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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months ago

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Matt Bors’s “Justice Warriors: Vote Harder”

On SEPTEMBER 24th, I'll be speaking IN PERSON at the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY!

There's no political satirist working today quite like Matt "Mr Gotcha" Bors, whose 2023 masterpiece Justice Warriors just got a timely – and brutally funny – sequel, Justice Warriors: Vote Harder:

https://www.mattbors.com/store/p/justice-warriors-ffzgn

You've doubtless seen Matt Bors's work, which has repeatedly attained viral liftoff, most notably with his Mr Gotcha strips, easily one of the most useful additions to online political debate in internet history:

https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Last year, Bors, along with Ben Clarkson and Felipe Sobreiro, published Justice Warriors, a postapocalyptic cyberpunk graphic novel in the vein of Warren Ellis's classic Transmetropolitan:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/22/libras-assemble/#the-uz

Justice Warriors is the tale of Bubble City, a domed enclave walled off from the teeming masses of the UZ (which stands for "Uninhabited Zone" – see what they did there?). Bubble City runs on vibes, therapy-speak, social media nonsense, memes and garbage hot-takes. And while there's a lot of broad satire here, the thing that makes Justice Warriors stand out is how its creators do the relatively straightforward futuristic exercise of asking themselves, "What if deeply unserious nonsense was taken seriously?"

Others have done this before – Mike Judge's Idiocracy, say – but Bors, Clarkson and Sobreiro attain a density of sight gags, trenchant wordplay, and outrageous cyberpunk imagery that is just next level. Think Al Jaffee meets William Gibson, with art direction by Vaughn Bode, who's had one too many at the Mos Eisley Cantina. To that, mix in all kinds of MAD Magazine style fake ads and social media postings, layering joke on gag, all of it walking the fine line between "you gotta cry" and "you gotta laugh."

Justice Warriors did big numbers, selling out three printings, and now the gang is back together for the sequel, Vote Harder, which drops just in time for the final, all consuming election-season media apocalypse.

Vote Harder sees Bubble City facing its first election in living memory, as the mayor – who inherited his position from his "powerful, strapping Papa" – loses a confidence vote by the city's trustees. They're upset with his plan to bankrupt the city in order to buy a laser powerful enough to carve his likeness into the sun as a viral stunt for the launch of his comeback album. The trustees are in no way mollified by the fact that he expects to make a lot of money selling special branded sunglasses that allow Bubble City (and the mutant hordes of the Uninhabited Zone) to safely look into the sun and see what their tax dollars bought.

So it's time for an election, and the two candidates are going hard: there's the incumbent Mayor Prince; there's his half-sister and ex-girlfriend, Stufina Vipix XII, and there's a dark-horse candidate Flauf Tanko, a mutant-tank cyborg that went rogue after a militant Home Owners Association disabled it and its owners abandoned it. Flauf-Tanko is determined to give the masses of the Uninhabited Zone the representation they've been denied for so long, despite the structural impediments to this (UZers need to complete a questionnaire, sub-forms, have three forms of ID, and present a rental contract, drivers license, work permit and breeding license. They also need to get their paperwork signed in person at a VERI-VOTE location, then wait 14 days to get their voter IDs by mail. Also, districts of 2 million or more mutants are allocated the equivalent of only 250,000 votes, but only if 51% of eligible voters show up to the polls; otherwise, their votes are parceled out to other candidates per the terms of the Undervoting and Apathy Allotment Act).

Despite the structural advantages afforded to Mayor Prince – like the fact that residents of District 12 on floors 120-145 of the Bubble each get 2048 votes, while District 1 (floors 1-7) only get a single vote – he's not taking any chances. Officer Schitt (a humanoid poop emoji) and the lovelorn Officer Swamp (an anthropomorphic catfish) are each prowling the Uz . Swamp – suffering from a head injury and gripped by a delusion that a TV cowboy has sent him to infiltrate the Flauf Tanko campaign – is playing spy/provocateur, while Schitt hunts dangerous subversives.

