#but i think this is the second tony daniel comic in our house and it's mine

[jewishcissiekj]

was at the mall today and looked through some comics in a bookstore and they had this '97 Magneto mini (which I was contemplating getting but it doesn't look interesting enough to buy)

but they also had this collection with Arcade-related stories and the excaliblorbos were thereee (didn't get it either but I didn't read that issue so I took some pictures)

aaaaand they had what's probably my favorite X-Force issue in my reading so far which I DID buy because Siryn<3 (she's so small compared to james help)

[fand0mfancies]

Came across this on Tumblr a few days ago, it amused me for a couple of hours or more, filling it in, while watching QI.

 Fandom Questions

 1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Star Trek: Voyager, I suppose at least for reading. Started writing with Stargate SG-1.

 2. What is your latest fandom?

I dip in and out of lots of fandoms on and off, the most recent ‘pick up’ is Ballam from Eastenders, I don’t watch soaps, but Robron and Ballam both appear a good bit on my tumblr, so I eventually gave in to checking them out via fic and youtube – thank god for youtube, lol! I still don’t watch soaps, but I watch those storylines!

 3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

Gosh, that’s... actually no that’s really easy. Primeval. For anyone not familiar, it’s a ‘silly little dinosaur show’ produced in the UK. It had 4 short seasons, with a somewhat revolving main cast – although they managed to keep 3 of them through all 4 seasons – but the fandom was/is amazing. I made life long friends through the fandom and even though I don’t write much any more I still read some and still talk with those people.

 4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

I would say no. I can’t say every fandom has always been amazing – ship wars anyone! – but mostly fandom has been a very positive experience in my life.

 5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

How long have you got... in genuinely no particular order (basically as they came to me) Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek (TNG, DS9, Voy, Ent & Reboot Movies), Marvel, Kingsman, Person of Interest, Due South, Quantum Leap, Firefly, Buffy/Angel verse, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, Torchwood(/Doctor Who), Hawaii Five-0, Shadowhunters, Sherlock, Primeval, Emmerdale (Robron), NCIS, CSI (Vegas, NY & Miami), White Collar, Empire Records, Bull, Diagnosis Murder, MacGyver (the original), 1-800-Missing, CHAOS, Without a Trace, M*A*S*H, Charmed, Queer as Folk (US), Will & Grace, Bring it On, Nash Bridges, Magnificent 7 (TV series), House, Babylon 5 – I think I got them all... a few of those were one time only deals, but a lot of them have more (anywhere from 2-52 (or more still!) ranging from 100 word drabbles, to thousands of words – hey I’ve been writing fic for 21 years... you tend to amass a lot of fandoms...

 6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Oh geez, here we go, lol! Okay...

 Stargate SG-1: Jack O’Neill/Daniel Jackson

Stargate Atlantis: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard

Star Trek: Elim Garak/Julian Bashir, Chakotay/Tom Paris, Jonathan Archer/Malcolm Reed, James Kirk/Spock – I don’t particularly have an ‘otp’ in TNG, the couple I’ve written were Picard/Data, I’ve also dabbled reading Data/Gordi)

Marvel: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Kingsman: Harry Hart/Eggsy Unwin

Person of Interest: Harold Finch/John Reese

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray K

Quantum Leap: Sam/Al

Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds/Simon Tam

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Giles, Angel/Spike, Xander/Spike, Willow/Tara

Harry Potter: Harry/Draco, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Hermione/Draco

The Sentinel: Jim/Blair

Torchwood: Jack/Ianto

Hawaii Five-O: Steve/Danno

Shadowhunters: Magnus/Alec

Sherlock: Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Lestrade

Primeval: Nick Cutter/Stephen Hart, James Lester/Hilary Becker Emmerdale: Robert Sugden/Aaron Dingle

NCIS: Gibbs/DiNozzo CSI: Nick Stokes/David Hodges, Mac/Danny, Horatio/Speed White Collar: Neal/Peter/Elizabeth

Empire Records: Joe/Lucas

Bull: Benny/Jason

Diagnosis Murder: Steve/Jesse

 I’ve left a few out where I don’t have particular OTPs

 7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Here we go again... lol!

 Stargate SG-1: Jack/Sam, I just... no. I’ve read a few where it’s a background or secondary pairing, but it always makes me wince a bit. I’ve read a few with Sam/Daniel as a secondary pairing that didn’t make me react that way and I’ve read Sam with other characters, but Jack/Sam just is a nope for me.

Stargate Atlantis: McKay/Keller – no, just no. that was horrible. She treated him like... awfully, trying to change him to suit her, just... no.

Marvel: Contentious, but Tony/Pepper, also Peter Parker/Tony Stark. Maybe because I saw the movies before I ever looked at the comics, but meh.

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray V – again, contentious, but honestly I think Ray V was kind of a shit friend to Fraser.

Firefly: Anything with Jayne. No really, I just can not stand the character. I spent most of the series wanting to punch him in the face and sometimes you get characters you love to hate, but I just hated him.

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Spike, Willow/Kennedy

Harry Potter: Ron/Hermione, Ron/Harry, Harry/Ginny... basically, Ron and Ginny should just be loveless hermits who live by themselves. Ok, no, that isn’t fair... but as much as Ron was Harry’s first friend, he was selfish and bitter and Ginny/Harry just... never sat right with me. Ron literally says she spent ‘all summer talking about’ Harry, when she’d met him for all of three seconds. She didn’t know him. It always felt like she fell more in love with the *idea* of Harry Potter, than Harry Potter himself.

Sherlock: Sherlock/Molly, he’d eat her for breakfast. Serious, she’d never survive him.

Primeval: Oliver Leek and anyway. Arg. Creepy little dude is creepy and evil.

NCIS: Ziva/DiNozzo – ugh, just no.

 Again, I’ve left out ones where I don’t have particular NoTPs

 8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Tumblr, god damned bitches posting gifs of pretty boys falling in love, roped me in!

 9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

I dabble in several fandoms at once... but if we go by ‘most recently picked up’ as ‘current’ we’re talking Ballum, which hey, it’s always fun to have an actual canon pairing be my OTP, that’s rare for me, lol.

 10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Well (so far) I haven’t written any Ballum. (I say so far, because I’m a realist, lol). I rarely read in fandoms and not end up writing in them at some point. Although I have probably dabbled in a few I’ve not written for, but if I read it with any sort of consistency, I mostly end up writing it. I am weak!

  Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

 11. Who is your current OTP?

Okay, so that list above, just basically go with that. While I do drop in and hour of fandoms and some I certainly read in more than others, I do tend to go back to fandoms... If we were talking about what I’m mostly focused on writing atm... Steve/Tony, Mycroft/Lestrade, Harry/Draco and Robron are ones I’m currently working on most.

 12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not currently writing anything that’s OT3 with any real focus. I have a couple of Neal/Peter/Elizabeth WiPs that I will at some point finish, but they aren’t a big focus just now. I did recently read a fabulous Neal/Peter/Elizabeth fic that’s been on my tbr list for ages.

 13. Any NoTPs?

Just... see above, lol!

 14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Harry Hart/Merlin, those two are Bro’s until the end and I will fight you on this. Also, Eggsy/Roxy! OMG they are such a BroTP! And Tony/Pepper/Rhodey – I may no like Tony/Pepper as a pairing, but I love them as best friends and of course, our Rhodes, because again, I will fight you on this, they are awesome and Tony needs his best friends!

 15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I’m not sure there is. I suppose I’ve read a few fics for some random pairings over the years, but nothing that’s made me really ship-ship them. I like Clint Barton/Bucky Barnes, after seeing it as a secondary pairing in a Steve/Tony fic, but I’ve seen that pop up a few times since, so maybe it won’t stay obscure for long!

