Hark! I sensed a disturbance in the geek force last Friday. It’s as if a billion people at their phones and keyboards suddenly cried out in anger, confusion, and pain.

I soon found out why: the announcement and first look at ThunderCats Roar, slated for 2019 on Cartoon Network.

It wasn’t just that the ThunderCats were returning as a comedy-leaning reboot, though. Perhaps the larger insult came from seeing the super-cartoonish, doodle-and-crayon art style instead of the slick, dynamic, anime-adjacent look of the original. (And even the short-lived 2011 reboot.)

Geeks in my timeline were not happy. Not happy at all.

They don’t want another Teen Titans Go jokefest! How dare Victor Courtwright, this millennial with his topknot and ratty beard, do this to their ThunderCats?!?

Look, I won’t lie. This ThunderCats Roar show looks pretty dumb. It may turn out to be good, in that there’s enough room for “serious” stories of alien cat people, and stories that know all of this is silly and primarily for kids.

But you know what? The original ThunderCats doesn’t have any great sanctity, far as I’m concerned. It also has some pretty weird, dumb stuff in it. That said, the memory of ThunderCats has endured, at least as icons if not for the actual program.

Why is that?

First, the opening sequence is, frankly, dope as hell. Animated in part by Masayuki and Moriyasu Taniguchi from Japan, the sequence is flashy and rousing from the start. The screen flashes the ThunderCats emblem, which then turns into a beam of light shooting through space and across a planet to a mountaintop, on which our hero is shot from under to look even more immense as the beam is collected in his power sword. That was their Hawaii Five-O tracking-shot-to-Jack-Lord-on-a-high-rise moment.

The sequence has everything! Magic spells, quick cuts, camera moves, explosions, ninja moves, cloaks, and monsters.

What cartoon has a better opening sequence than this? Batman: The Animated Series comes to mind, but what else?

Second, the show had Mumm-Ra as the villain. Not only did you get a character-defining transformation sequence (anime hallmark) whenever Lion-O held aloft the Sword of Omens for a hearty “Thunder, Thunder, Thunder! ThunderCats, ho!” You got a second sequence each episode in which Mumm-Ra converted from a decayed mummy to a doomsday behemoth in a cape.

Watch his transformation, folks. It’s legit scary. And then that voice, bellowing and baleful, his mouth all sopping with foul spit, and that laugh! He’s great. And his tagline is as fun to say as Lion-O’s.

I don’t know how ThunderCats Roar can measure up to those things about the old show. How seriously can I take a project whose animation looks like doodles colored in with crayons?

Adventure Time and Steven Universe’s looks aren’t this loose despite being very cartoonish, and both of those shows are able to go deep, emotional and serious.

The comic-booky look and feel of the old show made the characters appear more official and serious than the show often was. You forget how much the episodes leaned on Snarf’s comic helicopter parenting of Lion-O, or the moral-heavy bent to the whole project.

But so what? ThunderCats Roar is getting made regardless. If it’s gonna be funny, I sincerely hope they tackle for comedy a bunch of things about the old show that make me laugh or squirm depending on my mood.

To start, ThunderCats could not escape its blatantly Freudian themes on masculinity.

The show centers on castration anxiety, really. Lion-O’s a 12-year-old boy when the ThunderCats escape the dying planet Thundera, but because his suspended animation pod malfunctions, his body matures to that of a robust man twice his age. He’s a literal boy in a man’s body when he arrives on Third Earth.

He’s then tasked with keeping the Sword of Omens, a legacy item of his dead race, with the talismanic Eye of Thundera power stone embedded in its hilt. A sword is phallic enough, but this sword lies dormant as a dagger until, when Lion-O recites the incantation, it extends to a broadsword and shoots out a signal the others must obey. The sword also grants clairvoyance, can cut through anything, can shoot out energy beams, and basically is alive.

What’s more, a lot of the show is about how Lion-O has to keep the Sword of Omens away from the monstrous, dark-magic sorcerer Mumm-Ra. The boy must obey one father figure, Jaga, in order to deter and defeat another older, male figure who would abuse him and his family by taking his sword.

Yikes!

I don’t think that was the moral the old ThunderCats writing team was going for when they hired a child psychologist to advise and review scripts.

I’d also like to see ThunderCats Roar bring some thoughtful comedy from Cheetarah and Panthro. You know, the girl and the black guy.

Cheetarah did look really rad and strong. But so much of what’s remembered about Cheetarah rests on the male gaze and her being ’80s hot. The show’s creators, and voice artist Lynne Lipton, may have meant for Cheetarah to be a mother figure to Lion-O, but she wasn’t that for us boys. Like Pepper Potts in the Iron Man movies, she was both hot chick and mom to the male hero. A sexy team mom, as it were.

And that’s before we get into how she has a sixth sense, but sees it as a curse!

It would be interesting to see whether they can throw those projections off Cheetarah, or make fun of them. Or will they just play them up?

And then there’s Panthro.

He always felt coded as black. Associated with a black panther, Panthro was darker skinned (furred?) than the other ThunderCats, with a bald head, and he had different facial features. And he’s super strong!

These were trends in the cartoons of that time. The 1985 Defenders of the Earth cartoon, which paired Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician in a super-team against Ming the Merciless, included original character Lothar, a brawny black man with a shaved head whose power is that he’s super, duper strong. In the opening sequence, he bursts through a stone wall!

Or take G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Roadblock was a super-buff black man with a shaved head who was a heavy machine gunner. So he, ahem, carried a big one.

Panthro’s also super smart. He built the Thundertank and Cat’s Lair from the wreckage of their spaceship! Ironically, this also puts Panthro somewhat in service to his fellow ThunderCats. So now Panthro’s a genius and a brawler, their architect and superintendent, partner and custodian.

Growing up in black West Philly, all of us thought Panthro was black. This included jokes about his love of kung fu, and his dope whip. Plus he was voiced by Earle Hyman, best known as Grandpa Huxtable on The Cosby Show, who possessed a deep, sonorous, unmistakably black voice.

