April 19. Highlights and key Superman stories in this collection include:

• A new cover by legendary artist and DC Publisher Jim Lee

• Text pieces including: an editor’s note by Paul Levitz, a tribute to ACTION COMICS by Laura Siegel Larson (daughter of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel), an introduction by Jules Feiffer, plus essays by Tom DeHaven (“It’s Superman!”), David Hajdu (“The Ten-Cent Plague”), Larry Tye (“Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero”) and Gene Luen Yang (SUPERMAN, NEW SUPER-MAN and the National Book Award finalist “American Born Chinese”)

• “The Coming of Superman,” from ACTION COMICS #1, written by Jerry Siegel with art by Joe Shuster

• “Revolution in San Monte,” from ACTION COMICS #2, written by Jerry Siegel with art by Joe Shuster

• “The Terrible Toyman!,” from ACTION COMICS #64, written by Don Cameron with art by Ed Dobrotka and George Roussos, featuring the debut of Toyman

• “The Super-Key to Fort Superman,” from ACTION COMICS #241, written by Jerry Coleman with art by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye, featuring the first appearance of the Fortress of Solitude

• “The Super-Duel in Space,” from ACTION COMICS #242, written by Otto Binder with art by Al Plastino, featuring the debut of Brainiac

• “The Supergirl from Krypton!,” from ACTION COMICS #252, written by Otto Binder with art by Al Plastino, featuring the debut of Supergirl

• “The World’s Greatest Heroine!,” from ACTION COMICS #285, written by Jerry Siegel with art by Jim Mooney

• “The Superman Super-Spectacular!,” from ACTION COMICS #309, written by Edmond Hamilton with art by Curt Swan and George Klein, featuring an appearance by President John F. Kennedy

• “Superman Takes a Wife,” from ACTION COMICS #484, written by Cary Bates with art by Curt Swan and Joe Giella

• “If Superman Didn’t Exist…” from ACTION COMICS #554, written by Marv Wolfman with art by Gil Kane

• “The Game,” a new original story written by Paul Levitz with art by Neal Adams

• “Squatter,” from ACTION COMICS #584, written by John Byrne with art by Byrne and Dick Giordano

• “Ma Kent’s Photo Album,” from ACTION COMICS #655, written by Roger Stern with art by Kerry Gammill and Dennis Janke

• “Secrets in the Night,” from ACTION COMICS #662, written by Roger Stern with art by Bob McLeod

• “A Hero’s Journey,” from ACTION COMICS #800, written by Joe Kelly with art by Pasqual Ferry, Duncan Rouleau, Lee Bermejo and others

• “The Boy Who Stole Superman’s Cape,” from ACTION COMICS #0, written by Grant Morrison with art by Ben Oliver

• “The Mystery of the Freight Train Robberies,” from ACTION COMICS #1, written by Fred Guardineer with art by Guardineer, featuring the debut of Zatara

• “The Origin of the Vigilante,” from ACTION COMICS #42, written by Mort Weisinger with art by Mort Meskin, featuring the debut of the Vigilante

• “The Assassin-Express Contract!,” from ACTION COMICS #419, written by Len Wein with art by Carmine Infantino and Dick Giordano, featuring the debut of the Human Target

ACTION COMICS #1000: 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN is just part of DC’s Superman celebration, with the seminal ACTION COMICS #1000 periodical issue also released in April and a series of Superman-themed variant covers and even more to come.

JOHN RIDLEY EXPLORES THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE
IN NEW PRESTIGE COMIC BOOK MINISERIES

Panel by Denny O’Neil‎ / ‎Neal Adams

DC announces Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Let It Fall) will examine the DC mythology with a compelling new literary comics miniseries, THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE. The story will analyze iconic DC moments and chart sociopolitical gains through the perspectives of DC Super Heroes who come from traditionally disenfranchised groups, including John Stewart, Extraño, Vixen, Supergirl, Katana and Rene Montoya among others. At its core, the series focuses on the lives of those behind the costumes, and their endeavors to overcome real-world issues.

“I could not be more excited by the opportunity to excavate the canon of the DC Universe through a vast array of characters who’ve earned their seat at the table,” explains Ridley. “I’m very impressed with DC’s commitment to making their history as reverent and urgent as it is engaging and entertaining for all its many fans.” THE OTHER HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE isn’t about saving the world, it’s about having the strength to simply be who you are.

The new miniseries is slated to launch in winter 2018, following Ridley’s current run at Vertigo with THE AMERICAN WAY: THOSE ABOVE AND THOSE BELOW.

IDW Publishing

Yoe Books Presents Limbo Lounge

Yoe Books, in conjunction with IDW Publishing and Top Shelf, is overjoyed to announce a worthy title to its celebrated catalogue—LIMBO LOUNGE by acclaimed illustrator Dave Calver.

Spearheaded by multiple Eisner Award-winner, Craig Yoe, who guarantees this title will live up to their collections of stupendous comic art geniuses of the past, Limbo Lounge is already getting recognition across the comic book community, racking up positive review attention.

DoomRocket opines, “Limbo Lounge mixes equal parts Tex Avery and Hieronymus Bosch. Vibrant, expressionistic madness.”

An original graphic novel where newly dead people in Limbo await their fate at a bar while surrounded by bored interlopers from hell. This trippy, surreal, full-color adventure brings us from the hot, swirling sands of hell to the colorfully bizarre Limbo Lounge. Meet flower-headed freaks, Bud and Lou. Root for their new friend, a spry, elderly nun, Sister Eunice, as she works remotely in Limbo continuing to rid earth of despicable dirt bags. And, by all means, avoid the knife-wielding little pageant-princess-gone-bad as she plots for anything she can get at anyone’s expense.

“It’s a thrill to make such an auspicious Yoe Books debut with the mind-blowing Dave Calver,” said Yoe. “Our motto when we started was ‘Making Comics History’. That was carefully worded because we have always planned on publishing, in addition to classic cool comics, original graphic novels that would ’make history’!”

“Craig has been an invaluable partner over the years and we’re always excited to see what he produces next,” said IDW Publisher and President, Greg Goldstein. “Spotlighting some of the most eye-popping comic book artists is what Craig does best, and Limbo Lounge is no exception.”

Limbo Lounge from Yoe Books hits bookshelves 2/6/18!

Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula Joins The Artist’s Edition Line!

The Tomb of Dracula featuring the inimitable artwork of Gene Colan is widely considered one of the best Marvel comics of the 1970’s, and now, fans of Colan and this landmark series will have a chance to pour over each page like never before! IDW is pleased to usher in Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula to the award-winning line of Artist’s Editions.

This Artist’s Edition collects six fantastic stories, issue #25, #28, #36, #37, #46, and #48 plus an incredible gallery section and an introduction by Marv Wolfman!

Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula Artist’s Edition is available now

Dynamite Entertainment

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT’S SWORDS OF THE SWASHBUCKLERS
RETURNS AS THE SAGA CONTINUES

WRITER MARC GUGGENHEIM JOINED BY ARTIST ANDREA MUTTI!

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that Bill Mantlo and Butch Guice’s iconic Swords of the Swashbucklers will return this April with Swashbucklers: The Saga Continues #1 from writer Marc Guggenheim (X-Men Gold, Spider-Man) and artist Andrea Mutti (Rebels, Pathfinder)! After a successful Kickstarter that restored the original graphic novel to print and paved the way for this new series, Dynamite is thrilled to continue the adventures of the motley crew of the Starshadow—a spacefaring pirate ship captained by the charismatic and fearless Raader.

“There are very few creators who could lead the charge for new Swords of the Swashbucklers stories, and Marc Guggenheim is one of the only writers that the Mantlo family and Butch (Guice) has entrusted with their signature characters,” said Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “Marc has crafted an incredible story to introduce Swords of the Swashbucklers to an entirely new generation, and Andrea Mutti’s dynamic, expressive art makes this a can’t-miss book!”

“Andrea and I worked together many years ago on Iron Man vs. Whiplash, and we’ve been conspiring to collaborate again ever since,” said Marc Guggenheim. “He was the first name I thought of for this project and has been knocking it out of the park!”

When last we saw the crew of the Starshadow in the pages of Bill Mantlo and Butch Guice’s Swords of the Swashbucklers, it seemed that all was lost. Decades later, Raader and her crew return to adventure through the cosmos once again! Continue the epic space adventure and enjoy the return of these legendary space pirates in The Saga Continues!

Swashbucklers: The Saga Continues #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ April 2018 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in April.