 16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Jack/Sam, Tony/Pepper, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Buffy/Spike – they all seem to be het pairings, oops. But I am mostly a slash fic reader/writer, so I suppose that’s not too surprising.

 17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Jack/Daniel from Stargate SG-1. I still love them. I still read them, although it has been a while since I’ve written them on their own (I have got some SG-1/SGA x-overs where they feature)

 18. What ship have you written the most about?

I’m genuinely not sure... without going and counting (and I’m not going any counting!) I’d guess Jack/Daniel, McKay/Sheppard, Jack/Ianto and Steve/Danno.

 19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

No, not that I can think off. I either like it or not. I do occasionally feel bad for not reading a fic if it’s an author I really like, but I don’t read that fandom or pairing, but nothing specific.

 20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Robron and Ballum, lol. I do not do soaps!

  Author Questions

 21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

 Stargate SG-1, Jack/Daniel, a story called The Dare, The Disaster, The Almost Happy Ending, And The Very Happy Ending – it was awful. Don’t go looking, lol!

 22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Don’t we all? No, I wouldn’t specifically say so. There are certainly fics, especially older ones, I wish I could have written better, but nothing I’d go, ugh I should never have done that.

 23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Uh... honestly that’s really hard. I... um... yeah, I don’t know, really. I wrote a nice little flower one in POI that I felt worked rather beautifully. The Language of Flowers. An I wrote an SGA fic for NaNo a few years ago, called A Different Life, but it’s not online, because I didn’t finish it yet and I knew I wasn’t going to finish it any time soon, so I didn’t feel it was fair to leave it up unfinished (there is a reason I don’t read WiP fics and I don’t post them either, because I know how much I hate unfinished WiPs) Edit: After writing this I reminded myself of a POI fic I wrote called Hours of Separation – It’s a Harold/John break up story that I always intended to write a sequel too where I ‘fixed’ them, but I just couldn’t do it. I broke them a little too well. But I really love it actually.

 24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

The afore mentioned A Different Life needs to be edited and finished, lol! Also a Primeval fic with the working title Crypt Keeper (don’t ask) that I worked myself into a bit of a corner on and I figure out how to fix it, but I haven’t done it yet, so it’s still needs fixing and finishing, lol!

 25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

I haven’t the foggiest.

 26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Sometimes, really easily, a quote, a line from the fic, a song title... other times it’s like pulling teeth, hence working titles on things like ‘crypt keeper’ which is a reference to one scene near the very start and has no actual hint of the plot, lol!

 27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Oh the titles. Summaries you can just copy a few lines from the fic if you are desperate, if you had to post ‘untitled mcshep fic #67’ people would get cranky, lol, hell I’d get cranky!

 28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Oh... I... huh. I mean who wouldn’t love fanart for their stories? Any of them honestly! But if I had to choose just one... I guess something in my Animal Instinct verse, which is Primeval (although I always intended to write other fandoms in the verse) where some people transform into animals, based on their ‘spirit animal’ and some art of the characters with their spirit animal form would be awesome.

 29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sometimes, look if you’ve read this far, you know I write in a lot of fandoms, lol. In some fandoms it’s easier than others to find beta readers. Also, sometimes if it’s just something short, I won’t bother. But I do try for my longer fics.

 30. What inspires you to write?

That old adage, if you want to read it, sometimes you just have to write it? Spite? Boredom? Honestly sometimes I just have ideas I have to get out of my brain and it’s write or go mad(der)

 31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

That it inspired them to write something.

 32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Sometimes, sometimes I find it distracting when writing because I end up singing along and forgetting what I’m writing, lol! I do sometimes get inspiration from songs, I guess mostly from the lyrics, but no particular band or genre – although I listen to a lot of country music!

 33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

Little from column a, little from column b... littler still from column c...

 34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 60k, I think.

 35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I have. Primeval had/has a week drabble challenge, mostly when I’ve written drabbles it’s been for a challenge, with a specific prompt.

 36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Uh... I mean, my fandoms really span the genres, but I guess sci-fi or crime are probably my favourites.

 37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third mostly, I have occasionally written in first person, if it felt like the fic needed it.

 38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Little from column a, little from column b... it depends on the fandom and the story. Sometimes you just need more characters, mostly they are minor roles, I don’t tend to write much established character/oc fic

 39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

Ability to convince myself people will want to read it, lol! No actually to be honest, I love to know people read and like my stuff, but I gave up a long time ago on trying to ‘please’ people with what I write. I write what I want to read.

 40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Focus. The problem with 21 years of fandom history, is well... 21 years of fandom history. A lot of fandoms, a lot of pairings and as I say, I never really ‘leave’ a fandom, I just drop in and out and sometimes that means I’ll write on something consistently for weeks or months and then end up getting distracted by another fandom again and not touch it for weeks or months again. Hence, I don’t post WiP fics, because I know I’m easily distracted and don’t want anyone to suffer my lack of focus but me.

  Fanfiction Questions

 41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I don’t read WiP fics, so yeah... but 5 I’ve recently read in different fandoms that I’ve really enjoyed

 Turns Out, I Have a Rose Garden by betheflame (Steve Rogers/Tony Stark)

Lucky by china_shop (Neal Caffery/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke)

Colors by Quesarasara (Sherlock/John)

Betrayal by Blackghost7 (Gibbs/DiNozzo)

Matchmaker (Part 1 of the Marmalade Series) by HastaLux, Mottlemoth (Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade)

 42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

See now this is hard, because... ahh so many...

 FredBassett – Primeval author, her Stephen/Ryan series is epic and brilliant and endless

https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/pseuds/fredbassett

 Keira Marcos – I know other people will have said her, I don’t care. I love all her stuff, across all the fandoms she writes in

http://keiramarcos.com/

 theapplepielifestyle – her Steve/Tony is amazing. Hands down some of the best I’ve ever read. I will fight you on this.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/theappleppielifestyle/pseuds/theappleppielifestyle

 JillyJames – her Tony DiNozzo is a real life grown up... exactly as he should be considered given he’s a goddamn federal agent!

https://jillyjames.com/

 missbecky – I’ve read pretty much all her Steve/Tony and Harry/Eggsy and it’s awesome.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky

 Honestly, I could have listed so many more, but, I’m being good!

 43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Everyone. The thing is, fandom at it’s best is like crack, the more you get, the more you want. The writing, the gifs, the art... it feeds you and makes you want to make more of it, because more of it needs to exist and if that means you need to do it yourself, so be it!

 44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

ALL OF THEM!

 45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Oh hell no, not even, I can not. It took me an hour to narrow down 5 authors, I can not narrow down one fanfic!

 46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I mean, it depends on what they like... probably the Hour of Separation I mentioned above, if they like the fandom/pairing, or my Animal Instinct stuff.

 47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

Archive of our Own. I haven’t touched ff.net in *years* since they started getting super restrictive about what you could post. I do occasionally post stuff to tumblr, but mostly I now post to AO3. I did have my own site and I’ve yet to upload a lot of stuff to AO3 – one of these... months... that will be a project – but it’s amazing. Seriously, having been in fandom 20+ years, going from having to search all over a million different places and now it’s all in one place, where we’re honestly, spoiled and protected. The kids now have no idea how crazy impossible that once seemed.

 48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes, but not as often as I should. I love AO3s kudos button, so I can sort of say ‘hey I enjoyed this’ without having to comment, because I sort of hate leaving comments just going ‘hey I enjoyed this’ because I always feel like I should say more, like, oh I enjoyed this specific thing, which yes is an unnecessary hang-up, but there ya go.