At least the old ThunderCats didn’t do any kind of active race caricature with Panthro. He didn’t do anything dumb such as speak exclusively in rhymes, like Roadblock. (I guess the G.I. Joe writers’ only black reference point was Rudy Ray Moore of Dolemite and Human Tornado fame.)

The people behind ThunderCats Roar would do well to remember that about Panthro. I didn’t see any people of color in that first look at the creative staff. If this show is going to be like Teen Titans Go, they can stay away from the race humor that show has done at times with Cyborg. I don’t want Panthro turning into a Madea-style sassy old black woman, for example.

And there’s one more thing I want in this show.

What the hell is a Snarf?

Written and Illustrated by Rich Tommaso
Published by Image Comics
Released 4/11/18 / $12.99

Rich Tommaso is another on my growing list of cartoonists whose work I’ve ignored but when I finally take a look at it I really like it. Case in point: Rich Tommaso’s Clover Honey: 1995 Artist’s Cut.

The original story came out more than 20 years ago, but the current version from Image is more than just a reprint.

In the accompanying text, the author describes redrawing the whole first sections of the book as he was unhappy with it after his own style had progressed quickly during the creation of the original version.

The whole book has been relettered, too, in a style that vaguely evokes various indy hits including Love and Rockets and Daniel Clowes’ various works.

The text matter brings up the rear on this one. Instead, we open with a couple of quotes, including one from Overstreet’s FAN that praises the book’s best feature in my own mind as well—its pacing.

Tommaso’s storytelling is impeccable here, deftly using both visuals and dialogue to carry the story along, slowing or speeding up the pace as needed but making even the smallest moments linger in the reader’s mind.

The story itself is a typical tale of the mob on one level but a much deeper character study on another. After a very brief, quiet, cinematic opening, we meet Trevor and Abbie, newly teamed as collectors/enforcers for the Family. Abbie makes a mistake on their first outing but Trevor promises to smooth it over for her with the boss, who happens to also be her uncle.

Only the atypically nerdy-looking Trevor disappears along with the collected money.

The book’s title refers to the horse Trevor plans on betting the money on. Seems he’s done it before, delivered in full, and pocketed the rest of the winnings. Only this time something happens along the way.

The bulk of the story has Trevor on the run and Abbie assigned to find him for her uncle. There are no good guys here, and both protagonists are shown to have some severe flaws. The reader’s loyalty shifts from side to side as the book delves in and out of some unexpected territory for a crime story.

The black and white art is of the trendy ‘90s style of Clowes or maybe Charles Burns but the way Tommaso works his storytelling skills quickly makes you forget any comparisons. ‘The back cover rates it “M” but if this were a movie, it would get a full “R” for explicit language and images. Definitely not safe for work, but if you’re at home and appreciate a well-written crime novel or a well-directed noir film, this book might be right up your dark alley.

I have to say, though, that there is one important drawback to Clover Honey, and that’s the ending. No spoilers. I’ll just say it doesn’t make any sense to me. After more than 100 pages of nary a wasted panel and no filler, the story just seems to stop on what seems a meaningless close-up.

Don’t know if I’m just missing something or Rich just didn’t have the best ending in mind but either way, it’s not a dealbreaker. Like many things in life, Clover Honey is about the journey, not the destination.

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters today and to celebrate we’ve partnered with Fandango and its online movie merchandise marketplace, Fandango FanShop, to give fans the ultimate movie swag!

Each bundle includes:

• $25 Solo: A Star Wars Story Fandango Gift Card, a special-edition gift card good for any movie through Fandango or FandangoNOW

• Star Wars Chewbacca Funko POP! figure, available through FanShop

For a limited time, fans who purchase Solo: A Star Wars Story tickets on Fandango will also receive a complimentary movie poster (as seen above), for from Fandango FanShop, while supplies last.

And we’re giving away two bundles!

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

What is Chewbacca’s native language?

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 June 10th, 2018.

Written by Marv Wolfman
Art and Cover by Gene Colan
Published by IDW Publishing
Released 1/17/18 / $125.00

I first discovered vampires at age 7 when I talked my babysitter into taking me to see Adam West’s Batman movie, inexplicably double-featured with Christopher Lee in Hammer’s not so kid friendly Dracula, Prince of Darkness!

That was in the early fall of 1966. Right around there I also discovered the Dell comics superhero, Dracula. A couple of years later, Barnabas Collins was all the rage amongst us grade schoolers and then, around 1970, at age 11, I finally saw Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and read Bram Stoker’s original novel (purchased through the Scholastic Book Club).

There are photos of me in vampire makeup with pasteboard fangs, ketchup blood, and a purple cape my mom sewed from the legs and arms of my old Archie Andrews Halloween costume.

All of this is by way of saying that by the time the Comics Code restrictions allowed Count Dracula back into the four-color world at Marvel with Tomb of Dracula in 1972, I was ready for it to be one of my favorite comics and I was NOT disappointed.

For the bulk of its long run, Tomb of Dracula was written by the appropriately named Marv Wolfman and drawn by Gene Colan, with inks by Tom Palmer. The Wolfman/Colan teaming proved an excellent one and the two like-minded creators reunited a number of times on various post-Dracula projects through the years.

Likewise, the Colan/Palmer team had already impressed fans for several years by that point on projects such as Doctor Strange and Daredevil.

Gene Colan was always something unique at Marvel—an original. At a company that prided itself on artists whose work aped that of whoever was popular last month, Gene Colan’s soft, romance-style illustrative art gave a special atmospheric flair to war stories or tales of long underwear heroes. He was, therefore, the perfect artist for a series that was all about the atmosphere.

Which brings us to the book at hand: Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula Artist’s Edition. You know the deal with all the books in this series. If you’re a fan, sell your car for this one. In fact, for this particular one, I recommend it even if you aren’t a fan.