MARC ANDREYKO PENS NEW JEEPERS CREEPERS COMICS SERIES

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES CULT FAVORITE HORROR FRANCHISE THIS APRIL

Horror fans eager for comics they can really sink their teeth into are already talking about Dynamite Entertainment’s upcoming Jeepers Creepers series, debuting this April from writer Marc Andreyko (Batwoman, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed) and artist Kewber Baal (KISS: The Elder, Jennifer Blood)! Based on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s cult-hit horror movie franchise, Jeepers Creepers will terrorize readers with original stories of Midwestern murder and mayhem starring The Creeper, an ancient horror that returns every 23 years to feed . . . and kill!

There’s a reason Jeepers Creepers has spawned two sequels. The Creeper inspires an overwhelming feeling of dread, horror, and suspense that has captivated horror fans for more than 16 years! Get ready for more spine-tingling creepiness and some of the scariest comics ever made—Dynamite has taken The Creeper’s rusty terror-wagon to some horrific new places!

In Dynamite’s Jeepers Creepers series, grad student Devin Toulson is writing his dream thesis on Myths in American History, but when his research takes him on a journey reaching back centuries, Devin finds something horrifying. Something that crosses cultures, locations, and eras. Something that returns for a bloody feeding every 23 years. Will this young man’s investigation uncover simply an urban legend or will he come face to face with an immortal monster that has terrorized humanity from the shadows since man first walked the country?

Jeepers Creepers #1 has crept into the Diamond Comic Distributors’ April 2018 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and will burst into stores this April.

Insight Comics

Insight Comics Adapts Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart’s
Award-Winning Clockwork Lives into a Graphic Novel Releasing This June

Insight Comics is pleased to announce the publication of Clockwork Lives: The Graphic Novel, an adaptation of the novel by New York Times best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson and Rush’s legendary drummer Neil Peart.

In the New York Times bestselling novel Clockwork Angels (ECW Press, 2012), Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart created an adventurous steampunk world to accompany the smash Rush concept album of the same name. Anderson and Peart returned to the vibrant world in the award-winning Clockwork Lives (ECW Press, 2015), which features many of the beloved characters from Clockwork Angels with a new, gripping story.

“Insight Comics is thrilled to be publishing the graphic novel adaption of Clockwork Lives. The world Anderson and Peart have created is wonderfully diverse, full of hidden meaning and depth. The story lends itself extremely well to the comics medium,” said Mark Irwin, Insight Comics Executive Editor.

With specially commissioned cover art by Hugh Syme, multi-award-winning graphic artist and Rush’s “artist in residence” since 1975, and interior art by Canadian, American, and international artists, this graphic novel is sure to captivate and intrigue readers.

Clockwork Lives: The Graphic Novel releases on June 19, 2018 from Insight Comics.

Dark Horse Comics

Frank Miller Returns To The World of 300

Dark Horse is proud to reveal art from Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander, the highly anticipated companion to Frank Miller’s award-winning series 300. Comics legend Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300, writes and draws this sprawling historical epic, twenty years in the making. Alex Sinclair, the colorist for Miller’s Dark Knight III: The Master Race, provides his stunning colors to Miller’s latest comics conquest.

Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander follows Persian King Xerxes as he sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father Darius’s defeat and create an empire unlike anything the world has ever seen . . . Until the hardy Greeks produce a god king of their own, Alexander the Great. This five-issue series boasts issues with thirty plus pages of story and features wrap-around covers in a deluxe collector format.

“300 was an interlude in the great story of the Persian Wars. The battle of 300 represented one episode in a much greater series of wars,” said Xerxes creator Frank Miller. “This series tells the story of the first great clash of civilizations, the first bloody contest between east and west. The odds vastly favor the Persian forces, but the Greeks have Alexander, the greatest military commander of all time.”

The first issue of Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander will invade comic stores on April 4, 2018. This gorgeous collector’s item retails for $4.99 and is available for preorder at comic shops later this month.

Image Comics

Steve Orlando and Garry Brown team up for CRUDE

GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer Steve Orlando (VIRGIL, Midnighter) and acclaimed artist Garry Brown (BLACK ROAD) will launch the gritty revenge thriller CRUDE this April from Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment.

Killers once feared Piotr Petrovich. Now, they’ve sent his son home to him—in a body bag.

Haunted by his failures, Piotr journeys across Russia to learn what type of man his son really was, while hunting the bastards who killed him. And once Piotr finds them, they will learn to fear him once more…

“It’s been an honor to work with Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics to bring Piotr Petrovich Bilibin’s exciting, tragic story into the hands of readers,” said writer Steve Orlando. “The creative team involved in CRUDE has put together something vital, thrilling, bursting with gristle and energy. I can’t wait for you all to join us in Blackstone, a blood-rusted world never before seen, where grit and greed are the currencies of the day.”

“Visualizing the text that Steve has given me has been an astounding journey,” said artist Garry Brown. “Piotr Petrovich Bilibin’s path to redemption is just getting started, and I am excited to watch this project unfold.”

Get ready for an emotional, bone-shattering account of murder, masculinity, and mayhem.

CRUDE #1 hits comic book stores Wednesday, April 11th. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, March 19th.

Image Comics Brings FEAR AGENT Back To Print With Master Editions, Bonus Content

Image Comics will bring FEAR AGENT—the critically-acclaimed, science-fiction odyssey by Rick Remender, Tony Moore, and Jerome Opeña—back to print as a series of master edition trade paperbacks. Each trade paperback will collect ten issues of the seminal, pulp classic and will feature never-before-seen scripts, variant covers, designs, and concept art.

Beginning with FEAR AGENT: FINAL EDITION, VOL. 1, which hits stores this April, veteran fans and new recruits alike can experience the whiskey-soaked, laser-scorched life of Heath Huston, the galaxy’s last hope.

“I chronicled the hardest ten years of my life through Heath Huston and his drunken plight to save eternity and couldn’t be more excited to share our love letter to EC Comics with a new audience,” said Remender. “The series is drenched in love from Tony Moore, Jerome Opeña and some of the best artists in the world.”

FEAR AGENT first made waves when Remender famously described it, in an interview with Comic Book Resources, as their response to a sci-fi genre that’d “lost its stones.” Heralded as an addictive homage to the popular sci-fi adventure of the ’50s, FEAR AGENT was the series that catapulted Remender’s reputation for action-packed sci-fi with heartstring-tugging character building. It laid the groundwork for such hits as, BLACK SCIENCE co-created with artist Matteo Scalera, LOW co-created with artist Greg Tocchini, and his re-teaming and co-creation with Opeña on SEVEN TO ETERNITY.

Moore added: “Rick and Jerome are the collaborators of a lifetime, and we all poured our blood, sweat, and tears into these pages, sometimes literally. This series was a hard-fought labor of love for the genre and the pantheon of mid-century comicbook titans who continue to inspire us the most, and I personally could not be more proud of it.”

The FEAR AGENT adventure unfolds when down-and-out alien exterminator Heath Huston stumbles upon an extraterrestrial plot to commit genocide against the human species, he must put down the bottle and resume his role as a peacekeeper…the last Fear Agent.

Opeña added: “Working on Fear Agent was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in comics and it’s great to see the book get the recognition it deserves all these years later. I’m eternally grateful to Rick and Tony for inviting me along to collaborate with them and it’s an honor to have my name associated with the book in any way.”

FEAR AGENT: FINAL EDITION, VOL. 1 (ISBN: 978-1-5343-0797-1, Diamond Code FEB180517) hits stores on Wednesday, April 25th. The final order cutoff for comics retailers in Monday, March 12th. It hits bookstores on Tuesday, May 1st and will be available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Books-a-Million, and Indigo.

Lucifer‘s Henderson & Garbett Team Up Ror Gravity-Defying New Series in SKYWARD

Writer Joe Henderson (showrunner of Fox’s Lucifer) and artist Lee Garbett (Lucifer, Loki: Agent of Asgard) team up for an all-new gravity-defying series in SKYWARD. The new series is set to launch this April.

“Skyward is my all of my favorite things mashed together,” said Henderson. “It’s a coming-of-age story filled with action and humor, devastation and hope. It explores a world turned upside down, where anyone can leap tall buildings with a single bound… but if you jump too high, you die. And getting to see Lee Garbett bring it to glorious life is a dream come true.”

In SKYWARD, gravity on Earth suddenly becomes a fraction of what it is now. Twenty years later, humanity has adapted to its new, low-gravity reality. For one Willa Fowler—a woman born just after the fateful “G-day”—life after gravity it pretty awesome. Until she accidentally stumbles into a dangerous plan to bring gravity back. A plan that could get her killed…

Garbett added: “When I first read the pitch for Skyward it felt like fate had had a hand in putting it my way. Like it had been written for me and designed to push all my buttons. Joe Henderson’s script—as well as that killer high-concept—was so rich, his characters so warm and full of life, that I was hooked and holding on to this baby with both hands like it was chained to the ground on G-Day. I hope the readers will have the same experience.”