What unfolds is a funny, bitter, superb piece of political satire that could not be better timed.

The paperback edition of The Lost Cause, my nationally bestselling, hopeful solarpunk novel is out this month!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/11/uninhabited-zone/#eremption-season

#pluralistic #books #graphic novels #comics #cyberpunk #science fiction #matt bors #Ben Clarkson #Felipe Sobriero #justice warriors #gift guide #reviews #elections #politics #humor #satire

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mattbors · 1 month ago

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From JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER

Art by Ben Clarkson, Colors by Felipe Sobreiro.

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comicbookclub · 3 months ago

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Comic Book Club: Tim Leong, Matt Bors, And Tiffany Babb

On this week's live show, we're welcoming guests Tim Leong ("Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe") + Matt Bors ("Justice Warriors: Vote Harder") + Tiffany Babb ("The Comics Courier")!

On this week’s live show, we’re welcoming guests Tim Leong (“Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe”) + Matt Bors (“Justice Warriors: Vote Harder”) + Tiffany Babb (“The Comics Courier”)! SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON. Powered by RedCircle Comic Book…

#Matt bors #Tiffany Babb #tim leong

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comicbookclublive · 3 months ago

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Comic Book Club: Tim Leong, Matt Bors, And Tiffany Babb

#Matt bors #Tiffany Babb #tim leong

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comicbuzzofficial · 4 months ago

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Justice Warriors: Vote Harder – Trailer

#comics #comicbooks #graphicnovels

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20thcentutygeek · 9 months ago

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Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson’s Scathing Satire of Capitalism Returns With an All-New Original Graphic Novel in JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER

JUSTICE WARRIORS, the scathing satire of capitalism and police in a future of severe inequality from Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist — and Ben Clarkson — an acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator whose art has been featured on Adult Swim and Vice Noisey — is returning to shelves as a brand-new graphic novel entitled JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER.

“JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER takes the feel of paranoid political thrillers of the 70s and updates it for the online age of conspiracy, partisanship, and the desire to break out of the confines of the ballot box to do something far more radical,” said Matt Bors. “Unlikable candidates. An unfair media. And a system designed to prevent real change. It's the most important election of everyone's life—and possibly their last.”

The first JUSTICE WARRIORS series followed police officers Swamp Cop and Schitt as they patrolled the crime-free metropolis of Bubble City and its surrounding mutant-packed Uninhabited Zone. Now in VOTE HARDER, Bubble City’s first ever election for mayor pulls Officer Swamp into a violent mission that will put him on a collision course with his beloved partner Schitt. Co-written by Clarkson and Bors with art by Clarkson and backup illustrations by Bors, JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER features colors by Felipe Sobreiro and lettering by Bors.

"JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER is an epic thrillride about the infiltration of civil society by law enforcement, the corrupt bickering of unaccountable elites, and unchecked military expansion which is, of course, unrelated to the regular healthy function of our corporate oligopoly — er, democracy," said Ben Clarkson. "It's bigger, badder and more justicier than the original with a thrilling dose of orbital space lasers, giraffe assassins and obscure parliamentary procedure."

In crime-free utopia Bubble City's first-ever election for mayor, feckless celebrity incumbent The Prince faces a challenge from within the Bubble's elite: his half-cousin Stuffina Vippix IX, who promises austerity and competency. Finally a choice for the people! But out in the Uninhabited Zone, which is packed with millions of mutants, the radical and armed Flauf Tanko mounts a third-party run to inspire the masses who are fed up with the entire system. Rallying to protect the votes from the people, mutant cops Swamp and Schitt are called in on special duty. Schitt must act as bodyguard to the Prince, while his poll numbers drop and assassination attempts ramp up. Meanwhile, Swamp is sent on a clandestine mission inside the mutant opposition—to infiltrate, report, and maybe fall in love with a passionate activist triggering an identity crisis. Can the two partners survive being pitted against each other in a horserace?

“JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER is funny, it makes sharp points, and its artwork is so densely detailed I can only call it ‘amphetaminesque,’” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “It’s bound to cross your mind while you’re voting and it might even take some of the sting away.”

The irreverent, dark comedy JUSTICE WARRIORS was initially published by AHOY Comics as a trade paperback in 2023 and has received widespread attention from CHAPO TRAP HOUSE, IGN, POD DAMN AMERICA, CURRENT AFFAIRS, COMIC BOOK COUPLES COUNSELING, LEDGER, SUPER NICE CLUB, GRAPHIC POLICY, QANONANON, and STRUGGLE SESSION. The title went back to press for second and third printings in the wake of its popularity.

JUSTICE WARRIORS is published by AHOY Comics, the Syracuse-based independent publisher perhaps best known for SECOND COMING, a controversial satire by Mark Russell, Richard Pace and Leonard Kirk in which Jesus Christ resumes his holy mission. The company is the brainchild of journalist and satirist Hart Seely (publisher), an award-winning reporter whose humor and satire has appeared in The New York Times and on National Public Radio, comics writer Tom Peyer (editor-in-chief), and cartoonist Frank Cammuso (chief creative officer). AHOY Comics launched five years ago with four acclaimed comic book magazine titles featuring full length comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons.

Here's what people are saying about JUSTICE WARRIORS:

“Filled with action, humor, and biting commentary.”—SCREENRANT

“A scathing – and often quite funny – critique of modern events and norms with a heavy focus on police practices. Though its jabs are quite pointed and purposeful, its broad encompassing of topics like formula shortages and an overemphasis on social media make it seem as though nothing's off the table when it comes to being parodied.”—COMICBOOK.COM

“Matt Bors’ comic book debut is everything you hoped for from the best political cartoonist of his generation. Teamed up with visionary storyteller Ben Clarkson, JUSTICE WARRIORS gives you searing satire, at least one hilarious moment per scene and unrestrained fury at the horrors before us. Read the scene that the NYPD literally brought to life!” — Spencer Ackerman, author of REIGN OF TERROR

“A rich satirical tale of America's overconsumption and over-policing issues.”—CBR

“All the glorious dystopian satire you hoped it would be.”—BOING BOING

“This is the type of comic that comes around once in a while and reminds you what the form can achieve. Both creators deserve praise for what they’ve made here. It’s hard to believe anyone that reads comics wouldn’t enjoy this.”— AIPT Comics

“Imagine a 1980s Verhoeven scifi flick, plus Judge Dredd, plus the most ruthless social commentary imaginable. Oh, and also, it's gutbustingly hilarious. Justice Warriors scratches so very many of my itches it's unbelievable. It was my most anticipated comic of the year and it's even better than I had hoped.”—Aubrey Sitterson

“Outstanding… skewers the status quo in fun, acerbic, and earnest ways…. With this kind of sassy, surgical satire, clarity makes a cleaner cut. And man, do they make themselves clear in the best ways possible”—COMICS BEAT

"Just the perfect amount of demented!" — Bill Oakley (The Simpsons)

‘If you had your developing mind warped by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, Robocop and comic books, and then had it further destroyed by twitter and social media, then JUSTICE WARRIORS will fill those holes in your brain. Ben Clarkson is truly goated on the inks."— Will Menaker, co-host Chapo Trap House, author of NY Times Bestseller "The Chapo Guide to Revolution"

“I’m thrilled to see Matt Bors’ work liberate itself from its 4-panel cage. Ben Clarkson's detailed art adeptly dishes the ultra-violence in this Zootopia-meets-Robocop-like satire.” — Keith Knight (K Chronicles, (th)ink, Woke)

JUSTICE WARRIORS will be on sale bookstores and comic shops everywhere on September 11, 2024.