You get a lovely retrospective intro from Marv and a half dozen complete, unsequential, issues of Tomb of Dracula, all photographed lovingly and in minute detail from the original art pages. As I’ve noted before, the fact that the books are not sequential is beside the point. These volumes are about the art more so than the story, and Colan’s may well be more fun to just stare at than even Kirby’s!

Colan was tough to properly ink. His more realistic style didn’t lend itself at all to typical comic book inking and while never flashy, his storytelling techniques and page layouts were always attractive. In fact, on a number of his later projects, the printed pages were shot directly from the artist’s uninked pencils, eschewing an inker all together.

Here, though, in spite of the fact that his name didn’t make the title, the real star to me is Tom Palmer. As I said above, Colan could be difficult to ink…but not for Palmer. Using a fair amount of pasted on screens and effects, Palmer always seemed to make the right choices to enhance and mainstream Colan’s ideas without burying them. To look at these pages is to admire the work of both artists, but remember, it’s Palmer’s gorgeous delicate lines and heavy blacks the reader is seeing in every single panel (except for a few uninked pages at the rear), lines that would have no reason to exist without Colan’s pencils having been sharpened first.

Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula Artist’s Edition presents a wonderful tribute to the often under-appreciated artist, but also to his memorable art partner, Tom Palmer, with whom he came together again to give us nearly a decade of creepy comic book vampire adventures that have since been imitated but never duplicated.

Booksteve recommends.

Written by Evan Dorkin
Illustrated by Veronica Fish
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Let me tell you a little about myself. If you put Evan Dorkin’s name on a title, I’m reading the book. If you put Veronica Fish’s name on a title, I’m picking it up. If you put both of them on a title, I’m rushing to get it.

Such is the case here.

The book features four young adults who go to Blackwood College to learn and improve their supernatural powers. But while they are there they come across an ancient evil.

That ancient evil seeks to destroy them and quite possibly he world!

The opening few pages are really great. They show a man who proclaims that something is coming!

It’s a beautifully paced scene that give you chills. Dorkin knows how to begin his story on a high note and it’s wonderful.

We get the line, “The Blood of Billions! A world in sacrifice.”

And right there? I’m hooked.

We then see the students arriving to the college. Dorkin also shows his skill here. He introduces the characters and we get to know them a bit. They all have well thought out and distinct personalities. And they all seem to have secrets.

Can you compare this to Harry Potter?

Well, a bit. It has a similar kind of set up so lazy people can slap that label on it. But it’s a far more darker story that Dorkin has created deep down, even if it has a lot of comedy.

That design work is also much, much more in the realm of horror. Fish does a great job of drawing up some amazing characters with specific looks and body language. She also collaborates well with Dorkin, making the whole comic feel seamless.

If I have one complaint of the book is that it feels a little wordy. Sure, there was another of information to be had but some of the word can be cut. I fee it would make the book only stronger.

Evan Dorkin is quite a writer. Veronica Fish is a hell of an artist. Together here, they make magic. This is only four issues so it could go anywhere. That’s exciting. And that makes for a must read comic.

RATING: A-

Written and Illustrated by David Petersen
Published by BOOM! Studios
Released 5/23/18 / $99.99
(S&N; slipcased LTD. ED.)

Mouse Guard is a book that completely immerses you into its world in a few short pages.

David Petersen has been writing and drawing this book for a long time and he remains as passionate as ever.

I do have to be in the right mood for this, but it is completely excellent.

This is the third volume of the book and it a prequel to the first two volumes. It focuses on the character of Celanawe. Celanawe talks to the young Lieam.

He tells him the tale of the day he touched the Black Axe. It is after this that book springs into all our adventure mode.

Petersen makes the legend of the Black Axe as legendary as any token or talisman like it in fantasy literature. The way he portrays it, it’s like the ring everyone is after in The Lord of The Rings.

Because of the Axe, Celanawe goes on an adventure with Em to retrieve it. They travel by sea to track this item down. It’s exciting and lively and strangely emotional, like the best Mouse Guard books.

Petersen really makes full characters and puts them through their paces. Nobody is the same at the end of the adventure and the themes are strong in this book. They all lose something personal to themselves when this ends. It’s heartbreaking and has a natural flow to it all that doesn’t feel at all forced.

I only read the first two Mouse Guard books years ago but I reread them for this. And this one ended up turning out to be the best of them all.

Petersen really is the Tolkien of comic books (sorry Jeff Smith, I love you too). The world he creates is one that is the closest to Tolkien that you can imagine. I also like that there is enough for young readers to pick this up and enjoy. And they should. The themes and the emotions are up there with the best that fantasy storytelling has to offer.

RATING: A

Written by Landry Q. Walker 
Illustrated by Justin Greenwood
Published by Image Comics

I’m not a big fan of comic books taking place in medieval times unless they are well done.

Good thing this is well done.

Landry Q. Walker has written a fast paced and intellectual book that moves as fast as it makes you think.

As this book opens, the King of the Land wants more property. And he will do everything in his power to get it!

Walker establishes this idea in the first few pages by showing the King’s army strutting their stuff. They are indeed a mighty force to be reckoned with!

The King is shown to be a cruel dictator. Walker wastes no time showing us examples of this.

I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s just say he’s not a nice guy.

There is one person standing in his path: A 12 year old girl.

She is residing in a property the king wants. Her father has already been disposed of by the mad King. Everyone is telling her to give up the property. All hope for her seems lost.

And then, a mysterious stranger enters the narrative. And it seem like all hell is poised to break out.

The story really moves! I know it’s only eight issues, so a lot gets established right away in an easy to digest story. I love the characterization of the mysterious stranger. He seems like he’s going to be a father figure (or maybe even the girl’s father?) Its some strong work indeed.

The art is very good and very dirty which I love. Greenwood has a raw and emotional style which is quite cool and perfectly suited for this book. His panel layouts especially move the story along well. I’m interested to see there this goes. This is a nice first issue, indeed.