 49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Of course it’s nice to get comments, kudos, reblogs etc. I’m not as attached to them now as I was when I was younger, because I learned along the way that it was more important that I like what I’m writing than that other people do, but it’s still nice to know that something I’ve created is enjoyed.

 50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I went looking for Star Trek Voyager stuff online, pics etc, waaaaaaay back when! And I came across fanfiction entirely by accident... and I read some – het stuff mostly, then I started watching Stargate SG-1, went looking for fanfiction for that, but was not on board with Jack/Sam, found Jack/Daniel went ‘huh really? That’s weird’ read it... and yeah... 21 years later... lol!

 51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Ship Wars. No seriously, just don’t. Like, who the actual fuck cares. I like my ship, you like your ship. I don’t care if it’s canon or not. I don’t care if it’s popular or not. I don’t read my NoTPs, but I’d never dream of telling someone else not too. Yes I think they are terrible, bad, no good pairings, but that’s *my* opinion. Don’t try to change my mind and I won’t try to change yours. I avoid them like the actual plague. If someone starts that shit around me, I will shut it right down. You are a dick. Go to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

[metalgearkong]

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Review

12/20/19  ** Spoilers

Directed by JJ Abrams (Lucasfilm / Disney)

Among the current social media and the 24 hour advertisement cycle, if you wanted, its possible to piece together much of the plot of this movie, or any big blockbuster these days. Its for this reason I avoided every single piece of media about Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker before I saw it. Even when bombarded with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TV ads, and movie previews, I successfully dodged all snippets of the movie in order to be as surprised as possible once I sat down to see it. That night was tonight, and it’s felt like a long and arduous two years since The Last Jedi. Once again I have deeply mixed feelings about a new Star Wars movie, but I enjoyed myself more in The Rise of the Skywalker than I did in The Last Jedi, but not necessarily for shakesperian reasons.

The fans were worried about how The Rise of Skywalker would turn out, and as release day approached, reviews were already negative. I accidentally saw a Rottentomatoes critics score in the mid 20′s, and several videos were already uploaded to YouTube giving away that broad opinion of this film. This concerned me, as even critics liked The Last Jedi, which is one of my least favorite Star Wars movies. I let all of the negativity brush off me like a blaster bolt on Beskar armor. I went into The Rise of Skywalker rooting for it and looking to find every positive it could bring being the ninth main installment of the Star Wars saga. I was also ready for this trilogy to be over so everyone whining online could move on and obsess over something else. In an odd, semi-genuine, and semi-ironic way, I had tons of fun in The Rise of Skywalker, even acknowledging its horribly messy and rushed script.

Each of these Star Wars movies to me is like how a new chapter in the Bible would feel for a Christian, and the theater is my house of worship. The series’ trademark title blasted onto the screen among roaring trumpets, and I was ready. My auditorium applauded as the Star Wars logo shrunk to the background and the opening crawl appeared at the bottom of the screen. Seeing a new Star Wars movie in the theaters is always a holiday for me. Each film is a new addition to the lore of my favorite movie universe of all time, pulling from years as a kid before I can even remember the first time I saw it (thank you parents). This movie had me grinning from ear to ear, bringing out that inner child in me that Star Wars always used to do, something The Force Awakens partially did, and what The Last Jedi failed to do completely.

JJ Abrams continues his pension for fast paced scenes, but somehow still containing a ton of charm. We finally get to see Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Chewie (Joonas Suotamo), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) all working together on the same mission. The characters have a ton of charisma between them, and it inspires me to think of the potential for them having been together more often in this trilogy. I enjoyed their quips and didn’t think it got out of control or relied too much on bathos. The first half of this movie moves like a racetrack, as our heroes move from one location to another pursued by the First Order enough to almost make me dizzy. This would turn out to be a running issue with the movie, and if JJ Abrams and the editor would have let each scene go a little slower and last a little longer, it would have been more appreciated.

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is the Supreme Leader of the First Order, having murdered and usurped Snoke (Andy Serkis) in the last film, and is on a personal quest to track down what may be the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). The movie opens on this note, and having none of it spoiled ahead of time for me, found it to be intriguing and exciting. The Emperor is one of the best and most fleshed out characters in Star Wars, and I was curious to learn how he resurrected. Unfortunately the movie barely gives an explanation and we are simply left with the spectacle of what I call Necro Palpatine. However we do have it explained that Snoke was a mere puppet of Palpatine in some capacity, but we aren’t told to what extent, or any other kind of logical backstory. It both answers and raises more questions simultaneously, about both dark lords.

The Rise of Skywalker also goes out of its way in several places to help explain some of the more controversial elements of the prior film, and I appreciated it as a fan of the series who felt toyed with in The Last Jedi. It’s obviously a wink wink to the audience, but I’d much rather have it than not. Greatest of all was Luke (Mark Hamill) being redeemed, as he admitted he was not only wrong to go hide on the island, but toss his father’s lightsaber over his shoulder. The movie also tries to shoe-in more explanation of what Luke was doing after his Jedi Academy was destroyed, which included trying to find the Sith Wayfinder along with Lando Carissian (Billy Dee Williams). It’s not a great explanation of why Luke disappeared, and I wish this was clearly the plan from the beginning of the trilogy. The Wayfinder is basically a key to get to Exegol where Palpatine is hiding. It becomes Rey (Daisy Ridley) and her friend’s mission to find the Wayfinder, through various means and mcguffins. 

John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra returns one final time scoring a Star Wars movie. I heard a dozen of his old tracks throughout the film and I had fun naming as many as I could. For how much I love his leitmotifs and listen to his music ad noaseam, whether its giving me an emotional rush during a run or driving on the highway, I couldn’t recall any new music heard in this film. The first thing I did when I got home from the movie was try to download the soundtrack from Spotify but it wasn’t available yet. I still give this movie a big thumbs up for its soundtrack because although it isn’t new, the way Williams’ music is used and where it’s placed gave me goosebumps every time. Hearing Rey’s theme in just the right moments made me happy, and identifying other leitmotifs and variations of them were great to hear.

The acting all around was excellent for a Star Wars movie. Daisy Ridley as Rey is as great as she’s ever been, and the same goes to Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. All the side characters and comic relief did a good job as well. The banter between Finn, Poe, and C-3PO was a treat as well. Tony Daniels continues to be one of my favorite actors in all of Star Wars for conveying as much personality as he does without facial expressions and very limited movement. McDiarmid as Necro Palpatine gets very little screen time, but he’s hamming it up as the evil Emperor he’s always been, and I loved every second of it. I also deeply appreciate that the movie seemed to rely on puppets again, and one of the stand out side characters was a tiny engineer named Babu Frik (Shirley Henderson) who should have had more time in the movie.

The only “yikes” moment I felt was any time we saw Leia. It’s such a tragedy that Carrie Fisher passed away so unexpectedly, and least of all not able to finish this Star Wars trilogy. I listened to her audiobook The Princess Diarist and she seemed so excited, yet nervous, to be yet again the role that made her famous, and to complete episodes 7, 8, and 9. Her face seems to be animated on a stand-in actress, and her only lines were from old footage that was never used in Episode VII or VIII. This means Leia has very little to say in this movie, and probably had a lot less to do in the plot than she deserved to. The CGI simply wasn’t convincing for me and is the only aspect of the movie that put a lump in my throat for all the wrong reasons. On the flip side, Han Solo’s cameo was a terrific scene that also had me teary-eyed. It was a great call back to The Force Awakens, and served a purpose for Kylo Ren’s character. Harrison Ford did a perfect job, and it was just the sort of scene I didn’t know I wanted.