SKYWARD is an adventure-filled exploration of our world turned upside down and a young woman’s journey to find her place in it.

SKYWARD #1 (Diamond Code FEB180510) and will be available on Wednesday, April 18th. The final order cutoff for retailers is Monday, March 26th.

Kyle Higgins & Stephen Mooney Start a New Cold War in THE DEAD HAND

The #1 New York Times bestselling writer Kyle Higgins (C.O.W.L., HADRIAN’S WALL, Nightwing) and artist Stephen Mooney (Half Past Danger, Grayson) join forces with Eisner Award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire for an all-new series steeped in Cold War history, mystery, and spy-thriller action in THE DEAD HAND. The series is set to launch this April.

THE DEAD HAND #1 introduces readers to Carter Carlson, a highly decorated operative during the Cold War. But in the fall of 1991, as the Soviet Union collapsed, Carter discovered a secret that not only changed his life…but also altered the course of history. Now, in 2018, as the mysterious “Dead Hand” threatens to end the world once again, the only thing standing in its way is the relationship between an old spy and a little boy.

“The Dead Hand mixes my love of historical fiction and huge action into one of the biggest stories I’ve ever written. It’s Metal Gear Solid, James Bond, and John le Carré all mixed into one comic,” said Higgins. “The end of the Cold War is an incredibly fascinating era—the proliferation of weapons and scientists from the Soviet Union, the complicated relationships between countries, the introduction of capitalism in Russia… it’s a great backdrop for a story about the end of the world.”

Mooney added: “I’m hugely excited to be embarking on this thrilling Cold War journey with Kyle, Jordie, and Clayton. The Dead Hand is exactly the type of sci-fi tinged espionage book I love as a reader, and I can’t wait for people to take a first step into this murky world. Be careful who you trust!”

THE DEAD HAND #1 (Diamond Code FEB180506) will be available on Wednesday, April 11th. The final order cutoff for retailers is Monday, March 19th.

BOOM! Studios

No One is Above the Law of RoboCop

The Pop Culture Phenomenon Returns with A New Series in April 2018

BOOM! Studios has announced ROBOCOP: CITIZENS ARREST, an all-new comic book series premiering in April 2018. Visionary writer Brian Wood (DMZ, Briggs Land) and fan-favorite artist Jorge Coelho (Venom) present a chilling view of the future where justice is crowdsourced, set 30 years after the events of the landmark original RoboCop film.

In the decades since the RoboCop program first began, corporations have taken over public services and the government—and law enforcement is the biggest private contract of all. Traditional police forces no longer exist as all citizens are encouraged—and rewarded—to spy on their neighbors.

There is only one authority on the streets: ROBOCOP.

“RoboCop remains a favorite film of mine, and was an early influence on the type of stories I sought out to read and watch, and eventually to create on my own,” said Wood. “It’s an honor to write this series, to write Alex Murphy, and to show everyone how much the core themes of RoboCop – police brutality, union busting, media manipulation, privatization of law enforcement and the marginalization of poor people – are, incredibly, just as relevant now as they were in the 80’s.”

“Some movies transcend cinema,” said Jorge Coelho. “As classics they hold that enigmatic mix of timing and ideas that, somehow, make them endure the test of time – for me, RoboCop is one of them. I can still see myself as that big eyed kid devouring everything about the concept decades before I knew what dystopia is, it made me a fan of science fiction and social commentary. Strong, unapologetic characters living in a world close enough to ours, fantastic enough to capture our imagination and keep its spell alive. Citizens Arrest will add new characters and a vision in comic form that will treat readers and lifetime fans with the love and respect this cinema classic deserves”

ROBOCOP: CITIZENS ARREST #1 features a main cover by Nimit Malavia (Fables), along with variants by David Rubin (Black Hammer) and Jim Towe (Youngblood).

“The best stories not only entertain but also force us to reflect on today’s world and ask the tough questions – a hallmark of Brian Wood’s powerful work,” said Sierra Hahn, Senior Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Bringing Brian’s unflinching writing together with the gritty artwork of Jorge Coelho, ROBOCOP: CITIZENS ARREST is perfect for anyone new to the franchise and a special treat for longtime fans.”

“More than ever, societal norms are being challenged and we’re asking what kind of future we’re creating – and ROBOCOP: CITIZENS ARREST is about what happens when we abdicate that responsibility,” explained Eric Harburn, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “This is a love letter to the socio-political prescience of the original RoboCop film, but also a story that stands on its own, inspired by modern day events and concerns.”

ROBOCOP: CITIZENS ARREST #1 will be available for sale in April 2018.

Titan Comics

Titan Publishes Original Jamie Hewlett And Alan Martin Tank Girl Comics In Full-Color!

CELEBRATE TANK GIRL’S 30^th BIRTHDAY WITH THE NEWLY COLORED CLASSIC STRIP!

30 years ago, the dynamic partnership of Jamie Hewlett (Gorillaz) and Alan Martin created the first Tank Girl comics in the classic black and white magazine, Deadline.

Titan Comics are proud to announce that in April 2018, as part of their year-long Tank Girl 30^th anniversary celebrations, they will present those punky, manic, seminal strips in glorious color with Tank Girl: Full Color Classics 1988 – 1989 – just as Hewlett and Martin would have liked them three decades ago.

Compiled into six indispensible collector’s comic books, these prestige editions come packed with rare and unseen artwork as well as photos from the early days of the Martin and Hewlett partnership.

“We are exceptionally excited to go back and revisit the roots of Tank Girl. There was no choice to release the comics in full color back in the day, but if we had, this is precisely how we would have envisaged them,” said Tank Girl co-creator Alan Martin. “We’re also having a great time searching through the archives and finding unseen artwork and photos, which will give enlightening and contemporary context to the strips. This is a whole new light shining on the origins of our comics, just in time for her 30th Anniversary. We hope you will enjoy going back in time as much as we have!”

2018 marks the 30^th anniversary of Tank Girl, Titan Comics are proud to add Tank Girl: Full Color Classics 1988 – 1989 to other publications celebrating 30 riotous years, including the Free Comic Book Day edition of Tank Girl in May 2018, Tank Girl: The Way of Tank Girl gift book (ISBN: 9781785864636) in April 2018, The Wonderful World of Tank Girl (ISBN: 9781785862076) in May 2018, and more to be revealed.

Tank Girl: Full Color Classics 1988 – 1989 iLong-Lost Jack Kirby The Prisoner Comic Book Published By Titan!s available to order now through Diamond’s February Previews catalogue.

Long-Lost Jack Kirby The Prisoner Comic Book Published By Titan!

PART OF TITAN COMICS’ THE PRISONER PUBLISHING PROGRAMME FOR THE 50^th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS OF FIRST US TRANSMISSION!

Titan Comics are thrilled to announce two new projects based on The Prisoner, licensed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of the surreal 1960’s cult TV classic in 2018: an oversized artist edition of a lost comic book classic by comic book legends Jack Kirby and Gil Kane; as well as a brand-new comic series set in the world of The Prisoner by celebrated writer Peter Milligan (X-Statix, The Mummy) and artist Colin Lorimer (The Hunt, Harvest).

First shown on Canadian and UK TV screens in 1967, The Prisoner was co-created, written, directed and starred Patrick McGoohan (Scanners, Braveheart). Titan’s new unmissable comic collections and comic series are set to coincide with the 50^th Anniversary of the first US transmission in 1968.

In July, Titan Comics will publish an art-sized, hardcover collection of Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and Steve Englehart’s long-lost, previously unpublished The Prisoner comic strips based on the cult classic.

This special oversized collectors edition will contain the entire 17 page Jack Kirby strip, the first six pages of which were inked and lettered by Mike Royer, as well as 18 pages of pencils drawn by legendary comic artist Gil Kane.

In addition to reprinting these rare pages, this collection also features unmissable bonus archive material including facsimiles of the original script as written by Steve Englehart.

The Prisoner: Jack Kirby And Gil Kane Art Edition (ISBN: 97817858662878) is just one part of Titan Comics’ exciting plans for The Prisoner’s 50^th Anniversary year –alongside a brand-new comic series based on the cult favorite TV series, written by Peter Milligan with art by Colin Lorimer.

