We never really think that things like Thanksgiving and Comic books go together, but hey comic book characters have gotta take some time off to spend some time breaking bread together right? Well here’s a few cool images of some of the icons spending turkey day together-check it out!
I recently decided to watch some classic Billy Zane movies, why you ask? Well a little while ago he filmed a scene for a new movie in my store Hollywood Babylon in Portland, Oregon. Yeah, I was pretty damn excited to arrive at the shop to find out that he was there fully ready to get into character. I actually really like a handful of his movies a lot, but I’d admit it’d been too long since I watched any classic Zane….
First on my list was ‘The Phantom’, which came out twenty years ago. I’ve always thought this was a great comic book movie and dusting off my dvd reinforced just that. Yeah the movie is admittedly totally cheezy but it’s like a superhero version of Indiana Jones: pure pulp, cool sets, great practical effects and a ton of classic action. It apparently didn’t do well at the box office so we never got a sequel, but here Zane shines as a good guy for once. Normally he plays a villain, and always a damn good one so it’s nice here to see him playing the classic comic book icon The Phantom in all of his glory. The movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it just delivers a perfect saturday matinee popcorn movie. Give it a watch again, it’s aged quite well. Continue reading
There’s been some rumbling lately from director Don Mancini about the next installment of the Child’s Play/Chucky horror franchise and it’s sounding like it might go old school and get personal. From some photos shared recently it’s looking like the Child’s Play 7 is touting the tagline ‘Chucky is finally coming home’ in a recent tweet. What many are speculating is that Chucky will be squaring off against his old nemesis, an all grown up Andy Barclay. In the recent tweet he tagged Fiona Dourif, Brad Dourif, Summer H. Howell & Alex Vincent with a picture of Mancini with an old house in the background along with the tagline.
In the post credits scene of Curse of Chucky we saw Andy Barclay get a mysterious package sent to his house, of course inside was good ol’ Chuck!! What we then saw was Andy ready with a shotgun firing a shot at Chucky when the screen suddenly goes black. So what the hell happened? I’m guessing this next movie will give us the gory details. What I’m hoping for is that the two to finally settle the score on screen in an epic battle that ties all of the movies together. Child’s Play full circle.
There’s even a rumor we might see Chucky’s son Glenn/Glenda back in action. But given the tone of the last movie perhaps he’ll either end up being an ally of Barclay or a more well rounded, psychotic menace. We’ll see, but count me in as the last movie was hands down one of the best of the series. I loved the horror aspect being front and center along with a much more seriously scary tone.
Could part seven be the series finale? If so I hope it delivers the goods because Andy & Chucky need some resolution in their lives!
So it seems that DC is really giving the whole R-Rated comic book cartoon thing a shot these days and after seeing how The Killing Joke turned out I’m really pretty skeptical. The Killing Joke movie should have been amazing, it really didn’t need to be a full feature film either. It could have worked as 45 minute short flick. It really tried way to hard to flesh out Barbara Gordon with a flimsy story that had little to do with the plot of the comic and an unnecessary “racy” sex scene with Batman (to give it that edge it thought it needed for some reason). Pair that with some pretty flat animation and what you’ve got is a totally forgettable cartoon adaptation to steer clear of.
Well now we’ve got another attempt from DC to get gritty with the animated Justice League Dark. Normally I’d be super pumped on the idea but after that Killing Joke cartoon I’m wondering if the R-rated cartoon is something DC really is really excelling at? There’ve been some attempts from Marvel to make more adult friendly adaptations over the years that were honestly pretty forgettable as well, so I’m not just faulting DC.
An animated Justice League Dark film should by all means be something to be truly excited about. I think the people behind these animated features should be putting some serious time behind the artwork and the detail of it all. They should be producing animation with quality and perhaps even adding more frames for a much more impressive outcome. It seems though the animation isn’t much better than a standard Saturday morning cartoon. The quality should shine in 2016, these animated comic movies should be easily on par with the classics. Think of Akira, Fire & Ice or The Secret of Nimh, these were animated movies that were unforgettable. There’s no reason why Marvel or DC can’t be creating true animated superhero classics. From this new trailer I’d say it looks like we might be in for another mediocre slice of R-rated animation. What do you think?
Wow, whatta week it’s been here in the good ol’ US of A. We’ve had a truly bizarre moment in our country’s history where it feels like we’ve seen the rise of a real life super villain whose taken office as our leader. Yes Trump is somehow our President despite his ego maniacal, sexually repulsive and downright villainous demeanor.