While much The Rise of Skywalker feels hastily cobbled together, and relies on way too many conveniences for the plot to keep moving, I found it to be a very satisfying time. You know that feeling when you’re extremely tired and almost feel drunk, and everything seems hilarious and flippant? That’s how I felt during this entire thing. I could see ridiculous script elements that either contradict or ruin lore left and right, but I think something inside me was just so happy to finally get this trilogy over with. I let the fan service envelop me even if it didn’t make sense or feel justified. Yes Rey is still a Mary Sue, yes we still got an underwhelming lightsaber duel (that she wins), yes there are too many characters, yes the plot and details can be nonsensical, yes this movie needed way more time to bake in the oven. But unlike a Jedi’s weapon, this movie may not be elegant, but it is a cathartic and satisfying experience, which is all I every hoped it would be. Now can we all take a breath and move on?

6/10

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1276

Monday, August 26, 2019

 Sorry for the lateness. I went fishing this morning with my buddy David and he brought his fly rod that he got recently. He's a novice but he caught two sunfish using it. That made me very happy as they were the first fish that he caught that way. Penny and I went to see a matinee at our local theatre earlier and I had to have words with a teenager who talked and then took out his phone during the screening. The second time he turned on his phone after I had asked him to put it away the first time he showed me no respect so I went and got a staff member to deal with him. By the time we got back to the theatre he had left with his friend but he still abused me verbally while standing at the exit doors. The kid couldn't have been more than 13. The language and disrespect was what upset me the most. I suspected they snuck into the theatre and the fact that they left before staff could deal with him confirmed my suspicions. I didn't care that they snuck in. If this kid had just sat and watched the movie I would not have had a problem with him. I must be an asshole magnet because the kid and his friend were the only other people in the theatre and they sat close to us.

 I picked up a copy of Marvel's "Heralds" trade paperback while working at the store last week and while reading the credits I see that it was lettered by Virtual Calligraphy's Clayton Cowles. So that's what the "VC's" stands for.

 Batman #77 - Tom King (writer) Mikel Janin & Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Mikel Janin, Norm Rapmund & Tony S. Daniel (inks) Jordie Bellaire & Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). A death in the family and this issue is in super high demand because of it. Damian tries to fight Thomas Wayne/Batman while Bruce is recovering under Selina's care. The prospect of the Bat Family gathering has me all excited.

 Daredevil #10 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Jorge Fornes (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). We get a glimpse of real Daredevil action when Detective North is threatened by corrupt cops in his own precinct while Matt is there. Matt gets a visit from an ex that had me chuckling on the last page.

 Fearless #2 - This is an excellent anthology for young readers, particularly young female readers.

 "Campfire Song" part 2 by Seanan McGuire (writer), Claire Roe (art), Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters) sends Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel to the leadership camp where Captain Marvel, Storm and Susan Storm/the Invisible Woman are going to give keynote speeches. Something nefarious may be afoot.

 I liked "Night Nurse: A Cape of Her Own" by Karla Pacheco (writer), Iolanda Zanfardino (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters). It's always a treat to see Night Nurse mending super powered people.

 To help get over the end of X-23's book Eve L. Ewing (writer), Alitha Martinez (art), Rosenberg (colours) & Cardinal Rae (letters) show us what Laura and Gabby are up to now.

 Ghost-Spider #1 - Seanan McGuire (writer) Takeshi Miyazawa (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). So Spider-Gwen is now Ghost-Spider. She has dual dimensionship between Earth-65 and Earth-616. In her own dimension of Earth-65 everyone knows that she's Ghost-Spider but in Earth-616 where her secret identity is safe, she's just Gwen Stacy, freshman at Empire State University. Peter Parker helps to get her enrolled and now she can go back and forth taking classes and fighting crime. This is a good place to start if you're looking for another female super hero to follow but there wasn't anything really special in here to make me add this title to my every burgeoning pile of comics books that I want to read.

 Strayed #1 - Carlos Giffoni (writer) Juan Doe (art) Matt Krotzer (letters). In this new Dark Horse science-fiction book military scientist Kiara Rodriguez invents a device that allows her to talk to her cat Lou. The cat is special because it can astrally travel through space. Kiara's superiors are using her cat to conquer other planets and exploit their resources. They're the bad mans. This sounds familiar to me with Kiara's race being like Galactus and Lou like the Silver Surfer. I'm not much of a cat person so I'll pass on the rest of this story.

 Guardians of the Galaxy #8 - Donny Cates (writer) Cory Smith (art) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Rocket's back and we even get a mini origin story for the little furball. This issue also reveals what the Universal Church of Truth's very bad plans are. I loved seeing the cocoon. With the impending battle with Death, I'm wondering if Thanos is going to show up. This would be a cool way to bring the Mad Titan back.

 The Avant-Guards #7 - Carly Usdin (writer) Noah Hayes (art) Eleonora Bruni (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). The one and only basketball based comic book on the racks and it's a three points shot at the buzzer to win the game. I love the message about team work in this issue.

 Powers of X #3 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) R.B. Silva (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This issue clears things up for me. Nimrod is the big bad guy and Apocalypse is a good guy in this story. I'm so glad they took last issue to explain Moira's character and her mutant ability because she's crucial to everything going on. If you're not reading this and House of X, you're missing out on a major event in Marvel Mutant History.

 Marvel Action Spider-Man #7 - Delilah S. Dawson (writer) Fico Ossio (art) Ronda Pattison (colours) Shawn Lee (letters). Introducing Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Her bad luck powers have Peter, Gwen and Miles all tangled up. They're going to have to learn to work together to keep her from stealing again.

 The Superior Spider-Man #10 - Christos Gage (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Man, Spidergeddon sure did cast a wide net. So the super villain for this story is revealed to be the Norman Osborn of Earth-44145. He wants revenge for being humiliated by the Superior Spider-Man during the debacle with the Inheritors. But first Norman is going to kill everybody that Otto cares about. It's a tried and true basis for many a comic book story but it still works great.

 Superman Year One #2 - Frank Miller (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) John Workman (letters). Okay, so Clark trains to be a Navy Seal so that Frank Miller can set it up for him to meet and fall in love with Lori Lemaris and clash with her father Poseidon. It was a slog for me to read through this issue. I think Miller was trying for something epic like The Odyssey by Homer. I found that Clark's time in the navy was contrived, which soured my enjoyment.

 Valkyrie #2 - Jason Aaron & Al Ewing (writers) Cafu (art) Jesus Aburtov (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Why is it that the death in Batman #77 is bigger than the death in this comic book? Bullseye somehow got his hands on Valkyrie's sword Dragonfang and Jane Foster has to take it away from the killer or else a heck of a lot of innocent lives will be forfeit. The last line of this issue made me groan.

 Year of the Villain: Sinestro #1 - Mark Russell (writer) Yildiray Cinar (art) Julio Ferreira (inks pages 21 - 26) Hi-Fi (colours) Steve Wands (letters). A solo story of Sinestro doing Lex Luthor's bidding. This story uses sentient nanobots which to me was a silly concept. I thought they did a good job showing how smart and arrogant Sinestro is but unless you're a Green Lantern fan you don't need to read this.

 Year of the Villain: Black Mask #1 - Tom Taylor (writer) Cully Hamner (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Wes Abbott (letters). This is a good origin story and sets up the villain for what's coming next. These Year of the Villain one shots are a good way for new fans to learn about these characters which should give them a better understanding of their involvement in the big picture.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 9/4/20 – TENET! MULAN! I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (but now that I’ve seen Tenet and Mulan, I’m better)… and More!