RATING: B+

The future is bright. Prior to its fourth season return on The CW, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season on Blu-ray and DVD on September 25, 2018. Fans can get up to speed with all 18 captivating episodes from the third season, plus timeless special features including the show’s 2017 Comic-Con Panel, an epic crossover featurette, a gag-reel and more. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is The CW’s #3 show among Total Viewers, with over 2.6 million viewers tuning in weekly. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season is priced to own at $29.98 SRP for the DVD and $39.99 SRP for the Blu-ray, which includes a Digital Copy.

After defeating the Legion of Doom, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow face a new threat created by their actions. By revisiting a moment in time that they had already participated in, they’ve essentially fractured the timeline and created anachronisms all across time! In Season Three, the Legends must find a way to return all the anachronisms to their original timelines before the time stream falls apart.

“After three seasons, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow continues to score in ratings and ranks as one of top series for The CW,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, TV Marketing. “Featuring all four episodes from the popular DC Crossover Crisis on Earth-X Event, DC fanboys and girls will be eager to add the Blu-ray release to add to their collections.”

With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1. The 3-disc Blu-ray will feature a high-definition Blu-ray and a Digital Copy of all 18 episodes from season three.

The third season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow stars Victor Garber (The Flash, Titanic), Brandon Routh (Arrow, Superman Returns), Caity Lotz (Arrow, Mad Men), Franz Drameh (The Flash, Edge of Tomorrow), Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Originals), Tala Ashe (The Carrie Diaries), and Keiynan Lonsdale (The Flash), with Nick Zano (The Final Destination), and Dominic Purcell (Prison Break, The Flash). Based on the DC characters, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Blindspot, Black Lightning, Riverdale), Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, Freedom Fighters: The Ray), Phil Klemmer (Chuck, Political Animals), and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, The Flash, Blindspot, Supergirl, Black Lightning, Riverdale).

BLU-RAY & DVD FEATURES

• The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2017
• Inside the Crossover: Crisis on Earth-X
• Post Production Theater
• Gag Reel

Before YouTube became a workplace rabbit hole for strange and bizarre content, folks who wanted short-form entertainment that was off the beaten path had to work for it. From passing spliced films and video cassettes around from friend to friend to attending screenings in scary neighborhoods, it took work to be weird.

But from 1981 to 1988, the wonderful and wacky Night Flight was able to fill the void left by the silly sitcoms, heavy dramas and various variety hours that filled the airwaves.

Airing in three to four hour blocks on the USA Network, Night Flight was a mish-mash of everything you needed to live outside the norm. Providing access to hard-to-find music videos, spotlighting bands that were shunned by local radio stations, doling out small splices of cult movies galore, and offering handfuls on odd cartoons and short movies, Night Flight filled the gap left by normal television.

Calling itself an “online visual-arts magazine,” Night Flight was the brainchild of Jeff Franklin and Stuart S. Shapiro and filled the late-night airwaves of the little-known cable network. It quickly became must-see TV for the fringe as it introduced directors, cartoonists and bands to its night-owl audience.

Goths, metalheads, music fans and film fanatics galore would gather late at night to watch this jumble of pop culture. It was were vast amounts of people first learned about GG Allin or the Talking Heads. It was how kids in Middle America knew about CBGB’s, Wendy O. Williams and Divine while teens in big cities found out about youth culture trends both across the Pond and the country.

It united the weird in the best way possible.

After seven years of serving abursidity, Night Flight was canceled, although it would live in syndication for a few more years after it was axed.

But then after 1996, cable television bid adieu to the trend-setting telly show as it faded into obscurity.

Gone but not forgotten, the show left its mark on audiences and even other cable programs. In the mid-’90s, popularity of the Night Flight later influenced MTV and a few of their other ventures, such as Liquid Television.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Sort of.

Much of the programming was gathered and lived on in fragmented bits and pieces on YouTube. The intro, a few odd specials and such. But it was enough to keep the show from being completely forgotten.

And now, after a two-decade absence, Night Flight is back!

Night Flight returns to the small screen (and the small, small screen) with a deep dive into ‘80s nostalgia. The Night Flight Plus app (available on Roku, desktop and mobile phone) give former fans and possibly new audiences the chance to explore full episodes of the beloved late-night show…complete with commercials.

The app also offers oodles of cult movie favorites, spotlights on alternative artists, documentaries galore, full-length features of the macabre and so much more.

In addition to their original programming, the app also features dozens of films from the Arrow Films and the Full Moon catalog, shorts from the Church of the SubGenius (remember your lord and savior, Bob?), old episodes of forgotten ‘80s programming like the Dr. Ruth Show and Gumby, and all the horror movies you can muster.

Go. Try it out yourself. But be wary: In this app lies a click hole to the likes no one has ever seen. I myself fell down it about two weeks ago and have yet to emerge.

In a day and age where ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia is at its peak, go straight to the source with the Night Flight Plus app and get lost in a void of your own making.

Written by Pat Shand
Illustrated by Renzo Rodriguez
Published by Black Mask Studios

This is a new horror series from Black Mask Studios! The first issue is pretty much all set up, but what a set up! Once it gets going it becomes a thrill a minute!

The story starts off with an introduction to Scout Turner. She is a cryptozoologist who examines and makes notes on supernatural creatures.

In the opening scene, she is picking up her Albuterol inhaler from a pharmacy. It’s a nice introduction to the character. Shand was smart to begin the book like this. It tells the reader a lot about the character with one simple scene.

Then we see Scout arriving to work. There is a bit of dialogue with a security guard. The dialogue isn’t forced.

In fact, it’s completely natural. Shand is a smart writer and really makes his book flow easily. Nothing feels stilted in the dialogue. Some other comic book writers should take note on how it’s done. Shand does a great job and it should be mentioned.

The book continues along until Scout starts to examine a new breed of monster. She finds out that the venom in this particular creature is actually the cure for asthma. Talk about raising the stakes and making it personal!
Scout then finds herself on the run quickly thereafter from the monsters and from Kenilworth Pharmaceuticals. After the first issue, it becomes very fast paced.