Titan Comics’ new series transports readers back to the mysterious village where everyone is a number, and features six amazing covers, including Mike and Laura Allred, Jack Kirby, a Patrick McGoohan photo cover and more to be revealed.

Titan Comics’ all-new The Prisoner comics and The Prisoner: Jack Kirby and Gil Kane Art Edition will be available to order from the upcoming February 2018 Diamond Previews catalogue.

“Be seeing you.”

Papercutz

Papercutz Announces 2018 Free Comic Book Day Offering,
A Brand New ONLY LIVING BOY Story from David Gallaher and Steve Ellis

Leading graphic novel publisher Papercutz’s Free Comic Book Day 2018 title will be a new, never before published story featuring THE ONLY LIVING BOY by Harvey-award winning creators David Gallaher and Steve Ellis. Inspired by classic pulp novels, old-time radio broadcasts and Saturday morning cartoons, THE ONLY LIVING BOY has charmed readers, critics and librarians alike over the course of five critically acclaimed graphic novels. Now, in Papercutz’s Free Comic Book Day title THE ONLY LIVING BOY: UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE BROKEN MOON, Gallaher and Ells will delve into the secrets inside the laboratory of the sinister scientist Doctor Once.

“On Free Comic Book Day, new readers can dive into an action-packed adventure about an insect princess, a mermaid warrior,  and a young boy and his teddy bear,” said David Gallaher. “And fans of THE ONLY LIVING BOY graphic novels will discover the secrets of the Consortium and learn their wicked plans for the world of Chimerika.”

In THE ONLY LIVING BOY, 12-year old Erik Farrell runs away from home only to find himself without his memory, stranded on a patchwork planet with danger lurking around every corner. Every day is a struggle to survive. Erik quickly allies himself with Morgan, a mermaid warrior and Thea, a teenage princess from a mysterious insect race. He’ll need their help to escape the Dreaded Lord Baalikar and the evil Doctor Once and maybe, one day, find his way back home.

“Set after the events of THE ONLY LIVING BOY Volume 5, this stand alone story is the perfect jumping-on point for new readers,” said Papercutz Publisher Terry Nantier.

“I still remember how wonderful it was walking into my first comic shop, and Free Comic Book Day is such a great way to introduce new readers to comics. We’re delighted to be working with Papercutz to participate in the upcoming Free Comic Book Day,” noted Steve Ellis. “Our hope is that THE ONLY LIVING BOY will inspire a whole new generation of passionate, imaginative readers.”

The brainchild of Harvey award-winning creators David Gallaher, Steve Ellis and their studio Bottled Lightning, THE ONLY LIVING BOY has received both critical and fan acclaim since its launch. The Miami Herald wrote “Gallaher is a sharp and entertaining writer, and Ellis is an exciting and versatile illustrator. Their story is a real treat all around.”

HE ONLY LIVING BOY: UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE BROKEN MOON will be available for free at comic shops on May 5th 2018; check your local comic shops for availability.

Donnie Yen stars as infamous real-life drug kingpin Crippled Ho, who came to Hong Kong an illegal immigrant in 1963 and ruthlessly carved an empire from the chaotic underworld of drug dealers and corrupt police that ruled the city under notorious detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau).

And we’re giving away three copies!

To enter, send an email with the subject header “CHASING THE DRAGON” to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following question:

Donnie Yen previously portrayed Chirrut Îmwe in this 2016 Star Wars film?

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 February 11th, 2018.

Warner Archive Collection (WAC), a champion of classic super hero animation, next brings Static Shock: The Complete Third Season to DVD with a special two-disc package that will be available starting January 30, 2018 through wb.com/warnerarchive and your favorite online retailer. Pre-orders are now open.

Phil LaMarr, the enthusiastic voice of lead character Virgil Hawkins and his super hero persona Static, has many fond memories of the important third season of the popular animated TV series, which saw integral changes and important guest appearances for Static Shock.

In Static Shock’s fateful third season, the character shifted to an impressive, tricked-out new costume, and his partner-in-crime-fighting Richie developed powers of his own as he became the super hero Gear. The African-American super hero took an enlightening trip to his Africa, shared an episode with Superman, and combined forces with the Justice League.

“In the third season, everything sort of got spruced up,” recalls LaMarr, known far and wide for his voice performances in Samurai Jack, Futurama and Family Guy, and his live-action roles for MADtv and Pulp Fiction. “The writing was just as good as ever, but they really raised the stakes. Static’s costume went from homemade to a legitimate super hero costume, Richie became his own super hero in Gear, and that meant there was less sitting back at headquarters – we started going on a lot more duo-action adventures.”

LaMarr and Jason Marsden, the voice of Richie/Gear, had already developed a strong camaraderie working closely together on the Disney animated series, The Weekenders. Their on-screen/in-booth rapport in Static Shock was a natural extension of their “real life” relationship.

“Static Shock provided a second opportunity to play partners and best friends – which was great because we were already good friends,” LaMarr says. “Our friendship on the show was authentic. And there’s nothing better than getting paid every week to work with your friend.”

LaMarr says he truly coveted the role of Static – a super hero who spoke to his personal aspirations and cultural upbringing.

“As a comic book guy, Static was a dream come true – a character who really felt real to me,” LaMarr says. “I always thought Static would be what I would be if I got powers as a teenager. I loved Spidey and Bats, but I never wanted to be them. There are tortured souls, and everything they do is informed by that guilt. For Static, the worst problem was having to do homework.

“Moreover, it was so great to finally have a black super hero who didn’t have ‘black’ in his name. I could relate to him. Here’s a kid who is smart, who’s trying to do the right thing, dealing with relatable problems whether it was family or school or friendships. Despite that fact that it was a cartoon that revolved around super heroes, it felt real to me.”

Static Shock: The Complete Third Season featured numerous guest performances from actors as acclaimed and diverse as four-time Emmy Award winner Alfre Woodard (Miss Evers’ Boys, Desperate Housewives, Hill Street Blues), Emmy Award winner Roscoe Lee Browne (Logan’s Run, The Cowboys), Brock Peters (To Kill A Mockingbird, Soylent Green), Golden Globe winner Terence Stamp (Billy Budd, Superman), three-time Emmy Award winner Jean Smart (24, Garden State), Bud Court (Harold & Maude, M*A*S*H), Dennis Haysbert (24, Major League), Golden Globe winner Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite, The Dark Knight), T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (In Living Color, That’s So Raven), Danica McKeller (The Wonder Years), Phil Morris (Smallville), Charles Rocket (Moonlighting), Sean Patrick Thomas (The District), Kimberly Brooks (Mass Effect), Bumper Robinson (The Game), David Faustino (Married With Children), Nicolette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives), David Arquette (Cougar Town), Tia Texada (Third Watch) and rapper Romeo Miller.

Also performing guest roles during Static Shock: The Complete Third Season are the voices of Warner Bros. Animation’s core group of DC Super Heroes, including actors from Batman: The Animated Series (Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Arleen Sorkin, Robert Hastings) and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (George Newbern, Carl Lumbly, Maria Canals Barrera, Michael Rosenbaum), as well as Phil LaMarr himself as the voice of Green Lantern/John Stewart.

“The crossover episodes with the Justice League were so much fun for me – it was great to feel like Static Shock was part of the legacy of the super hero entertainment that I grew up watching and reading,” LaMarr says. “Associating Static with the Justice League sort of legitimized our little show, putting Static on the same level as supers like Batman, Green Lantern and all the rest. Plus getting to act again alongside my Justice League acting pals – Maria Canals Barrera, Susan Eisenberg, Carl Lumbly, Michael Rosenbaum, George Newbern, Kevin Conroy – was a blast, especially because now they were coming to MY house. It was actually a little weird because we were sitting in the same chairs as we always did when recording Justice League – but now I had more lines. Of course, I had two different characters – Static and Green Lantern John Stewart.”

LaMarr said the dual role – which put him in the unusual position of recording two characters talking to each other – was the first time he encountered that situation in his career.

“I thought the writers wrote those scenes as a challenge for me,” LaMarr recalls. “At least they didn’t have them singing harmony or something crazy like that!”

Static Shock: The Complete Third Season features an all-star lineup of writers behind the scripts: Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie, Len Uhley, Ernie Altbacker, John Semper, Courtney Lilly and Adam Beechen. For the Static-Superman team-up episode entitled “Toys in the Hood,” Semper crafted a story that was written by Academy Award winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave).

An episode entitled “Static in Africa” saw the Hawkins family on vacation in Ghana, where Static teams with a legendary African folk hero to combat a group of bandits. The episode was particularly important to LaMarr.