It’s Labor Day weekend… it is, isn’t it? I can’t even remember what day of the week it is anymore, and it looks like movie theaters across the country are generally all reopened except for a few specific areas. While theaters seem to be playing a variety of old and new movies – and Chadwick Boseman’s breakout 42, in which he plays Jackie Robinson, will be shown in 300 AMC theaters starting Thursday --  it still feels like we’re not quite where we should be. That said, only three states remain fully closed as far as movie theaters go: New York (eff you, Cuomo!), North Carolina and New Mexico. California is slowly rolling out movie theaters reopening in certain sections but not in L.A. or San Francisco just yet. Honestly, I’m having a rough week, and I’ll be surprised if I even get through half the movies that I have seen and planned to review, let alone everything else I have to do.

Finally! The movie that’s looking to be one of the most controversial movies of the summer, if not the year, comes to the United States. Of course, I’m talking about Christopher Nolan’s TENET (Warner Bros.), his tribute to James Bond movies with John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) playing a super-spy (of sorts) who teams with Robert Pattinson to perform intricate heists on a mission to find out who has discovered bullets that travel backwards through time and brought them back into our time. Also starring Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh, the movie has received mixed to positive reviews with about 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read my full review right here and a second technical review here.

Right now, it looks like Tenet is going to be playing in roughly 3,000 theaters over Labor Day weekend with only a few states fully closed including my own (New York), as well as North Carolina and New Mexico. A few other states like New Jersey and Maryland are reopening but it may be too late to get Tenet in there. California has a few areas open but not Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Although I’m hesitant at making any predictions right now or doing a full-blown analysis – there so many unknowns in a pandemic -- I think a four-day opening of somewhere between $25 and 28 million should be possible even with limited seating in most theaters that have reopened. I think people are ready to go back to theaters despite the negative narrative created by certain irresponsible film critics who seem to care more about their own personal health than that of the industry that has allowed them to pay rent and live large for years.

Another movie that I’ve been looking forward to and actually my most anticipated movie of the year is Disney’s live action remake of their animated classic, MULAN, this one directed by one of my favorite filmmakers, Niki Caro of Whale Rider fame. I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally see this movie after being invited to a press screen back in March, and then have it systematically cancelled as everything else started shutting down. Fortunately, I got a screener and while not my favorite way to watch a movie, I absolutely LOVED IT!

It stars Yifei Liu as the title character, made famous in the 1998 Disney animated movie, and it follows a similar story of a teen girl who steals her father’s sword and armor and pretends to be a man to join the Imperial Army under secrecy. There are definitely major changes in Caro’s version, most notably the lack of songs and no sign of Mushu, the adorable dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy. This is also not meant for small children, because it’s PG-13 not because it has anything terrible like someone waving genitals or swearing but because some of the action does get intense without much blood or anything terrible. I mean, this is definitely a SOFT PG-13, if that’s even a thing.

The movie is gorgeous and in the vein of movies I love like Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and it’s even exec. produced by Bill Kong, who produced many of those films. The point is that I love these kinds of movies, plus I’ve long been a fan of Caro’s, and everything just comes together beautifully from the performance by Yifei Liu to the fantastic characters around her, including ones played by Jet Li and Donnie Yen (reuniting from Hero!), as well as an amazing witch played by the indelible Ms. Gong Li, who is also terrific. Sure, there’s a few issues with the dialogue, but this is not a kiddie movie, as much as it’s something on par with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and I just love all of the decision Caro and her all-Asian cast make in telling this story in a new way. I particularly liked how the film followed Chinese traditions and dealt with things like “chi,” but as with the animated film, the stuff in the army 

On top of the amazing martial arts fights, there are also some terrific battle scene that would do Braveheart proud, and it’s all pulled together by Harry Gregson-Williams’ score, which may be one of my favorite pieces of music this year. Definitely a score I’ll be buying since it brings so much excitement and emotion to every scene, but that’s just as much a credit to Ms. Caro and her fantastic cast, who in a couple scenes, particularly between Liu and Li, had me tearing up almost as much as every single time I’ve watched Caro’s debut, Whale Rider.

I’m sure that fans of the animated movie (which I only saw for the first time earlier this year) will have different expectations, but you can’t fault Disney for being a little bit concerned and undeservedly dumping it to the Disney+ streaming service (which you can watch it at a premium of $29.95) rather than giving it the theatrical release it truly deserved. Honestly, if for some strange reason, Disney decides to play it in a bunch of theaters once they’re fully open, I would not hesitate to watch this again in what I consider a much-better environment for a movie which is likely to end up in my top 10 for year. It’s probably my favorite straight-up Disney movie (not including Pixar or Marvel) since maybe Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, although I kind of enjoyed Mary Poppins Returns, too.

I also have a crafts review of Mulan over at Below the Line, so check that out!

While I’ve generally been mixed on Charlie Kaufman’s movies that he directed himself, I couldn’t NOT watch I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, his new movie on Netflix, starring Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as a young couple going to visit his parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. At first, it looks like they’ll get stuck in a snowstorm, but then they get there and then they leave and once again get stuck in a snowtorm. No, this isn’t Centigrade 2, but actually something far FAR worse, to the point where I’m not even sure where to begin.

It starts with Buckley’s “Young woman” – yes, Kaufman doesn’t even bother giving her a name – being picked up by her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) before the long ride through the snow to his parent’s house. The whole time, we hear her inner thoughts about wanting to break up with Jake for one or reason or another, her thoughts always been interrupted by Jake making a statement that seems out of the blue. When they get to his parents’ farm in the middle of nowhere, things start to get weird, and I don’t want to go into too many details because if you read my review and decide to sit through it anyway, then it’s your own fault.

Apparently, this was loosely based on a book of the same name by Iain Reid, but it was adapted by the guy who wrote Adaptation, so Kaufman pretty much just went off and did his own thing based on Reid’s general premise. What I find particularly weird is that some of the early reviews talked about this movie as if it was a horror movie, but I just don’t see that at all. It’s just a really dry and weird comedy that doesn’t really take off. While parts of it remind me of the comics work of Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), who I genuinely love, other parts just get so weird, and at times, it reminded me of David Lynch’s Eraserhead or M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, but only because there are so many WTF moments that you wonder what the actors must have thought while they were doing what Kaufman told them to do. Again, I’m not going to ruin the experience of being thoroughly confounded by some of the weirder moments but after Buckley and Plemons leave the farmhouse, they’re back driving through the snow and having far more intelligent conversations about such mundane topics. At one point, I thought, “This movie must be over soon, right?” and I checked, and there were 43 more minutes to go. That’s when I went from angry to outright ballistic, because I knew that there were so many other things I could be doing than listening to all the talking, talking, talking… They eventually arrive at an abandoned school and go there for shelter, and I was like, “Oh, good, now we get to the horror stuff.” Nope.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the perfect movie for the scant few that raved about Darren Aronofsky’s mother!, or those who consider Holy Rollers a masterpiece of the highest order. Awful, aggravating and almost unwatchable at times, I’d only recommend Kaufman’s movie to people as a practical joke. Nah, I’m not that mean. It’ll be on Netflix tomorrow. Good luck with it.

Filmmaker and Rooney* frontman Robert Schwartzman directs his third feature, the comedy THE “ARGUMENT” (Gravitas Ventures), which takes the simple idea of a cocktail party and turns it into a riotous and sometimes strange comedy of errors, of sorts.

Dan Fogler and Emma Bell play couple Jack and Lisa, he a writer, her an actress, who have been together for some time, and Jack is ready to pop the question. After the final of a stageplay Lisa is co-starring in, Jack throws a cocktail party at which he’s gonna propose. He invites over his agent Danny Pudi from Community) and his wife Sarah (Maggie Q) but Lisa has invited her amorous co-star Paul (Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris all grown up!), who brought his own bubbly girlfriend Trina (Cleopatra Coleman).  As Trina starts drinking, thing just get worse and worse, and it inevitably turns into a full- on fight between Jack and Lisa aka the “argument” of the title. Jack is convinced that if they have a do-over on the night, they can prove who is right.