Issue two doesn’t let up! The opening sequence is Scout trying to escape from a monster. It’s a scene that is so exciting I was reading it on the edge of my seat! And the second issue ends on a high note leaving you wanting the rest of the story as soon as possible!

The story is very good and the art by Rodriguez is pretty damn solid. I’m not sold on the creature designs (it looks a little too much like Giger leftovers for my tastes). That minor complaint aside, this is a solid series that I will be reading until the end!

RATING: B+

The latest season of Gotham, the hit FOX drama, shows the first signs of the emergence of Gotham City’s iconic Super Hero along with other DC characters that fans have come to know today. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) is set to release Gotham: The Complete Fourth Season on August 21, 2018 featuring every episode that drew an average of 4.4 million Total Viewers weekly along with brand-new extras exploring the DC characters that fans have come to know, love and love to loathe. The set will be available on Blu-ray (including Digital Copy) and DVD for $44.98 / $49.99 SRP.

Horror fills the streets as season four of Gotham witnesses the emergence of the criminal landscape for which Gotham City is best known while Bruce Wayne begins the path to vigilantism, showing signs of the caped crusader to come. Gotham City Police Department Captain Jim Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock remain at the forefront of the fight against the most depraved and unhinged villains from Penguin to The Riddler and numerous others in between. Detective Gordon also finds himself fighting personal demons like never before.

Gotham: The Complete Fourth Season features an all-star cast lead by Ben McKenzie (The O.C., Southland), Donal Logue (Grounded for Life, Vikings), David Mazouz (Touch), Morena Baccarin (Homeland, V), Sean Pertwee (Elementary), Robin Lord Taylor (The Walking Dead), Erin Richards (The Quiet Ones), Camren Bicondova (Gotham Stories), Cory Michael Smith (Carol), Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield), Chris Chalk (Rent), and Drew Powell (The Mentalist). Crystal Reed (Teen Wolf) and Alexander Siddig (Game of Thrones) join the cast this season as Sofia Falcone and Ra’s al Ghul respectively. Developed by Bruno Heller, the series is executive produced by Heller, Danny Cannon and John Stephens.  Based on the DC characters, Gotham is produced by Warner Bros. Television and returns for a fifth and final season.

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is excited to release the next chapter of FOX’s hit drama series Gotham,” said Rosemary Markson, WBHE Senior Vice President, Television Marketing. “Veteran fans and newcomers alike will be drawn to the villainous allure of Gotham: The Complete Fourth Season.”

With Blu-ray’s unsurpassed picture and sound, Gotham: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray release will include 1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1. The 4-disc Blu-ray will feature a high-definition Blu-ray and Digital Copy of all 22 episodes from season four.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• The Best of DC TV’s Comic-Con Panels San Diego 2017
• Solomon Grundy: Born on a Monday
• The Sirens Take Gotham
• Deleted Scenes

Written by Duane Swierczynski
Illustrated by Michael Gaydos, Robert Hack,
Greg Scott, Rick Burchett,
Kelly Fitzpatrick,Rachel Deering
Cover: Greg Smallwood
Published by Archie Comics
Released 5/23/18 / $14.99

This is the best title to come from Archie’s Dark Circle line of books. Duane Swierczynski is a writer I’m absolutely fascinated with, and this is a huge feather in his cap.

While I’m not sure why it takes so long to get a trade from Archie Comics for anything, they are always worth the wait.

This book compiles the end of the first series of the Black Hood (another series did follow and it was excellent as well). You can’t get better than this.

At end of the first volume, Greg Hettinger needed to regroup. That didn’t end up so good for him.

So, after a failed stay in an institution, Greg returns to Philadelphia. Greg swears off the Black Hood and all the trouble it brings.

At the start of the book, Greg is doing all he can to push away the pull of the Hood.

Greg is also a recovering drug addict. That makes the book very real. It’s easy for the reader to connect because everyone knows a “Greg” in their life. He struggles with everything someone in recovery goes through. And you root for him to get past it all. Then, a band of wrongdoers called The Crusaders start causing trouble.

Needless to say, Greg can’t keep away from putting on the Hood for long. And once he does, it’s emotional and exhilarating for him. What ends up happening at the end isn’t like most books. It has some real and lasting effects. This isn’t just the story of a struggling hero. It’s the story of a police officer who has fallen from grace and is hurting. It’s the story of a real human being.

The art is really strong on this book. From Michael Gaydos right over to Greg Scott and more. Everyone does their best work. This is a hard look at what happens when you make the decisions to be a “hero.”

It will stay with you for a long time after reading this.

RATING: A

The process of combining live-action with animation goes back as far as 1900 with the Thomas Edison produced short film The Enchanted Drawing.  Other early combinations of the magical mix of hand-drawn and in-camera real-world include Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), Disney’s “Alice” comedies (1923-1927) and The Hollywood Party (1934).  The later of those features a rather fresh Mickey Mouse getting in a good punch to Jimmy Durante before the opening credits are over.

The appeal of seeing often big-name actors joining forces with animated characters has been a selling point since these early days of cinema.  It was in full swing by the 1940s, with Tom and Jerry joining Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh, Donald Duck and Aurora Miranda in The Three Caballeros, and Mickey Mouse with Leopold Stokowski in Fantasia.

Audiences are usually aware of a partially animated film, as it’s often the selling point of the picture.

In my opinion, the more breathtaking moments are from the unexpected times an animated “wall” is broken, going from primarily animation to sudden live-action.

Here are ten of the best times the line between live-action and animation was drawn for wow-factor…

Hollywood Steps Out (1941)

Okay, so this one’s not exactly a mix with live-action footage, but the approach of this “Merrie Melodies” cartoon directed by Tex Avery side-steps the familiar Warner Bros. characters for 46 big-name, real-world actors.  Featured in the short are Cary Grant, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart, Bing Crosby, Greta Garbo and Groucho Marx (to name a few). It all takes place at the real nightclub Ciro’s, and the tone is very much a satire of newsreels of the day glamorizing Tinseltown. The character stylings of the stars is uncanny, but probably a surprise to see in ‘41.