“Static in Africa was a blast for so many reasons,” LaMarr recalls. “It was a thrill to work for the first time with Michael Jai White and Roscoe Lee Browne, as well as my Justice League castmate Carl Lumbly. Carl and Roscoe are guys whose work I’d seen growing up, and to share a studio with them was fantastic.

“Moreover, it was really cool to be able to explore our roots in a Saturday morning cartoon. I had never seen contemporary Africa on Saturday morning – an Africa that was not unlike our own world. We have super heroes, they have super heroes. Africa wasn’t showed as exotica – it was a world where people like us live. And to me, that was a great part of Static Shock. It wasn’t about that Static was black; but he was black. His life, his world – those were real. And that kind of normalization is what’s key to true diversity.”

Static Shock: The Complete Third Season is available on January 30th from The Warner Archive

Welcome back to Graphic Breakdown!

Here are some books to get your week off to a good start!

Atlas and Axis #1
Written and Illustrated by Pau
Published by Titan Comics

I am ashamed to say I have never heard of this comic book before.

Then, I see it comes with a rousing endorsement from none other than Stan Sakai!

I was in immediately. And man, is this great.

I was floored by how much I liked this.

The world of Pangea is a place where animals walk and talk on two paws. Atlas and Axis are two dogs who come home to find Vikings have destroyed their village. So, they go on an adventure to find out what happened to their friends.

The writing is out of this world and the art is amazing. You don’t need to read my review. You need to go out immediately and buy it. It’s a classic and I’m blown away by it. I hadn’t heard of it before. But I’ll never forget it now.

RATING: A

Freelance #1-4
Written by Andrew Wheeler and Jim Zub
Illustrated by Vaneda Vireak
Published by Chapterhouse Comics

Freelance is one of Canada’s oldest original comic book heroes.

Chapterhouse is trying to expand the universe they started in the Captain Canuck books.

It’s not a bad idea and this is a fairly decent book thus far. Let’s hope they can keep it up.

Freelance is about Lance Valiant and his two colleagues. They are fearless explorers who look for hidden secrets. And they do! Lance, however, may have a secret past that may be pretty deadly.

This book is just a good time, nothing more. It’s not a bad thing but I didn’t find a lot of depth to the story. The art is the best part and Vireak is a rising star. Not a bad read overall.

RATING: B

Gothic Haunted Tales of Love
Written and Illustrated by Various
Published by Bedside Press

This is one of those Kickstarter projects that hit its goal!

Congrats to Hope Nicholson for putting it together and succeeding. So many projects don’t get made and it’s great to see the goal be met.

This book aims to revive gothic romance comics. It’s a noble effort. And it’s a mixed bag. Some stories in here work better than others.

The two best are by Cecil Castellucci and Willow Dawson followed by the team of Katie West and Ray Fawkes and Rahzzah. Those tales stood out.

The rest of the stories range from decent to middling.

Perhaps the star of the book is Nicholson herself.

This is her seventh successful book off a Kickstarter. That’s impressive as she tries to revive some forgotten sub-genres of the comic book industry.

RATING: B

I Am A Number
Written and Illustrated by Rian Hughes
Published by Top Shelf Comics

Rian Hughes is a certified artistic genius. This collection of strips featuring characters that wear numbers that Illustrate your class (higher is better and zero is the worst) is delightful.

What’s amazing about Hughes is that every strip seems deceptively simple. But there’s so much going on that when you really start to look, you can’t believe it. It’s to his credit that Hughes is able to accomplish that. You have to see it to believe it.

This is a book that is extremely different. It says a lot about where we have been and where we might be going.

Pick it up and give it a shot. It’s a wholly unique and incredible experience.

RATING: A

Mata Hari #1
Written by Emma Beeby
Illustrated by Ariela Kristantina
Published by Dark Horse Comics

This is the first book I have read from Karen Berger’s line of books over at Dark Horse. I loved Berger’s tenure over at Vertigo, so I was reasonably excited for this. I found myself disappointed by the story which was complex and boring thus far. I hope the other books are more exciting.

This book focuses on Mata Hari who is in prison and at the end of her life. She writes her memoir. As she awaits her fate, we find out she was the most dangerous spy France ever caught.

But nobody knows the real Mata Hari. Until now.

The writing didn’t grab me. I expected something more compelling. This is not.

The art however is striking. Ariela Kristantina will go on to great things, you mark my words. Maybe this will pick up. Right now it’s a very ho-hum debut.

RATING: C

Vinegar Teeth #1
Written by Damon Gentry and Troy Nixey
Illustrated by Troy Nixey
Published by Dark Horse Comics

I jumped for joy for this book. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been waiting for it. I wasn’t disappointed either as this was incredibly compelling and just plain awesome.

This has been described as “Lovecraft meets Lethal Weapon.”

That’s all I need! Let’s go!

Artie Buckle is a pretty good cop in spite of being a grade A schmuck.

When Brick City is under siege from its citizens, Artie has to team up with a being from another dimension.

And guess what? They don’t get along!

The first issue is hilarious and establishes all of this.

The story is a hell of a good time. The art by Nixey is fantastic and it’s great to see him back in comics full time. You should pick this up. It’s a joy to read from the very first page to the last!

RATING: A

The Ghost Fleet: The Whole Goddamned Thing TPB
Written by Donny Cates
Illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson
Published by Image Comics

I really enjoyed reading this book! It’s a fairly quick read.

Donny Cates though is a fine writer and keeps things moving. It’s quite interesting where things go in this comic book.

If you have a valuable cargo, you don’t just call anyone. You call the Ghost Fleet!

They are a fantastically dangerous trucking company! One of the truckers takes a peek at their current payload and that leads to a conspiracy that will change everything for the company.

This book can get over the top but that’s part of the fun. The art by Daniel Warren Johnson is quite excellent. He’s very underrated and his art just is awesome.

Give this a shot. It’s a fun read for sure!

RATING: B+

Godshaper TP
Written by Simon Spurrier
Illustrated by Jonas Goonface
Published by BOOM! Studios

I wanted to like this more than I did.

Simon Spurrier is a decent enough writer. This tale just didn’t grab me as much as his other work. I tried three times to get into it but I found myself bored.

Ennay is a Godshaper. He can mold and shape the gods of others. He goes on a road trip with Bud, who is another god. They go from town to town and get involved in some mischief.

The story was flat for me again.

The art is the best part. Jonas Goonface does a great job here. Its his breakout book. Pick it up for the art. He’s going places for sure.

RATING: C+

After being defeated by humans centuries ago, the Winged Tribe has lost their ability to fly. Seeking vengeance, a royal descendant of the tribe has begun searching for the magical Naga Pearls, which he plans to use to destroy the humans. When the legendary pearls fall into – and out of – the hands of Heiyu, a wily human street punk, he must join a team of unlikely heroes as they race to prevent the destruction of their people in this magical fantasy adventure.

And we’re giving away three copies!

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

What was the cult classic 1993 Chinese fantasy film directed
by Ronny Yu that starred Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung?

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 February 11th, 2018.

The Philadelphia Eagles, my hometown football team, have advanced to compete in Super Bowl LII.

In anticipation—or, at the very least, hopes—of their upset against the New England Patriots, here are some of the best movies that not only were filmed in the City of Brotherly Love, but also make the best use of its landmarks.

Happy viewing.

And Go, Birds!

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Image via Universal Studios

Terry Gilliam’s mind-bending time-travel tale sends futuristic Bruce Willis back to 1990s-era Philadelphia to trace the genesis of a global viral outbreak. Among the Philly landmarks showcased, the iconic Second Empire-style City Hall gets a lot of screen time, its imposing marble structure and distinctive tower given an eerie and appropriately post-apocalyptic makeover.

Trading Places (1983)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Many familiar Philly landmarks and vistas are shown during the opening credits montage, downtown plazas and area parks make for scenic backdrops, and a few prominent buildings are repurposed to serve as such locations as Duke & Duke headquarters, the Heritage Club, and the Police precinct house. More than most Hollywood productions that have been filmed in Philadelphia, Trading Places goes out of its way to make my fine hometown look good.

Witness (1985)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Most of the movie is concerned with a tough Philly cop (Harrison Ford) hiding out in Pennsylvania Amish country to protect a young witness of a brutal murder, but the opening sequence—a Hitchcockian slow-burn montage building up to the horrific crime that sets the plot in motion—makes terrific use of the city’s Neoclassical-style 30th Street Station.