Oh, yeah. That couldn’t possibly work, right? Well, I’m not going to spoil it, but the one do-over turns into several, which turns into Jack trying to script the perfect cocktail party with the six of them … or rather five after Maggie Q’s character quits in a hilarious huff where she does impressions of the other five. (I’ve always found Maggie to be hilarious from talking to her years ago, and it’s great that her comic skills are finally being used, along with her beauty.) Eventually, Jack brings in actors to play each of them and perform the script he’s written so they can all sit back and figure out where things went wrong. Honestly, The “Argument” is more like the Charlie Kaufman movies I liked (such as Adaptation), and the movie has a vibe a lot like the play God of Carnage, which Roman Polanski adapted into a movie that nobody saw and few gave a fair shake. Also reminded me of Ike Barinholtz’s The Oath, which I quite enjoyed. The main leads are great, but I gotta give additional kudos to Maggie and Cleopatra Coleman, who gives a surprisingly layered performance as possibly the first ditzy African-American not-blonde “blonde” in movie history?

Although Schwartzman didn’t write this movie – it’s written by Zac Sanford who made The Chumscrubber -- he does a great job using his talented cast to throw many surprises at the viewer, and I was laughing quite hardily as the movie went on, because I really enjoyed the characters portrayed not just by the main six but also the actors playing the actors. Yeah, I know it might get confusing but at least this doesn’t have time travel, so if you want a fun and unexpectedly clever dark comedy, do check out The “Argument” which will be in theaters and On Demand, and apparently, you can even order it bundled with WINE?!?!? (*And you can also check out Rooney on Spotify!)

Another really nice surprise this week was Jeff Barnaby’s apocalyptic horror film BLOOD QUANTUM (Shudder/RLJEFilms), which was released on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-Ray earlier this week but is also on the awesome horror streamer, Shudder, I guess right now? It involves a community of indigenous people in the reserve Red Crow who face the undead when an infection hits the village through a bunch of animals who come back to life and then infect the humans. The movie starts on the first night of this plague and then cuts forward six months when the people of Red Crow have shut themselves off from the rest of the world with the hopes of keeping those still alive uninfected from the hordes of “Zeds” outside their gates.

I’m a little bummed I didn’t have press notes for this movie because there are so many great characters and performances, but it was hard to keep track of them without a scorecard. It does star Michael Greyeyes from Fear the Walking Dead, as well as Forrest Godluck (The Revenant), Kiowa Gordon and Elle-Máijá Tailfeatures, but other than Greeneyes, who plays the sherriff trying to keep his family safe, I could barely keep track of the characters or figure out who played them, and that’s a shame.

I generally liked the recent Train to Busan: Peninsula but Blood Quantum works just as little bit better, mainly from the interaction of the characters in a world full of sex and drugs and gore galore where you never who is gonna get killed but for the most part, they’re likely to go in a way that involves blood that pours like a waterfall. You add to the quick pace of Barnaby’s direction the amazing score that almost sounds like Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and you have a movie that makes you realize that Barnaby has made a film that perfectly captures the spirit and feel of John Carpenter’s best work. 

I actually watched John Leguizamo’s feature film directorial debut CRITICAL THINKING (Vertical Entertainment), way back in March, literally my very last press screening before movie theaters shut down, little realizing that it would be the last press screening for six months! It’s written by Dito Montiel, who I’ve generally been mixed on, and it’s based on a true story from 1998 where a Miami teacher, played by Leguizamo, tries to save a group of Latino and Black teenagers from the inevitable drugs and crime that kids from the underserved ghetto usually get into by teaching them chess and getting them all the way to the National Chess Championship. I didn’t get to rewatch it to write any sort of intelligent review, but as you can imagine, it has a Mr. Holland’s Opus or Dead Poet’s Society feel, but mixed with the little-seen Disney movie, Queen of Katwe, which I generally enjoyed much more. I do think Leguizamo did a pretty decent job with his first feature as a director and maybe if the crazy early days of COVID weren’t distracting me so much, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. This is a movie that I need to rewatch with a better head on my shoulders.

Tyler Norwood’s doc ROBIN’S WISH (Vertical) takes a look at the last years of comedian and actor Robin Williams, who died from suicide in August 2014 at the age of 63. To everyone who knew him, from close acquaintances to fans, it was a mystery why Williams would take his own life with things going so well in his marriage to Susan Schneider. After his death, the autopsy showed that he was afflicted by undiagnosed diffuse Lewy body dementia, and apparently, that was enough to do his head in to the point where suicide seemed like the only solution.

This is a very different than the equally good Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, because it does focus so much on Williams’ last years and his relationship with Schneider, who plays a much bigger role in this movie with in-depth and intimate moments. It also does a good job talking to Williams’ neighbors in Marin County, who laud the comedian’s commitment to entertaining those in the community. It also interviews Shawn Levy from the Night at the Museum movies, who talks about how Williams wouldn’t let anyone around him know what was going on, maybe because he didn’t really know himself.

Williams’ death was tragic but even moreso when you realize what he must have been going through, and the only thing else I will say is that the notably teary documentary Dear Zachary may finally have some competition as the most tear-inducing real-life film you ever watch. Even so, it’s wonderful and does as great job shining a light on how hard something like dementia hits people when they least expect it. (Also, the score and cinematography for the film are fabulous at provoking those sorrowful emotions even more.)

Arthur Jones’ doc FEELS GOOD MAN is available right now On Demand via the Fantasia Film Festival and will be available via other film festivals, like Oxford Film Festival, starting Friday. (It will also be in theaters, including Oxford’s drive-in!) The movie follows the journey of comics artist Matt Furie, who drew a comic called “Boys Club” that featured a strange frog character named Pepe, who I never heard of, but apparently, the odd underground comic character went from being a popular meme to becoming a symbol of the alt-right. It sounds pretty crazy, but it is an absolutely crazy story as Furie sees his lovable and peaceful slacker character get out from under his control as right wing kooks like Alex Jones from InfoWars gloms onto him.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d find this as interesting as the HBO doc, Beware the Slenderman (which I also happened to see at Fantasia a few years ago), but the way that Jones tells Furie and Pepe’s story is really quite compelling, especially as he (and we) watch the craziness surrounding his character unfold, and Pepe becomes less and less like something he wanted to be associated with. (Furie and his wife spent thousands of their own money-making Pepe T-shirts and merch only to have to destroy it all once Furie gets pegged as the creator of a hate image. I mean, holy shit, this thing gets ugly!)

Apparently, Feels Good Man won an “Emerging Filmmaker” Jury Award at Sundance, and it’s well-deserved. I’d recommend the movie to anyone who likes comics or politics and doesn’t mind when the two things collide.

There are a few other movies that I want to write about that I didn’t have time to watch despite having screeners and who knows, maybe I can watch them over this longer weekend if things aren’t too crazy screener-wise. (I lost quite a bit of time with my trip to Connecticut to see Tenet, unfortunately.)

First, there’s Julius Berg’s THE OWNERS (RLJEFilms), which stars Maisie Williams from Game of Thrones and Sylvester McCoy aka Doctor Who #6 (I think?). It’s about a group of friends who want to break into an empty house in which there’s a safe full of money, but when the elderly couple (including McCoy) return home early, they turn the tables in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Yeah, it does sound like it could be fun, and it’ll be in select theaters, On Demand and digital this Friday.