Who Killed Who? (1952)

This Tex Avery parody of whodunit stories starts live-action, with actor Robert Emmett O’Connor disclaiming the nature of the cartoon will prove “beyond a shadow of a doubt” that crime does not pay.  Clichés are served up, all the way to the revealing ending, in which the killer’s revealed to be the opening host himself, which is a switch from a cartoon unmasking to the live-action O’Connor.

Three Little Pups (1953)

Tex Avery loved a good live-action gag, and this gun Droopy Dog MGM short parodies the Disney cartoon Three Little Pigs twenty years later. In two sequences, the pups watch a live-action western on a cartoon television.  Eventually the big bad wolf of the short, crosses into the television and rides a live-action horse off into the sunset. Strangely enough, the image of cartoon puppies watching a black-and-white western on television would be restaged in Disney’s own 101 Dalmatians in 1961.

Forbidden Planet (1956)

The classic science fiction film (the first with an entirely electronic musical score) pops in widescreen technicolor, which is already beyond the look of real-life.  But the film’s famous battle against a subconscious monster from the Id was brought to life by Walt Disney animator Joshua Meador. Drawn with simple black pencil on white paper, the images were photographically reversed to result in the effect of an outlined creature that gives the impression of invisibility.  The result is still-spooky, and doesn’t come off as overly cartoonish. It’s an amazing precursor to today’s infiltrating CGI effects.

The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)

The 1961 children’s book that continues to be a best-seller serves as inspiration for this strange feature film that bookends itself with live-action sequences.  Butch Patrick stars as Milo, who passes into a magical parallel universe that’s completely animated. The animation studio closed after this film bombed at the box-office, but the sight of a real kid turning into an animated one, via magic gift-wrapped package certainly shocked and stayed with younger Gen-X audiences.

Heavy Traffic (1973)

Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat was a cult movie sensation, but the film that really established the director’s style is Heavy Traffic, an R rated autobiographical montage of mixed media.  Often using photographs or live-action as backgrounds, the cartoonish animated characters contrast against this technique.  The director would merge to live-action even more by increasing the use of rotoscoping. This one is his most successful variation on familiar themes.

Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990)

In 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? revolutionised filmmaking with its advances to cell-animation and live-action via motion-control cameras. Naturally, Roger would show up in three more theatrically-released short films in the tradition of the animated Maroon Cartoon Something’s Cooking that started the feature film.  These shorts also merged live-action near the end of each one, but my favorite gag takes place mid-way into this PG rated romp.  Flying out of control on a stomach-churning roller coaster, Baby Herman and Roger literally skid off the celluloid in the projector.  It’s a fantastic visual-joke unfortunately lost to the digital revolution.

Happy Feet (2006)

Warner Bros. took home a Best Animated Feature Oscar for the musical computer-animated Happy Feet, probably because it’s bursting at the seams with heart.  George Miller (the Mad Max films) pulls out the best moves at the ending, in which live-action humans appear in time to correct their environmentally unfriendly ways.

WALL·E (2008)

This already decade-old Pixar masterpiece, is another great example of how a sudden jolt of real-world live action can bring an animated feature closer to home. When WALL•E shares his love for an old VHS copy of Hello Dolly! to his new friend EVE, the image on the monitor is just that.  Even the image is standard-definition 4:3 cropped nostalgia, not that it bothers the robot couple.

The LEGO Movie (2014)

All of the pieces come together at the end of the hysterical brick-building adventure that is The LEGO Movie.  Nobody expected that emotional doozy of an ending though, in which Will Ferrell unleashes his inner-child in lieu of the stodgier President Business.  Admit it, you get a lump in your throat bigger than one of those weird LEGO trees.

Written and Illustrated by Eddie Campbell
Published by The Library of American Comics /
IDW Publishing
Released 5/1/18 / $49.99

I guess I’m just not the audience for The Goat Getters by the great writer/artist Eddie Campbell.

But then, I’m not sure exactly who would be, either.

It’s about the early days of boxing or is it the early days of cartooning?

It’s actually about the origins of the expression “getting one’s goat.”

Well, not really.

That’s in there, but…It’s about sports cartooning in general and boxer Jack Johnson in particular…only not so much, really. So…yeah.

At more than 300 pages, I feel like it overanalyzes its subject (subjects?) too much, á la the recent, purposely uber-deconstructing, Eisner-nominated, How to Read Nancy. The difference is that in this case, it’s pretty much all deeply serious stuff.

Overall The Goat Getters reminds me of the semi-scholarly articles in the late, lamented comic strip history magazine, Nemo. Almost every issue was loaded down with turn-of-the-century minutiae I felt I should know as a comics enthusiast but it wasn’t always stuff I actually cared about.

In this volume, there’s no shortage of interesting stuff including a nice selection of rare cartoon art from old-timers like George Herriman, Tad Dorgan, Jimmy Swinnerton, George McManus, Robert Ripley, and Rube Goldberg. Unless you’re a boxing lover who already has at least some grasp of the history of the era, however, it isn’t particularly interesting art.

The often highly detailed text helps, of course, but at times gets too over-informative unless, again, you’re a boxing aficionado.

Clearly a labor of love, there is no doubt that The Goat Getters is a well-done book, and no doubt that there are some folks out there who will appreciate it. I guess it just really gets my goat that I’m not one of them.

In 1971, revolutionary filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles unleashed a cinematic work so powerful it completely changed the game for independent black artists in the USA. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, which Van Peebles wrote, produced, edited, directed and starred in, exploded all expectations for what a film of its size could achieve. With the combination of a radical cultural message and an inspired marketing campaign (“Rated X By An All-White Jury”), Sweetback turned a $150,000 budget into a whopping $15 million box office take.