Blow Out (1981)

Image via MGM Studios

There are white-knuckle suspense sequences throughout Brian De Palma’s haunting conspiracy thriller that show us varied views of Philadelphia, from serene Wissahickon Walk and the bustling Reading Terminal Market to the architecturally distinctive Penn’s Landing, Independence Hall, 30th Street Station, and City Hall. Best shot: a helicopter view follows John Travolta as he drives a jeep at high speed down Market Street, through the courtyard of City Hall, and into an oncoming Mummers parade, finally crashing into a window display of the famous John Wanamaker’s department store.

Rocky (1976)

Image via United Artists

Philly’s claim to Hollywood fame, Rocky is the movie that put my hometown on the movie map. Its sequels less so (the fourth film was shot mostly in Vancouver), but the training montage moments of the Italian Stallion jogging through the city and struggling up the mountainous steps of the Museum of Art continue to inspire legions of motivated movie fans to run up those same stairs triumphantly.

True to the first Rocky, the contemporary spinoff Creed and its forthcoming sequel are likewise set in the City of Brotherly Love.

Social video platform Twitch will partner with Shout! Factory to host a 13-hour marathon of classic wrestling battles that shaped today’s pro wrestling scene. The A-Teams of Classic Wrestling marathon contributes to Twitch’s Wrestling Week, a 10-day event celebrating live and legacy content from top wrestling organizations. The marathon begins January 30 at 11 a.m. PT on Shout! Factory’s official Twitch channel.

Behold as these kings of the cage-match take their pilgrimage to the squared-circle with battles featuring legends “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Gorgeous George, Dick the Bruiser, Andy Kaufman and Jerry “The King” Lawler. For fans of the GLOW phenomenon, Brawlin’ Beauties GLOW grants a look back at the first-ever, all-female promotion and the personalities who paved the way for women in pro wrestling.

This showcase follows in the footsteps of Shout! Factory’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Starcade marathons on its official Twitch channel.

Episodes from The A-Teams of Classic Wrestling are also available on VOD at Shout! Fatctory TV.

Full Classic Wrestling Lineup
– Gorgeous George vs. Jessie James
– Brawlin’ Beauties GLOW
– Killer Kowalski vs. Ed Carpenter
– Brawlin’ Beaties GLOW 2
– Buddy Rogers vs. Pat O’Connor
– Blood, Sweat & Bruises
– Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage
– Lone Star Shootout
– Detroit Battle Royal
– Haystacks Calhoun vs. Killer Brooks
– Six Man Tag Team Match
– Wrestling, It’s A Laugh

Collection Synopses:

Classic Wrestling Battles
Professional wrestling was bread-and-butter programming in the early days of television during the 1950’s. A generation of strongmen, led by the likes of Dick the Bruiser, Gorgeous George and “Haystack” Calhoun, reached levels of popularity that few who followed in their footsteps could ever match. These legends of the mat became wrestling’s first super-villains, and through their outlandish and often outrageous escapades, both incensed and captivated audiences around the world. Classic Wrestling Battles revisits the glory days of professional wrestling, with a collection of classic matches involving many of the stars who started it all.

Featuring: Gorgeous George, Antonio Rocco, Buddy “Nature Boy” Rogers, Killer Kowalski

Blood, Sweat, & Bruises
The bloodiest battles, the fiercest moments and the most suspenseful incidents of the Universal Wrestling Federation is presented in “Blood, Sweat and Bruises”, a documentary featuring some of the best action of the UWF.

Featuring: The “Eighth Wonder of the World” Andre the Giant, hard-core legend Cactus Jack, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Billy Jack Haynes, Nikita Koloff and many others.

Brawlin’ Beauties GLOW
In cooperation with the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling…”Brawlin’ Beauties: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” highlights a bevy of the beautiful and feisty femme fatales who wrestled for G.L.O.W. Classic wrestling fans will relive 88-minutes of an all-women comedic presentation of the sport dominated for many years by the men.

Featuring: “Mean Gene” Okerlund, Tina Ferrari, Debbie Debutante, Vickie Victory

Brawlin’ Beauties 2 GLOW
Body slams, turnbuckles and dropkicks make many think of men’s professional wrestling. Not this time. It’s time for the later to take center ring and battle in front of thousands of fans. The legendary stars and matches of women’s professional wrestling history are presented in “Brawlin’ Beauties 2”.

Hosted by “Mean Gene” Okerlund, this documentary takes a look back at the women who helped to pave the way for today’s professional wrestling sports entertainer.

Featuring: The Fabulous Moolah, Sherri Martel, Candi Devine, Debbie Combs, Mildred Burke

Lone Star Shootout
The wrestlers are big and bright in Texas in the “Lone Star Shootout”. The legendary “Mean Gene” Okerlund hosts this classic look back at professional wrestling history as we relive matches and the events of Southwest Championship Wrestling.

Featuring: “Mean Gene” Okerlund, Nick Bockwinkel, Bruiser Brody, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Andy Kaufman

About Twitch
Twitch is the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers. Each day, millions of community members gather to watch, talk, and chat about shared interests. Twitch’s video platform is the backbone of both live and on-demand distribution for all types of content, including the entire video game ecosystem, the creative arts, vlogging (IRL), and more. Twitch also runs TwitchCon, the annual convention for celebrating the Twitch community. For more information about Twitch, visit our Press Center, Twitter feed (#Twitch), and Blog.

About Shout! Factory TV
SHOUT! FACTORY TV is a premiere digital entertainment streaming service that brings timeless and contemporary cult favorites to pop culture fans. With a uniquely curated entertainment library, the channel offers an unrivaled blend of cult TV shows, movies, comedy, original specials and more – presenting an exciting entertainment alternative to major streaming services. SHOUT! FACTORY TV’s programming leverages a distinctive library of pop culture-defining entertainment curated from Shout! Factory, Westchester Films, Timeless Media Group, Scream Factory, major studios, independent producers and other sources from around the world. Whether reliving childhood memories or discovering television series, movies and comedy specials for the first time, SHOUT! FACTORY TV provides an immersive, high-quality viewing experience across a wide variety of screens and platforms, online at ShoutFactoryTV.com on smartphone devices, tablets and connected TV, and on the Roku player, Samsung Smart TVs, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Amazon Channels. SHOUT! FACTORY TV also is available as a branded channel on streaming services Amazon Prime, Pluto TV, Twitch, Xfinity on Demand, Popcornflix, Hulu, Vewd and Xumo.

The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head
Written by David Gaffney
Illustrated by Dan Berry
Published by Top Shelf Productions
ISBN-13: 978-1603094153
Released 1/17/18 / $19.99

The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head is another graphic novel that I had never even heard of before.

Its back cover blurb tells the reader that it’s “a dark comedy about love, loneliness, accumulating baggage, and letting go.” Although written and illustrated by two males—David Gaffney and Dan Berry—the main character, Valerie, is a thirtysomething woman. Having several thirtysomething female friends of my own, I’ve watched them accumulate similar baggage over the years so I could relate in a rather odd way.

Valerie grew up playing the accordion, an instrument she still plays. She’s had her share of boyfriends but never really found “Mister Right.” As we meet her, she spends some quality time with the zombified ghosts of a number of her exes…even though they aren’t actually dead. Well, one is…eventually.

The deceptively simplified art reminds me at times of early Jules Feiffer done up in watercolor. It’s inviting and friendly and Valerie’s subtle facial expressions add much to her emotional state, which builds regularly in the reader’s head, throughout.

But mainly, what we’re shown is what’s in Valerie’s head. And who. She so much wants to find her soulmate but we see many of her beaus in flashback and find that they have their own quirks that never quite mesh with hers.

You feel a little sad for our heroine. As I said above, I’ve been very near these same moments with real-life friends and the familiarity is palpable. And realistic. But at the same time, seeing it all from a safe distance can be both amusing and edifying.

At the risk of sounding sexist, one of my favorite expressions says that any man who claims to truly understand women will tell you that women can never truly be understood. Gaffney and Berry make a valiant and somewhat successful effort at understanding at least one. Valerie is endearing and you want her to get what she wants but then you realize she doesn’t really know what that is.

Throughout her story, we meet a man with a prescription car windshield (ingenious!), a man with a fetish for blurry photos of women, a support group for people who die while pretending to die, and…well…there are also elves.

My very favorite line reads, “You can discover everything about your boyfriend by tossing a breakable object towards him.” Valerie’s heart is a breakable object, and we’re with her as it breaks over and over but she always bounces back…just like my wonderful friends in real life.

The Three Rooms in Valerie’s Head is perfectly paced in both story and art and cultivates “the feels” in the reader. It’s not really one of today’s trendy autobiographical graphic novels, although it has the appearance of one. This is, instead, a lovely, well-crafted short story, deeper and more literary than it seems at first and filled with layers of both sadness and hope.