Also out on Digital, as well as DVD, Blu-Ray this week is the anime CHILDREN OF THE SEA (Shout! Factory/GKids) from director Ayumu Watanabe and STUDIO4ºC who made Mind Game and Tekkonkinkreet. It’s about a young girl named Ruka whose father works at an aquarium where she comes across two mysterious boys who were raised by dugongs (a type of sea cow) so they’re very familiar and acclimated to water, to the point where they have to be in or near it at all times, kind of like Aquaman. I did watch a little bit of this, and I do have to say that it looks gorgeous, definitely more photo-realistic than the work of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I’m sure I’ll get around to watch the rest of it because I do enjoy well-made anime -- Weathering With You and Ride Your Wave are likely to be in my year-end Top 25, for instance – so hopefully, fans of anime and fantsy will check it out.

On Amazon Prime this Friday is Eric Merola’s doc THE ANDORRA HUSTLE, which look at the country of Andorra, located between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains, holding a population of 80,000 people who find themselves at the center of one of the most convoluted robberies in history in 2015 when a the private bank Banca Privada d’Andorra was shut down by the government to destroy the Catalonian Independence Movement, leaving dozens of innocent civilians facing jail time for laundering money after losing their life savings.

A couple prominent science fiction series premiere this weekend, including the Ridley Scott-produced Raised by Wolves on HBO Max and Away, starring Hillary Swank on Netflix. Someday, I hope to have

There’s a lot of other stuff that I didn’t have to watch or even think about it, so yeah, this is a little bit of a “lite edition” of the Weekend Warrior, so I apologize. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do better next week.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

[creative-salem]

Beverly Comic Con to Celebrate a Fantastic Fourth Year

Beverly Comic Con to Celebrate a Fantastic Fourth Year

By Chris Ricci

Four years ago, the members of Tryptic Press in Beverly worked at a breakneck speed to keep a comic convention on track in the New England area. Instead of the standard Boston Comic Con, Beverly Comic Con rose up to entertain the masses in a time where fear in the city of Boston was prominent. Instead of fading away when the city returned to normal, the Beverly Comic Con has only gained traction, and this year’s convention is due to be their biggest yet. “I want our artists & vendors to enjoy themselves as much as the patrons that come through our doors that day. This Comic Con is about having fun, supporting your peers and really has found its identity from the community on both sides of the table” said Andrew Houle, one of the founders of the Beverly Comic Con. “The setup of tables in each room is a little funky requiring some good ol fashioned exploring and openness to experiencing a different kind of an event. Regardless of whatever you’re specific interest you might have attending Beverly Comic Con, there is something here for you.” This year, the convention is bosting over 40 different vendors, where people can pick up a wide range of merchendise, comics, food and drink, and artwork directly from artists planning on attending. Just a small taste of the vendors attending include Salem’s own Flying Saucer Pizza Company, Beverly’s brand new comic book store Paper Asylum Comics and Collectibles, Beverly’s board game cafe The Castle, and Gentile Brewing Company will be working with Wicked Art Bar to sell some specialty drinks that are as local as you can get. “For those coming through for the first time, you can expect coffee and cupcakes by local bakery Crave on the fourth floor to start out your morning and fuel the exploration of a building made up of unique vendors and artists” said Andrew.

This years’ special guests are three very well known and very well regarded comic artists that work for some of the biggest names in comics today. Shelli Paroline & Braden Lamb are a dynamic duo that have worked on the Adventure Time and Muppets comic series on Boom Comics, while local artist Robert Gill has worked tirelessly with Valliant, DC, and Marvel. All the special guests will be busy sketching and signing during the whole convention, and you certainly don’t want to miss them!

  Musicians DJ Noel Snow, Radio Skotvoid, and Qwill will be providing the soundtrack for the weekend, while Tryptic Press co-founder Michael Crockett will be doing live artwork. And, last but not least, Beverly Comic Con will be hosting a magic show featuring the Impossible Ivan Demarjian. It’s clear that Beverly Comic Con will have something for everyone, and the best part of all is that it’s 100% free to attend! This will give anyone attending the opportunity to personally support the local artists attending directly because, if it weren’t for them, a comic convention of this calibre wouldn’t be possible. “We work on really a curatorial approach to create a nice balance that is family friendly but also caters to adults with a one day extended serving license for beer & wine” said Andrew. “Plus the building that hosts us each year, Porter Mills, also houses over 40 artists studios that open their doors and bring such diversity to absorb for all attendees.” As for any last words regarding the Convention, Andrew kept it really simple: “The short answer is get your butt to Porter Mills on Saturday April 8th! Bring the kids, bring your roommate, bring an appetite, and of course dress up as your favorite superhero and be apart of this incredibly rewarding community that makes up Beverly Comic Con.” Beverly Comic Con runs this coming Saturday, April 8th, from 10:00AM to 6:00PM at the Studios at Porter Mill on Rantoul Street in Beverly. Plenty of available parking immediately across the street at the MBTA parking garage.

  TOP FIVE REASONS TO CHECK OUT AT THE BEVERLY COMIC CON:

  5- Paper Asylum Comics and Collectibles: Though the location is hardly a few months old, the Paper Asylum Comics and Collectibles team will be out there representing their brand new business located off of Cabot Street. It’ll be your chance to meet the folks behind this new business and give you a chance to check out what they sell.

  4- The Music: “There are four separate live sets throughout the day from DJ Noel Snow, Qwill, Radio Skotvoid & Forrest James who all bring a different aesthetic” said Andrew Houle, and he’s not wrong at all! Four local musicians all bringing their own separate flair to the convention makes staying for the whole convention pretty much a no-brainer. Plus, while you’re enjoying the tunes, you can check out Michael Crockett do some live artwork as well as an excellent magic show courtesy of The Impossible Ivan Demarjian.

  3- The Food and Drinks: This year, Beverly Comic Con has gone all-out when it comes to vendors attending, and I’ll let Andrew sum it up nicely: “For those coming through for the first time, you can expect coffee and cupcakes by local bakery Crave on the fourth floor to start out your morning and fuel the exploration of a building made up of unique vendors and artists. Stick around through lunch for Salem’s own Flying Saucer Pizza and Beverly’s Gentile Brewing who will be anchoring the first floor alongside Wicked Art Bar.” There’s also a rumor that there may be some arcades in the house courtesy of Bit Bar, and you might have to check it out yourself to see if these rumors are true.

  2- The Artists and Vendors: Unlike previous years, the line-up of artists at Beverly Comic Con 4 is staggering. There will be 30 different artists and vendors on the floor during the day, and all of which will be presenting their work. Some will be working on commissions, while others will be selling prints or pieces outright. There will be something for everyone on the convention floor, and you’ll have to see it to believe it. Plus, the repertoire of the special guests attending this year is certainly something to behold. Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline’s work on the Adventure Time comics and Boom Studios is instantly recognizable while Robert Gill’s work with DC, Valiant, and Marvel is truly outstanding.

  1- It’s Free to Attend and Local: Most of these big-league conventions cost you an arm and a leg to get in, and after you drop all that money, you still have to spend even more to have a good time. The folks at Beverly Comic Con eliminate that first bit and make it so that the convention is free to attend. Why? Well, to quote Andrew, “I think the combination of visual arts, live music and food vendors that make up the culture of this comic con is a reflection of the greater community here North of Boston.” Beverly Comic Con is not a convention so much as it is a party that celebrates those who make art as well as those who love it, and by embracing that, the Convention has been a wild success four years running.