#comics #action movies #comedy #satire #news

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comiccrusaders · 9 months ago

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Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson’s Scathing Satire of Capitalism Returns With an All-New Original Graphic Novel in JUSTICE WARRIORS: VOTE HARDER! @AhoyComicMags #comics #comicbooks https://ow.ly/gUmy50RlZLc

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wizardofderpiness · 2 months ago

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Alright. So, got lightly scolded by my mom. Not for being paranoid because this really IS happening, but because these are some burying myself in the sand things, especially for myself. The wayback machine already exists and whoever can already scrape whether i want them to or not, internet being forever type of deal. That and really it was me trying to erase myself to hide behind a mask because that was safer. And erasing myself in that particular way would have killed my sense of self.

This isn't to say we're in safe times where its fine to not lie about who we are as people. Whether that be be poc, queer, neurodivergent, furries, anything that won't be liked by assholes who as previously seen WILL attack you for it. I've been told that this is a bit of rehashing gen x stuff (the times where they were told to hide under desks because that'll *totally* save you from Russia bombing you!, and letting aids be rampant to kill people they don't like, and having weed be illegal so they can arrest people and make sure they can't vote), and that because of this rehashing of un-safeness, it's... probably going to be unsafe for a while. And that you should choose which battles you're willing to fight for, actually fight for. Maybe not directly, because as my mom put it, not everyone is a social justice *warrior*. She's, as she puts it, a rouge. And I have to figure out how I can fight too, because otherwise I WILL just put my head in the sand.

She recommended some things to learn how to do now, and things to do before trump gets put in office. Now is a good time to learn how to pay rent when your bank gets frozen, how to write your name on your leg incase you pass out at a protest, how to bake bread if internet goes out. She's also pushing me to finally get my drivers license before January, because there is a very good chance that getting one later will be harder. A state ID is for poor people who they can oppress and they can't get out because they need to use a bus to leave. Maybe you can't get a drivers license, but figuring out what you can do now might be important. An up to date passport. Figuring out what things you need incase you need to leave NOW.

(I use a backpack and those clothe packing squares. I have two sets of clothes packed in cubes (two shirts, two underwear, two pants, two sock sets), my laptop ready to be packed, I know where my social security & birth certificate are and have a folder to keep them safe in my backpack if needed, and I have my purse of IDs bank cards and money, and I have a water bottle attachment incase I need to carry it with me. If you have anything you CANNOT leave behind, figure out a way to make it something you can take with. If it's information, have it on a flashdrive & on a cloud. If it's a teddy bear, decide if you need to carry it or figure out a way to keep it on you. If it's stuff for your pet, make a separate carry-able bag that you keep nearby to pick up. Decide, IF YOU NEEDED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW WHAT DO YOU NEED TO CARRY. Whether you need to leave because of natural disaster, an unsafe home/neighborhood environment, *whatever*. Write it down on a list on things you need to do if you haven't already.)

I don't know exactly what to do to make sure I don't kill the part of myself that's me and human to be safe. It's honestly a habit/safety mechanic/whatever-it's-called that I picked up from living with an abusive parent. I'm going to need to keep check on myself to make sure I'm not destroying myself and that's going to be hard because my motivation cycle lasts two weeks. I have a list of things I think I'll need to be doing to even remotely feel like I'm fighting and not giving up to die/brown nose/be *just fiiine* with everything happening. Those being figuring out when I can leave where I live now (and making a wishlist of things to do when I'm out of there), figuring out what I need to do so I can get a drivers liscence pre-January, making this post for multiple reasons***, downloading more of those videos I want to make sure aren't deleted and making a neocities page to put them up, and writing out some tutorials out on my neocities incase the easily accessible ways to learn those things are taken down/hidden.

I probably need to edit this whole post later to make it more easily readable (bullet points, summarize better, etc) but I know I needed to write this all out now this way, because otherwise I'm going to stop my energy ball from rolling and it won't be easy starting it back up again.

Good luck everyone, I love you and hope you can take care of yourselves the best that you can. stay safe, but please don't destroy yourself to be safe. We might not be in full Hitler-nazis time yet, but we're definitely on Ronald Reagan time.