Van Peebles himself is Sweet Sweetback, an orphan brought up in a brothel who now performs for its clientele. When the LAPD need a fall guy for the murder of a black man, Sweetback’s boss sells him out. After escaping from police custody, Sweetback embarks on a rampaging flight through Los Angeles, filled with biker gangs, sexual dalliances and double crosses. Along the way, Van Peebles uses the various narrative entanglements to both exploit and dismantle popular myths about black masculinity.

Now seen as the African American equivalent of New Hollywood classics like Easy Rider, Van Peebles’ masterpiece is ready to be appreciated by a whole new generation. Vinegar Syndrome, in association with Xenon Pictures, has restored the film in 4K from the original camera negative and will present it on blu-ray with insightful special features that contextualize the legacy of this artistic landmark. The restoration has been quite an undertaking, as Vinegar Syndrome’s Director of Acquisitions Joe Rubin explains: “Restoring Sweetback was an exceptional challenge due to the condition of the elements, but we’ve done our best to restore the visual splendor to Van Peebles exquisitely constructed film and are very pleased to be bringing this extremely relevant work of independent cinema to Blu-ray.” Xenon COO Steve Housden adds,”For over 25 years, we’ve worked closely with our good friend Melvin Van Peebles on preserving the legacy of his 1971 masterpiece. This incredible restoration by Vinegar Syndrome is a great step in getting Sweetback and its message seen by younger and future generations. ”

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Audio commentary by Melvin Van Peebles
• Brand new interview with actress Niva Rochelle
• Archival ‘making of’ documentary
• Original theatrical trailer
• Essay booklet
• Archival ad and article gallery

For more details, visit VinegarSyndrome.com

Shout! Factory TV will partner with social video platform Twitch to host a marathon of the cult hit series Street Hawk on June 2. Fans can watch all 13 episodes from the show’s original run with Street Hawk: The Man…The Machine…The Marathon, complete with an unaired pilot and bonus content including documentary footage from The Making of a Legend. The mission begins Saturday, June 2nd at 6 p.m. PT on Shout! Factory’s official Twitch channel.

When motorcycle cop Jesse Mach is injured in the line of duty after an assault by an old enemy, his time doing field duty seems finished. He is then recruited for a top-secret government mission to be the test pilot for Street Hawk, an all-terrain attack motorcycle designed with immense firepower and capable of incredible speeds of up to 300 mph. Beyond carrying out his test pilot duties, Mach insists on fighting urban crime and leads a double life as police public relations officer by day and crimefighting vigilante by night as the mysterious superhero known as Street Hawk. Only one man, federal agent Norman Tuttle, knows Jesse Mach’s true identity. The Man…The Machine…Street Hawk.

Broadcast by ABC in 1985, Street Hawk quickly became a hit. Starring Rex Smith (Solid Gold) as Jesse Mach and Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown) as Norman Tuttle, the show also features an all-star list of guest stars, including George Clooney (ER, Up in the Air) as Jesse Mach’s old friend who has been hired as a hitman to take him out, Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) as the villain in the pilot episode and Bianca Jagger (The Cannonball Run).

All episodes of Street Hawk are also available on VOD at Shout! Factory TV.

Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Jack T. Cole
Published by BOOM! Studios
Released 5/16/18 / $19.99

Cullen Bunn has had quite a career! He has written a bunch of really amazing comics over the years. The best part is they are all different!

This is another feather in his cap as it’s really great and the story really grabbed me.

This book focuses on Ashli, a nurse who signs up for to work at the psychiatric hospital named Saint Cascia.

On her very first day, she meets a diverse and wild cast of characters. It seems like they are just the run of the mill psychiatric patients.

Then, the book shifts into the surreal.

Yet, Bunn takes us to an emotional place and one we haven’t seen before. As Ashli goes down a strange Alice in Wonderland kind of trip in the asylum, we meet some of the various characters. They are all disturbing as can be.

The standout character is Xerxes. He wears a terrifying mask and is just a horrifying character. He is Ashli’s guide into the scary place that is the asylum.

As I said, the book gets incredibly surreal. It’s a good thing someone found the artist Jack T. Cole. I don’t know where this guy came from, but man, he’s a find. The depth of every scene he draws is incredible. He gives us imagery I have never seen in a comic book before. Whether it’s a rain consisting of razor blades, or just people sitting, Cole is a master at what he does. The funny thing is I think we are seeing an artist at the beginning of his career. I look forward to seeing him grow.

The story is one where as it progresses, the main character questions her reality. Is anything real? Or is she crazy? Is she, in fact, an inmate? And just what is the Unsound?

Some of these questions remain open. I appreciate Bunn not wanting to explain everything. It can be a bit frustrating but it’s ultimately worth it.

This is a great horror book. It’s also the beginnings of an incredible artistic talent. It definitely stands out. I’ll definitely read this again at some point in that future.

RATING: A-

Written by Roger Langridge and Ryan Ferrier
Illustrated by Roger Langridge
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Released 9/19/18 / $12.99

You have to wonder where some ideas come from.

Sometimes, you just look at a book and you just think, “wow, this is rather crazy.” Such is the case of this book here.

This book is about Daggum Criminy. He has a peaceful life without much turmoil. Suddenly, his island is invaded by some pirates! Criminy has to take his family away from their home! And he goes out with them into the unknown.

The opening sequence is fraught with terror as they leave. It’s a harrowing sequence that is well paced and well done. I was on the edge of my seat.

So, his family has to now go from place to place looking for refuge. Every place they travel to is a unique locale. You have got to hand it to the writers. They create not just locations, but whole entire worlds for the Criminy’s to traverse through.

It’s reminiscent of Bone in a way. It’s easy to follow and the stakes are high. I got emotional after the first chapter and the family was on a makeshift raft after a sea creature destroys their rowboat. I was with them on every adventure they have in this book (my favorite was the undersea world).

The characters and dialogue by the pair of creators is incredibly strong. The art by Langridge is just wonderful. It’s simple but it tells the story well. It’s also deceptive and is full of little details.