Booksteve recommends.

Let’s say you love comics. You love comics, but you’re frustrated. There are so many good independent books and small publishers that take chances and seem to keep in step with the times. You want to see that creative daring replicated in the work of the big publishing houses, with characters and story arcs that reflect the changing sensibilities and diversity of a modern world, playing out in the larger connected universes you have loved since childhood.

But it rarely seems to work very well. So many of the great iconic characters of Marvel and DC have all been created in different times. There’s too much resistance from core readership to pull them too far off center. More often than not, forays into the new and controversial get swept away by the next big universal reboot, leaving things mostly has they always have been. Innovation, true innovation, seems to progress in grudging, incremental steps that leave you bored and impatient and unsatisfied.

So you’re frustrated. You yearn for a big, epic, interconnected universe that isn’t afraid to tackle the new. One that’s more reflective of the communities and the globally aware reality we all live in now, one that builds characters around people that better represent you, and the people you know. One that’s not afraid to grapple with the modern challenges of a world you’re most familiar with. One that takes chances, one that’s built on chances.

What’s a comic lover to do?

You do the obvious thing. You make your own universe.

Well get ready for a new ride, because Lion’s Forge, the small but mighty publishing house from St Louis, is determined to do just that. With creative teams producing seven books, and plotlines planned for two years of stories and counting, they’ve gone all in on a project that is nothing short of ambitious, and not without its share of risk. Their aim is high as well as broad. The goal is to create a dynamic universe of heroes that are modern and complex, and above all represent the social and racial diversity of the current day. An attempt to craft stories and characters that reflect real-world issues, against the advent of a new superhuman dawn. It’s a bold, unapologetic bid to be the new comic book world you just may be dreaming of.

Welcome to the universe of Catalyst Prime.

But will it work? We’ll have to see. There’s a history, after all, of small comics publishing houses trying to introduce new universal pantheons of their own to compete in a marketplace dominated by DC and Marvel. Some have been successful. Few remain.

Valiant Comics is the most obvious contender these days. They’ve been steadily forging the Valiant Universe for decades, and while the mix of titles can still feel like something of a hodge-podge, it’s all still quite alive and kicking. Image Comics helped usher in a new era of creator-owned comics in the early nineties, and for a time the books of Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Universe were all the rage. For a time. Milestone Comics featured the first all-African-American lineup of books with their short-lived Dakotaverse. Dynamite Entertainment made a brief splash with Alex Ross in Project Superpowers. And who remembers Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse? Anyone? No? That’s a shame.

Other big name creators have thrown their hats forcefully into the world-building ring over the years. Kurt Busiek’s Astro City, Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon, Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, and Mark Waid’s Irredeemable, all come to mind. Alan Moore, of course. But these creators, and others like them, have generally relied on a stand-alone series or title book to work their magic.

Many popular projects have since been bought up by the big two, and DC in particular has a track-record for assimilating other properties into their own continuity. Blue Beetle and Captain Atom of Charlton Comics are now regular cannon, and of course the Captain Marvel family has been a staple for decades now. Just recently Grant Morrison laid out the definitive DC Multiverse in Multiversity, with no shortage of different re-imagined Earths to choose from.

Neither DC, nor Marvel Comics have been shy about flexing their creative muscles into the eternal promise of alternate realities. While DC seems enamored with Infinite reboots, Marvel has given us Supreme squadrons, Ultimate revisions, a reality-spanning Captain Britain Corps, dimension-hopping mutant Exiles, Spider-Worlds, Venom-Worlds, you name it. And of course, they also gave us one of the earliest interconnected world-building exercises to make a splash back in the eighties, with the launch of their very own, dearly remembered, New Universe.

There are actually a number of similarities between Catalyst Prime and the New Universe projects. Each spin outward from the modern era of their readers, and each depict characters struggling to come to terms with extraordinary and unexpected transformation – the world’s, as well as their own. Each benefits from a full roster of books, designed concurrently, and populated against a common backstory. And to accomplish this, each project has a rather notable team of industry talent behind it, to pull the whole thing off.

Celebrated Marvel editor Jim Shooter helmed the New Universe project. For Catalyst Prime, Lion Forge has tapped Joe Illidge. With a resume that includes time at DC as well as working closely on the Milestone Dakotaverse project, Illidge is no stranger to world-building, and he has a passion for seeing comics populated with the diversity we deserve. With writers on board like Brandon Thomas, Amy Chu, Alex de Campi and David Walker, as well as superstar Joe Casey for the buzz, and with artists such as Marco Turini, Damian Scott, Ray-Anthony Height, and PopMhan, along with Phil Jimenez and John Cassady doing alternate covers, Illidge appears just as determined to see that diversity in his bullpen. That can only be a good thing.

There’s another thing the Catalyst Prime Universe shares with Marvels’ New Universe.

A single catalytic, world-changing Event that kicks everything into motion by seeding the world’s population with pure superhuman potential. In the New Universe, that catalyst was a mysterious worldwide cosmic energy surge known as the White Event. The Catalyst Prime Event hinges on the no less mysterious – if unfortunately more hokey – crisis of a giant radioactive meteor hurtling through space on a deadly collision course with Earth. The story of what happens when a small crew of astro-scientists undertake a daring suicide run to prevent world-wide catastrophe, is told in the very first book to launch the series, a stand-alone intro to the Catalyst Prime Universe named, somewhat unoriginally, Catalyst Prime: The Event.

That comic, released in May 2017 on Free Comic Book Day, was plotted and scripted by Illidge in collaboration with industry heavyweight Christopher Priest. For that reason alone it’s worth picking it up, though it’s also the necessary primer for all the stories that follow. Priest’s signature style, with no narrative explication, only a sequence of dialogue laden scenes, which bounce back and forth between the present-day action of mission launch, and flashback snapshots into the lives of our heroes, is an engaging bit of character-driven storytelling, complete with a surprise twist ending which promises to be a big problem for our heroes going forward.

What follows, and what has been playing out for the last seven months now, is a rollout of Catalyst Prime’s seven title books.

Seven titles, one new title per month, with seven creative teams telling seven very different tales against the larger backstory of what exactly happens in the days and months that follow the Event. In keeping with the narrative approach Priest and Illidge lay down with their opening one-shot, that backstory is revealed piecemeal throughout the books, in glimpses and circumstances that range across the post-Event CPU. The reader is left to figure it all out, like a great big jigsaw puzzle, by investing themselves more or less fully into the roll-out, and letting the picture take shape as you go.

Which is cool in concept, though to be frank, it leaves a lot to be desired at times. I give Illidge and his crew points for taking the creative risk, which after all seems to be a big part of the idea behind this whole project. It takes chutzpah to bank the success of such a big project on an untested approach like this. Trouble is, it is a big project, and with so much going on, not having a clearly laid out overarching narrative from the get go, leaves too much feeling disjointed and confusing, particularly at the beginning stages.

Sure seven months in, that’s beginning to come together, but you’re relying heavily on a dedicated audience to stick it out until it gets that far, which in today’s market, is a lot to hope for with any new single title, much less for seven. I can only hope the gamble pays off for them.

Still, that cohesion is finally coming into focus, so as we roll into 2018 you might want to pick up some of these titles, if you haven’t yet already. It’s pretty clear the year ahead is building to something fun, and my guess is there’s a lot of potential for that to feel satisfying. It may even get damn exciting.

With that in mind I want to provide a brief introduction to the stories and characters of the Catalyst Prime Universe. In the interest of getting you up to speed and cutting through some of the possible confusion there will be a few spoilers here. I’ll keep that to a minimum, but if you want to start fresh from the beginning, or if the purist in you wants to respect the creative experience the project is going for, I’ll just advise you to stop here and go pick up the first issues, along with The Event, and dive right in. I won’t be offended. Fair warning.

For those of you still with me, I’ll start by explaining that things do not exactly go as planned when our intrepid team of astronauts are sent into space to intercept the giant asteroid that threatens the planet. The two main consequences of this being, firstly, that six brave souls are lost to space, presumably dead, and secondly, that the meteor, once an extinction level threat, rains down upon an unsuspecting earth in a hail of smaller meteor fragments. Fragments which become responsible for what turns out to be something more like an evolutionary event instead.

The set up pure science fiction pulp, with predictable results. The startling effects of the wide-flung meteor shards, are matched only by the damage they wreak. Turns out that both are rather extensive. For some reason, it takes until the first issue of the seventh title, seven months after the set up from The Event, for us to learn that whole sections of North America have been obliterated in the meteor shower.