*** to remind myself, to make a promise to myself, to start pushing myself forward, to write my thoughts and feelings so other people can think about these things too

My ma made a good point about social media stuff. She was posting some stuff onto facebook and had a post-warning-limit thing that only popped up only when she tried posting some political things. She decided that it's not safe there and moved to bluesky, but has also decided to clear out some things from Google-owned platforms.

I'm not gonna nuke any blogs I had or anything, but I think I'm gonna scour through my yt playlists, download anything I think is gonna get deleted/removed, and remove any things that'll obviously get me flagged. (ie anything about pirating, things that can be flagged as a convenient reason to keep an eye on me?)

I'd recommend taking the time to go through your youtube and downloading stuff you might be worried that might be pulled off of youtube. Or things you especially like, since anything that could go through youtube to strike stuff down might act like the copyright claim system and make like. A lot of accident flaggings?

I think I'm also gonna start looking over any n/sfw stuff I want to keep too, since that might be nuked too (with how much the internet's been trying to wipe n/sfw stuff off of the internet, Trump's finally going to make the final push on that). Maybe think about it like the Tumblr n/sfw purge?

#wizardboops

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smashpages · 9 months ago

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‘Justice Warriors’ returns this fall as an original graphic novel

Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson’s ‘Justice Warriors: Vote Harder’ takes aim at politics and elections.

#matt bors #ben clarkson #justice warriors #justice warriors: vote harder #graphic novels #ahoy comics

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graphicpolicy · 9 months ago

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Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson's Justice Warriors return with Vote Harder

Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson's Justice Warriors return with Vote Harder #comics #comicbooks

Justice Warriors, the scathing satire of capitalism and police in a future of severe inequality from Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist — and Ben Clarkson — an acclaimed filmmaker and illustrator whose art has been featured on Adult Swim and Vice Noisey — is returning to shelves as a brand-new graphic novel…

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#ahoy comics #ben clarkson #comic books #Comics #felipe sobreiro #justice warriors #justice warriors: vote harder #matt bors

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mattbors · 2 months ago

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I've come back to political cartooning for one election only!

The race is on to be the mayor of Bubble City in Justice Warriors: Vote Harder, my political thriller with Ben Clarkson and Felipe Sobreiro. For the backup pages, filled with media and online reactions, I made in-world editorial cartoons attacking the candidates, borrowing some styles you may recognize.

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omegangrins · 4 years ago

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A Rant on the End of Tremors 7: Shrieker Island

As the main man said,

Throwing caution to the wind because this blew up elsewhere.

If you can do it with Justice League, fuck it, let's do it for every shitty movie we've got.

While we're at it, can we change the ending of the 7th Tremors movie so *MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS* Burt Gummer doesn't die or at least bring Jamie Kennedy back, or Marvel style recast Jon Heder, so he dies saving his son instead of a random-ass person who could have easily saved themselves. Or cut the forced montage of Burt clips at the end so his death is at least ambiguous. Seriously beyond pissed about that one. THAT is no way for him to go.

I would also like to point out that the next Tremors *HAS* to be titled Tremors 8: Ouroboros and bring everyone back for Burt's funeral . Otherwise, what's the fucking point?

I have feelings about it, people. *FEELINGS!!!*

One of my favourite childhood memories is picking out Tremors 2 from the local gas station's movie rentals and forcing my parents to watch it. I was probably 5-6 at the time.

Let's say that it's been a lifelong love affair ever since. It took me another 10 years before I even watched the 1st. Probably why I hold good sequels in such high regard.

I didn't even know about the 1st until it played as a trailer in front of 2 and never thought to watch until years later. That's a testament to its filmmaking if I ever knew one.

So seriously, that's how they chose to kill off one of the most well known and prolific characters in a movie/TV series known around the globe? With an unnecessaryily needed death and a montage of clips from all the other movies that are obviously better than this one.

And I'm saying that as someone who defends Chibnall/13th Doctor...