Below is a complete list of all the artists and vendors attending: Special Guests- Robert Gill – DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics Braden Lamb – Boom Studios, First Second Books Shelli Paroline – Boom Studios, First Second Books Live music – DJ Noel Snow DJ Radio Scotvoid Forrest James Qwill Live art – Michael Crockett Magic Show – The Impossible Ivan Demarjian Artists and vendors – Adam Miller Andrew Houle Crave Cafe and Bakery Dan Gilbert Dana Robinson Daniel Kern David J. Leblanc Desmond Reed Dirk Tiede Do or Diecast Don Mathias Eric Boeker Finar Comics Flying Saucer Pizza Company Gregory Moutafis House of Roulx Jason Casey Joe Haley & TJ Dort Joshua Beckett Josh Morrissette KC Creations Keith Gleason Mary Curtin Montserrat College of Art North East Ghostbusters Alliance: Taskforce Ecto Paper Asylum Comics and Collectibles Renee Mallett Robbie Short Ryan Santos Ryan Valentine Scarlett Shiloh Standup Comix Sunstone Audio Series Team The Castle – A Board Game Cafe Tom Torrey Tony Sedani Whalom Painting & Woodcraft

Beverly Comic Con to Celebrate a Fantastic Fourth Year was originally published on Creative Salem

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1274

Monday, August 12, 2019

 I was at out annual cottage rental over the weekend and just got home. I brought my boat up this year and fished in some new water and had a blast.

 Future Foundation #1 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Will Robson (pencils) Will Robson with Daniele Orlandini (inks) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The reason that we haven't seen these kids on the racks recently is because they've been jumping around the multiverse with the Fantastic Four. They're still doing that but they have a mission to find pieces of Molecule Man. I know that Jeremy Whitley can handle team books with his run on The Unstoppable Wasp being very enjoyable. I like the nice clean art by Will Robson and the cliffhanger ending introducing the super villain so I'm going to keep reading.

 House of X #2 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Pepe Larraz (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I loved this intimate look at the lives of Moira MacTaggert. This goes way beyond her being a scientist or the girlfriend of Professor X. Fair warning X-Fans. These issues are selling out fast so garb them off the racks when you see them.

 Batman #76 - Tom King (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea & Norm Rapmund (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). City of Bane part 2. This is where we find out where Bruce is while Thomas Batman and Gotham Girl protects Gotham City. This alternate reality is chock full of surprises.

 Daredevil #9 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Lalit Kumar Sharma (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). No Devils, Only God part 4. This is turning out to be like a new Daredevil origin story. Matt questions if there's a God and whether he should use his super powers to fight crime. Matt thinks he's a good Catholic but then he goes and breaks a commandment right at the end. I don't care if we don't see the old familiar red costume again as long as Matt goes into action fighting crime either on the streets or in the court room.

 Black Cat #3 - Jed MacKay (writer) Travel Foreman (art) Michael Dowling (flashback art) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). Xander the Merciless goes power mad when he gets his hands on his Star-Stone again. Jed MacKay makes clever use of Felicia's bad luck super power to get out of this caper unscathed. I can't wait for the next heist.

 Lois Lane #2 - Greg Rucka (writer) Mike Perkins (art) Paul Mounts (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Lois's brand of investigative journalism gets her in deep doo-doo. When bullets start flying it doesn't help when your hubby is not around even though he's faster than one. This is about government corruption and is just the right kind of story for the times.

 Invisible Woman #2 - Mark Waid (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The presence of the Black Widow legitimises this "Susan Richards (nee Storm) was a spy" story. Their team-up in Madripoor gets them a new lead to Sue's old partner. Get ready for another red head.

 Immortal Hulk #22 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose & Belardino Brabo (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Hulk isn't in this issue much because he's fighting the Thing over in Fantastic Four. His allies however are getting ready to take on General Fortean/the Abomination. Not to worry Hulk fans, the big green galoot will join the fray I'm sure.

 DCeased #4 - Tom Taylor (writer) Trevor Hairsine (pencils) Stefano Gaudiano (inks) Rain Beredo (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). It's the anti-life equation that's zombiefied the DCU and there's no way to reverse it. I liked how Cyborg was the bearer of the bad news. When Captain Atom succumbs, it makes for an explosive ending to this issue. We've seen this happen before with Captain Atom blowing up and I don't know how the heroes are going to survive.

 Berserker Unbound #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) Steve Wands (letters). This new book surprised me. I picked it up because both writer and artist are names that I am familiar with and have enjoyed their previous work. It starts off like a Conan rip-off with a big burly ginger warrior wandering home only to find his wife and daughter slaughtered. He then commences to kill the invading horde singlehandedly but is wounded. Things get interesting when he takes refuge in a cave and is transported to present day New York City. I know this has been done already with Red Sonja and recently with Conan being brought into modern times in Savage Avengers but I like Jeff's stories and I'm going to keep reading this one.

 Superman Up In The Sky #2 - Tom King (writer) Andy Kubert (pencils) Sandra Hope (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). It would be hard to believe that there are people that don't know who Superman is or what kind of hero he is. If you know anyone like that you can give them this comic book for a very concise portrait of the Man of Steel. Superman gets some reluctant help in locating a kidnapped girl and the search continues. I loved the action and pathos in this issue.

 Savage Avengers #4 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). The gang's all here. The last splash page and the next issue splash page made me chuckle. What an unlikely team of Avengers. Elektra, Doctor Voodoo, the Punisher, Venom, Wolverine and Conan the Barbarian all fighting the sorcerer Kulan Gath and the alien demon he conjured. It's no coincidence that this book and Berserker Unbound #1 hit the racks in the same week. Mike Deodato Jr. can really swash a buckle.

 Agents of Atlas #1 - If you're a fan of big super teams, this is the book for you. There are nine on the cover and there's plenty more inside. This issue has two stories. The new crew of young heroes are in "The Portal City of Pan" by Greg Pak (writer), Nico Leon (art), Federico Blee (colours) & VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I do find the little ID captions annoying but it does help to identify all the players. Otherwise you'd need a score card. In "Behind the Veil" by Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (pencils) Jason Paz (inks), Dono Sanchez Almara (colours) & VC's Joe Sabino (letters), the senior team of 3-D Man, Venus, the Uranian, Gorilla Man, the robot M-11 and Namora investigate a temple controlled by a corrupt general. Both stories reminds us that there are dragons involved with this outfit. I had forgotten that. I think everyone did a good job with this huge assemblage so I think I'm going to keep up with their adventures.

 The Sensational Spider-Man #1 - This $4.99 US one shot has two stories harkening back to the good old days when the heroes and villains were clear cut and easily recognisable.

 In "Burn Job" by Peter David (writer), Rick Leonardi (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & VC's Travis Lanham (letters), Spider-Man teams up with the Human Torch to fight off Firebrand, a bitter super villain out to hurt his ex-wife. This could be where the idea of a black costume for Spider-Man got started. It was submitted by a fan in the early eighties and Editor in Chief at the time, Jim Shooter asked the guy to submit a story plot. This was before Secret Wars. It's a fun story and holds up after all these years.

 The second story "With No Power" by Tom DeFalco (script & plot), Ron Frenz (pencils & plot), Sal Buscema (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colours) & VC's Travis Lanham (letters), shows us that we all must still have some responsibility for our actions. This one made me roll my eyes but I got all nostalgic seeing the Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema art. This is not a must have for Spider-Man fans but you get your money's worth if you've got some to spare.

 Absolute Carnage #1 - Donny Cates (writer) Ryan Stegman (pencils) JP Mayer (inks) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This isn't a case of my saving the best for last. More like I'm not a Carnage fan so if I didn't have time to read this, no big deal. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Donny Cates lays out what this story is all about very nicely so that I could follow what's going on even though I haven't read a Venom or Carnage story in a while. Carnage is collecting the DNA of anyone who has ever been touched by a Symbiote which means innocent lives are in danger, particularly Eddie Brock, the original Venom. I'm glad this is focused more on Eddie's story rather than Carnage's murderous ways, otherwise I would not want to continue to read the rest of this mega event. There are going to be many cross over books so if you want to get the whole story start saving up your money now.