What doesn’t take seven months to discover, is that those exposed to the weird energies of the space rock, have been gifted with impossible power and abilities – or, you know, cursed, depending on how you feel about it. And, something else: turns out our martyred team of first responders are not so dead after all. They’ve somehow returned to earth, each one as changed as the planet they have saved.

That storyline is picked up straight away in the first of the Catalyst Prime Universe titles, Noble.

In keeping with the spirit of the CPU creative intentions, David Powell, Catalyst Prime’s premiere hero, is African American. He’s an accomplished engineer, and a family man, with the soul of a hero and instincts of a warrior. As one of The Event’s heroic crew of astronauts, David makes the ultimate sacrifice for his planet, only to resurface a year later with incredible power, but under circumstances that have him on the run from unscrupulous forces intent on controlling him and harnessing his gifts for their own ends.

As a black man, that story, with underlying themes of exploitation and an ongoing struggle for freedom, take on added weight, as well as possibility. And as the story progresses, writer Brandon Thomas (Horizon, Voltron), ties the saga to issues of the present day, just to be sure we don’t miss the point.

It takes a while for David to get his bearings and to take steps to reclaim his life – and for us too, unfortunately. That’s because Thomas, presumably taking his cue from Illidge and Priest, attempts to tell David’s story with pictures and dialogue alone. It’s a tough way to launch a book with so much riding on it, when so much is unclear at the outset. But seven issues in, and the pay-off has begun to take shape. With more characters, more dialogue, more plot twists, and more overall background to add to its momentum, it’s much easier to be invested in David’s story and its outcome.

Doesn’t hurt that artist Roger Robinson’s (Batman: Gotham Knights, Azrael: Agent of the Bat) clean lines and layouts help to tell a good story along the way. Doesn’t hurt to get Noble into costume either. It’s a good design.

But it does take a little while.

Along the way, month after month, four additional Catalyst Prime titles spin up for launch, each with storylines set in a world irrevocably changed from the ordinary into the extraordinary. Even if we’re not entirely clear at first just how changed, or, just how extraordinary. It’s not until the six and seventh books that we pick up the narratives of any of the other of our missing astronauts, and by then it’s not much surprise to find them alive and similarly imbued with remarkable power.

Summit is the seventh and last CPU title launch. Written by Amy Chu (Poison Ivy, Red Sonja) and drawn by Jan Duursema (Star Wars), Summit features Valentina Resnick-Baker, genius savant astrophysicist, who leaves behind a loving wife when she signs up for the mission to save her planet, fully expecting never to return. Instead she wakes up atop a mountain in Tanzania, unscathed and naked, in a crater of her own making. For some reason, she stubbornly avoids the evident implications of her survival for a full year, retreating from society and from public scrutiny, ostensibly to mourn the somewhat ironic and sudden passing of her partner. But there is much more going on here, and it all finally becomes uncontainable, promising changes that are likely to galvanize a new cycle for our heroes as we head into 2018.

Meanwhile, fellow mission astronaut Alistair Meath is dealing with his own difficulties, and they are unusual to say the least. Meath is a British MI6 agent. Following the Event, his superiors presume him dead, until it becomes clear that his body has been recovered on earth and being held in a secret location without authority. So they send a team to get him back, and then things get weird.

Joe Casey is at the helm for K.I.N.O., which stands, naturally enough, for Kinetic! Impulse! Neoterrestrial! Operative! Yep.

If that sound a bit much (neoterrestrial?), never fear, Casey has the rationale for all this well in hand – in fact it’s apparently a premise he’s been working on for years. Catalyst Prime and Alistair Meath have just given him the perfect opportunity to play it out, and Jefte Palo’s (Civil War II, Black Panther) outstanding pencils provide just the right pop. Long-time fans of superhero comics will appreciate the way K.I.N.O.’s story develops, and with intrigue, international adventure, a nifty power set, and a truly unusual take on a nefarious mad-scientist nemesis, it’s clear this book has great potential going forward.

Of the four remaining books Casey is responsible for two others as well. The first is Accell, the second Catalyst Prime title to launch, and it seems meant to be a primary flagship book like Noble. It’s a very different take on the new CPU however, and so far, wholly separate from the larger backstory.

Accell is clearly meant to appeal to the millennial reader. It features Daniel DeSantos, a young Latino from L.A., an ADHD kid suddenly operating at the speed of thought – with some rather spectacular (and alarming) side-effects. Daniel has the instincts of a hero, but the priorities of a young man with no focus, no direction, and no obligations to anyone but himself.

His circumstances are pure comic-pop: he gets his powers after he finds a glowing meteor shard and stashing it under his bed for a few nights. The storylines Casey gives our hero are similarly simplistic, often to the point of being silly. But I think that’s intentional. Casey’s doesn’t appear to be attempting anything wildly original here – Accell is a hero that could show up literally in any other comic universe – he simply seems to want to write something that will appeal to the sensibilities (and attention span?) of his audience.

Crafting an iconic Latino American superhero sounds like a no-brainer given the market potential, but surprisingly few have attempted it. Here the effort is complemented with the brash illustrations of artist Damian Scott (Batgirl, Batman)and bold choices of colorist of John Rausch. It lends the book a loud, almost psychedelic style. Some won’t like that. It may very well do the trick for those its intended for, however.

Even with broad brush strokes DeSantos is a character who’s all-too believable, and it’s easy to like him. Casey brings all of his wild, imaginative, storytelling chops to the game, quickly fleshing out a character you want to cheer for, and shake hard, simultaneously.

Casey’s third book, The Incidentals is a team book, and is also targeted at a younger crowd.

It depicts the coming together of a disparate group of young men and women, thrown together by the shared experience of a nearby meteor strike off the coast of California. But these Millennial heroes are hardly on the same page otherwise. Casey seems intent on exploring themes of moral ambiguity, distrust, and conflict in ways we haven’t quite seen in a superhero team before. This ain’t your daddy’s X-men in other words. At this point it’s anyone’s guess where it’s all going, but you can bet Casey plans to have some fun along the way.

A second team book is Superb. It centers on a cast of adolescents in a small town suddenly run amok with super-powered activity. The leads are a young black girl, and a white boy with downs syndrome. Co-authored by David Walker (Luke Cage) and comic academic Dr. Sheena Howard, this updated Buffy-esque set-up, is at once groundbreaking and hard to anticipate. Like many of the scenarios of this new CPU, the advent of the extraordinary into the lives of the ordinary, comes with heavy, even grim, consequences. Like other teenage-centered books that have come before it, Superb tackles themes of coming of age, finding one’s self, and learning to shoulder responsibility. But the disruptions these young people are faced with are far from simple, and far from over.

To round it all out is Astonisher. Written by author and pop media maven Alex De Campi (MayDay, Grindhouse) with the gorgeous penciling of artist Pop Mhan (The Flash, He-Man) Astonisher is the CPU’s foray into the astral plane.

Our hero, Magnus Attarian, is an industrialist wunderkind who survives his own deep space disaster that leaves slivers of the meteor embedded in his brain… and powers that compel him to operate in the realms of the psyche. The story is a touch hard to follow at first, with so much going on, but it’s a fascinating addition to the mix, and I have to give props to the idea of an astral-warrior who comes from a family that is both extremely wealthy and extremely dysfunctional. Think of a hero dealing with the dramas of the Trump family, or the Kardashians. That provides a lot of raw material to explore, particularly if they are inclined to dive deep. I can only hope De Campi and artist Pop Mhan rise to the challenge and do it justice. I suspect they will.

So far we haven’t seen anything else of Christopher Priest again since The Event. He’s been busy at DC after all. But there’s hints that this will change at some point, and he’s open about his role as a creative consultant to the entire project. There are certainly clues, particularly now, that everything is heading to an important culmination, one which seems likely to pull the loose threads and plotlines of all these books into a truly interconnected climax.

One thing is for sure. Illidge and Priest and all the other creators, appear to have a very clear handle on where they’re going with everything, even if they’re happy to feed that out slowly to their readers. Hate that or like that, there’s a lot to like about the project overall, and a lot of reason to jump in and ride along to see where it’s going. Particularly if from the get go, you’re invested in the idea, and want to see it succeed.

In the end their success will depend on how well the Catalyst Prime creators succeed in developing characters that you believe in and can root for. And while it’s all a bit of a jumble now, there’s a lot of potential for that going forward.  So grab the Noble and Accell TPs, pick up K.I.N.O., go find a copy of The Event. See what appeals to you, and consider supporting Lion Forge in their dream for a better universe.

It’s an exciting effort, and it’s bold, and it’s new.

And after all, what else are comics for?