...and I'm fucking fuming because THIS is how you *actually* destroy something people love and hold dear to their hearts. It's like the ending of Game of Thrones. His shitty ass death has made it a loooooot harder to rewatch. And they are one of my favourite series!!! Not flawless but fun. But I will defend every other movie and all the episodes except this. Honestly I'll still defend 7/8ths of this one as well.

Like I said, it's easily fixed too. Fucking vice versa swap out Jon Heder for Jamie Kennedy, who the movies have been building up for the last two, and have Burt save his son in front of his old flame. Boom, you won't even need the montage of clips cause you can just have Travis and his mom reminisce about Burt instead. Show not tell. I don't even care he died by Graboid (although in all honesty, I've allways wanted El Blanco to take him down or Burt kills himself from the PTSD. It would have AT LEAST MADE SENSE. Hell, the best would be a heart attack to callback Val's "Yeah, Burt, the way you worry, you're gonna have a heart attack before you get a chance to survive World War Three.". But none of us ever get the best death.). And it's not even about Burt sacrificing himself to save a nobody. Cause that could work too. BUT YOU NEED TO BUILD THAT SHIT UP. Not just fucking drop it like it's hot.

Like I said too, the first 7/8ths ain't bad but it's an entirely different story than a swansong for a hero.

It's all about some billionaire scientist/cowboy hunter dude who likes to get his jollies off hunting the biggest and the baddest who ends up inviting people to this island so they can hunt down Super-Graboids he designed for shits and giggles. But then some Shrieker-fy....

And the pretentious douches come and die one by beautiful one while Burt tries to save them anyway and it's all spectacularly dumb fun until it comes crashing down in the final 10 minutes. Fuck, they should just cut the last 10 minutes. Then it's a perfect little Tremors ditty.

#RELEASETHE7THTREMORSWITH10MINUTESFROMTHEENDCUT

This isn't even about Jon Heder either. He's just doing his job. Hell, do what /u/VoiceofRonHoward pointed out.

"It is clear that Jon's character was just pasted in over Jamie's, the artifacts of the father-son relationship are all over it. They should have gone full Marvel and just replaced Jamie with Jon and acted like nothing happened."

CAUSE FUCK YES!! The only time a story sucks is when they don't commit. Commitment makes all the difference. Now, I'm pissed double-pissed they didn't do that instead since Heder and Kennedy are similar in terms of white-boy-ness.

Even Michael Gross agrees:

"Yes, yes. Now I can't presume to speak for Jamie [Kennedy]. My understanding was they asked him and he said no. And so that's why they went with somebody else. So I had nothing to do with that decision. I just heard the stories. I missed him for that reason. You begin a relationship with the character, and you want to continue it....

...As you build a relationship with this son, we had two, it would've been nice to have three, but that was the hand I was dealt."

One of my favourite bits of Tremors lore comes from the 5th too so it's not like I hate sequel changes out of hand:

"This is a warrior dance. Our ancestors hunting the lnkanyamba and the Impundulu.

"What's that?

"Impundulu. It's what you call the Ass Blaster.

"Ass Blaster.

"Yes.

"Hey, you know, you make Ass Blaster sound good.

Primitive cultures fighting Graboids, Shriekers and Assblasters. I just love that thought.

Hilariously, my meta opening to the 8th movie would be a flashback to 10,000 years ago and a Neanderthal-like Burt Gummer teaching others how to drive Graboids off cliffs like they did with mammoths.

Thank you for giving me the space to rant. Cause fuuuuuuhhhhhhhhuuccck!!!

Here's Michael Gross' own words from his AMA that prove the people making Shrieker Island didn't know their shit.

"The Tremors series is one very close to my heart and I want you to know how appreciated your continued effort is for your core fan base.

My only question would be were there ever any studio decisions made for Burt that you refused to comply with? Or was everybody pretty much always on the same page on what to do with the character?

Thanks again for your dedication.