The best part is that’s it’s an all-ages book. Comics aren’t always for kids anymore. But kids can certainly enjoy this. Adults can as well. It doesn’t talk down to either audience. And that is an accomplishment in of itself.

RATING: A

There have been more Star Wars games than you can shake a stick at (a stick that may glow and go “whom, whom” when you wave it around) over the last few decades. Everyone knows that George Lucas made most of his millions through the toys on the first movie but the late seventies was also a time when video gaming started to become a big thing and the wish fulfillment of being able to play one of your favourite characters or even just explore the star wars universe was now a reality – a jagged blocky reality, but a promising one nevertheless.

There are countless Star Wars titles covering many genres over the decades that range from legendarily good (Knights Of The Old Republic) to laughably bad (Han Solo dancing in the Bespin carbon-freezing chamber in Star Wars Kinect). After the launch of various LEGO/film tie-in games Disney acquired LucasFilm (and therefore LucasArts).

LucasArts have made great Star Wars titles but more than that they have made some spectacular games outside of the popular franchise: The Secret Of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango and Day of The Tentacle to name a few. And once they hit their stride they were the market leaders in good Star Wars games, you only need to look at their back catalogue to see that they’ve created over sixty individual titles in the franchise. Arguably, their best in the series was when they teamed up with Bioware to make Knights Of The Old Republic – without that game being as huge as it was, we wouldn’t have games like Mass Effect and its successors.

But I digress; LucasArts to me, has always been a cool company that comes from a great independent place however, that all changed in 2012 when Disney bought out LucasFilm (because Disney feel the need to own everything) and then proceeded to lay off LucasArts employees, out sourcing to other companies. LucasArts continued to function as a video game licensor with fewer than ten employees. In the process multiple future in-development projects were cancelled. And what have we had since then?

While the cinematic universe and board game scene have been getting stellar releases that have been genuinely mammoth successes, the biggest video game titles we’ve had in the franchise are the Battlefront reboot series.

I wasn’t sure at first how this reboot would differ or if it was entirely necessary so I played the beta alongside my husband and a couple of friends. The first positive was that I could play split screen with my husband, something that we have little option to do anymore in most AAA titles. I also felt that the multiplayer was incredibly fun and it felt as though I was part of the universe in the same way that I really feel like Batman in the Arkham Asylum games. The lack of campaign was the most noticeable issue for me, that and the game is quite limited. I mean, there’s only so many times you can play the same levels.

I can’t say the same for Battlefront II as I never played it, I assumed it would be more of the same with a few new characters and maps. In hindsight it turns out I was right, especially with the controversy surrounding EA and their incessant need to turn everything into a transaction. If you have the money to, as well as paying for a $60 game you can also pay for loot crates with better weapons and upgrades.

It essentially became a pay-to-win game, with those willing to cough up more money quickly becoming too hard to beat. Seriously, games need to stop micro transactions and get rid of pay-to-win mechanics. And just who are these people who keep buying them? You’re not helping!

Controversy aside, what’s next?

There’s Visceral Games Star Wars project, which EA kept on pushing back. It had been confirmed to be in production just before Disney bought out LucasArts and in 2016, at an EA Play demonstration fans were shown some early in-game footage.

Yet in 2017, EA announced plans to shutter Visceral. It’s now in the hands of EA Vancouver, who were already assisting on the project but very little is known about this untitled Star Wars project and it looks as though the release date could now be 2020!

Star Wars has so many new film properties out that have expanded and pushed the boundary of that galaxy far, far away, so why are we getting so few AAA releases? I’d wager, it’s because mobile gaming is cheaper and more lucrative, the incentive is low. The Star Wars: Rise To Power mobile game is due for release some time this year and you can guarantee there will be micro transactions aplenty.

It’s hard to say what kind of game I’d like to see in the future, mainly because the scope is absolutely huge. I mean, there are so many stories, sub-plots, characters, background characters because the universe has had decades to grow. I’d be happy exploring some unknown or lesser-known characters stories in a Mass Effect style game…you could effectively romance a Sith Lord to-be or a Mon Calamari admiral in the making (you know, if you really enjoyed Shape Of Water and are really into fish dudes…no judgement by the way). But I guess that’s just a KotOR sequel – maybe that’s what I want.

Let me know what kind of new Star Wars game you want to see or what should be brought back. I’ve recently seen Solo and I think I’d enjoy an RPG about a smuggler and his rookie BFF who take on jobs to customise the Millennium Falcon… ooh, and maybe a Sabacc mini game!

Written by Gary Carlson
Illustrated by Frank Fosco
Published by IDW Publishing

Oh, yes. This is the book that made me shiver as a teenager. It’s the most violent Turtles book ever. The opening page is Donatello getting blown up!

This is a reprint of the Image Comics series from years back. It’s in full color for the first time. The reason for that is Carlson and Fosco are going to finish the story in three brand new issues for the first time!

I’m not sure how many people are out there waiting for the conclusion of this. I picked it up to read and I immediately was horrified all over again. Donatello is blown up and beaten to a bloody pulp by unknown aliens. He is taken away. The three other brothers try to get him back. In the process, Raphael gets half his face blown off and Splinter disappears. And this is all in the first issue!

Carlson keeps the story fast paced. And it does have its merits. You do get caught up in all the tragedy and if you haven’t read it these moments are pretty shocking.

If you view it as an “Elseworlds” Turtles (like I had to do) then it has it’s enjoyments.

The art by Fosco is very good. You can definitely see Erik Larsen’s influence on this title(he’s the one who originally brought it to Image back in the day and does some of the inks). The color adds a new dimension to the art that we haven’t seen before. It deepens it and makes the action more horrifying. It gave me chills all over again.

This book is a curiosity that’s enjoyable if you’re a Turtles fan. It’s also enjoyable if you’re a bit deranged (I don’t judge). And then when you’re done, go read the delightful books IDW are currently putting out. This comic will never be canon, but it’s worth checking out, if only to see a crazy version from the past.

RATING: B