- Josh"

"Thanks for the kind words, Josh. As regards the first four films, with Wilson and Maddock as the writers, we were very much on the same page. 5,6, and 7 were a bit different, because there was a 13-year hiatus between 4 and 5, and we had to refresh our memories while "reinventing" the franchise for a new audience. I will give you one example: in an early draft of Shrieker Island, a new writer wrote a draft where Burt threatened to shoot one of the bad dudes, and I had to tell him—this is true—"Burt never intentionally points his gun at another human being."

And his own thoughts on Burt's "death" and how to bring it all back together again.

Universal and the director [came] to me with this idea, and they said, 'This could be emotionally very powerful, if we have to say goodbye to this man after 30 years. And I hemmed and hawed, and I thought about it a little bit. And I said, 'You're absolutely right about the emotional gut punch this can be.' And I said, 'You're going to hurt a lot of people's feelings.' And I said, 'But I thought this franchise was over after four. So I could certainly live with it being over after seven.'

"What we negotiated -- well, it wasn't really a negotiation, we all agreed on this -- is that we kind of left the door open. >!Because although Burt is gone, we never see a corpse. We never see his remains. Everybody assumes he's gone. Is he buried somewhere? Is he unconscious somewhere? We never see Burt dead. We see Burt gone. We see Burt not returning. What does that mean? Has he been knocked out? Does he have amnesia somewhere? Does he wander off? Is he in a kind of coma? So yes, the way it ends is pretty profound."

"As regards to the end of Tremors 7, let me just say that while people ASSUME Burt is gone, we never see his remains, do we? Just sayin.'

"The only reason he has become the main character is that everyone else in the original cast moved on to other things. I NEVER thought of him as the central figure, but it just worked out that Michael Gross, like Burt Gummer, was a "survivor." :0) "

"No one would like to see it more than I!!! One of my greatest regrets is that so many other cast members fell away over time. Reba was on to other things, Kevin said no to a second, Fred said no to a third. I would LOVE one last go with all of them, but it is not up to me. :0( "

"There are no guarantees, but for those who wonder aloud if this is the final film, I will say what I have said before: SALES drive sequels, Show biz is 5% show and 95% business, so if this latest addition to the Tremors franchise, sells well, [Universal] will follow the money, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment may will be back for more."

/u/ActorMichaelGross, the bell has been rung and the song sung. Get the producers on this ASAP!!

I was also the first person to discover the symbolic foreshadowing of Stumpy's end with Earl's sleeping bag in the original movie.

Let's just say, I really *really* love these movies. So if anyone knows anyone, hook me up to the producers of this series and I'll Justin Lin in the Fast and Furious out of this shit.

Since I don't think it's good to critique without proposing either, I say we can make up for this fuck up with the next movie. We'll call it Tremors 8: Ouroboros. After the snake which eats its own tail.

We find out Burt faked his death to get the Proudfoot Corporation to let down their guard and when everyone from the previous series comes back for Burt's fake funeral they give him ever loving shit for being such a paranoid whack-job that he would fake his death to fool a government agency. Why would he do this? He found an old photo of Hiram Gummer with a Graboid warning on the back and asks himself why this valley, why these things, why allways me? And we find out, it's not Burt. It's that lifestyles of extremes will end up in places of extremes. Burt and the Graboids are survivors of different species. Sure the Proudfoot Corporation IS using Mixmaster to combine Graboids, Shriekers, and Ass-Blasters into one super creature for the military but it pales in comparison to Burt looking at his life and wondering in shame how many ancient giants like himself he has killed. And with that, he actually dies, and we keep the ball rolling with the rest of the characters trying to stop what they allways thought was just another one of Burt's crazy conspiracies.

That's why it's Ouroboros. Everything comes back around. We could end/start the movie with Grady, Earl, and Jodi opening a Monster World in Perfection Valley a la Desert Jack's Graboid Adventure. I don't know. I'm fucking trying harder than the people they paid to do this already.

It ain't perfect but I'm building on sand here so changes are gonna get made.

Like if the makers of Tremors notice this,

Then DM me because fucking A you guys need some help.

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