He has risen to power seemingly as a real life Lex Luthor type of character. Which leads me to this cool little video- Batman V Trump! What if Batman was there to try and take down Trump? Wouldn’t that be awesome, well check out this trailer as it shows Trump in a classic showdown with Bruce Wayne!
Then there’s this for a good laugh…
Issue #2 of Black Mask’s new series ‘Black’ was one I’d been looking forward to checking out. The premise of the book thus far is that black people are discovered to possess superhuman powers and which are unique only to them. We’ve got a story from issue number one that seems ripped from today’s headlines as three innocent black teenagers are attacked by corrupt cops. When one one of the wounded teens figure out he’s got superhuman powers he escapes the police and meets a mysterious man who promises to train him hone his unique abilities.
Issue #2 follows the main character Kareem as he’s being trained how to fight by his new allies and soon he sets off on his first mission in New Orleans. A bit of a nod to the X-men. The story continues to show some truly vile white red necks as they attempt to kill a black man by burning him alive in the woods. But remember, some people possess super powers and soon the white trash have got some serious problems on their hands when Kareem and his crew arrive. The man who’s to be burned becomes the burner. That’s not all though they’re also being followed by powerful secret Gov’t agents who’re intent on capturing them. Yeah they show up too. I’m enjoying this series so far, it goes the distance perhaps a bit far with the consistent theme of racism throughout the first two issues. It tries really hard to pull heartstrings. I liked how the first issue kicked off as it felt pretty damn relevant but by issue number two the racism showcased again seemed a bit forced. I hope that this series is not only and just a continuous series of horrendous racist events occurring to the black characters. I expected of course this team to be tackling this serious problem but so far it’s come on pretty strong.
I think it’s important for this series to have something to say about the real life issues people are facing but I hope every issue isn’t always focusing on this. It could be coincidence that this issue features extreme life threatening racism once again & we’ll see what the next issue holds. I’d like to see the story tackle these issues of racism but I’d also like to see our characters experience different threats in their adversaries for different reasons. I don’t feel every issue needs to cover the topic of race, unless that is indeed the sole purpose of this book. Now that’s not to say that the book doesn’t feature some positive non-black characters, it definitely does and I dig the offbeat idea of once race developing powers. It’s a cool twist and certainly empowering -I hope they bring about some truly memorable black super heroes from this book.
I’m hoping issue #3 branches out a bit more and sprinkles the racism about in a more believable manner. A good example would be the Luke Cage Netflix series which handles the issues pretty gracefully without feeling forced. I’m not sure every central character needs to have his origin buried in a racist act. The second issue brings some pretty decent solid artwork back along with a simplistic easy to follow story. That being said I do feel that this issue is bit to quick of a read. We get a lot of big panels with pretty minimal dialogue which with new comics means it takes about five minutes to read. Also we get a pretty shocking cover sure to raise some eyebrows. Anyway I’ll be around to check out issue #3 to see exactly where this story is all headed. Overall a unique series thus far worth picking up if you’re looking for something a bit different from the average super hero tale…
Well it’s officially election day and it’s been one helluva mess this election season that’s for sure! It seems like this election has been going on forever and even stranger are the two candidates at the forefront of it all. Both Trump & Clinton are the most disliked candidates in ALL of American history. It seems that the people just couldn’t find and honest or non-offensive person any where near the Democratic or Republican party in 2016 (Wait there was a guy called Bernie Sanders running at one point). It made me remember a classic comic way back from 1980, Captain America #250. Yeah that’s when Steve Rogers gave serious consideration of running for president as Captain America. Now there’s an unbeatable candidate huh? I’d like to see Trump or Hillary try to win that contest!
I really liked the idea of Cap running, and it was cool that in this issue he was hanging out with a third party called the Populist Party whom he save from a terrorist attack. He’s given the idea by them that he himself should be indeed running for President as their candidate. Cap at first thinks it’s a bit of a foolish idea but then gets to really thinking about it and starts giving it some serious consideration. The newspapers get wind and begin printing stories about his campaign, which pushes Rogers even further into thought about it.
Reporters & people are going nuts around the idea and I guess you could say the ‘Cap for Prez’ movement started going “viral”! He talks to his fellow Avengers about it and get their feedback, some supportive and others discouraging. In the end he decides against it, realizing he’d be really unable to fight for America the way he does best. Perhaps he just needs to wait until he’s like seventy years old like most politicians?!
It’s a great issue and if there’s ever been the perfect time to read it I’d say it would be tonight! It’s got a truly iconic cover & art by John Byrne and this issue always just begged for a ‘What If?’ story- “What if Captain America did indeed run for President?” Anyway check out Cap # 250 it’s a total classic. I hope in 2020 Steve Rogers finally reconsiders and comes back on the scene for the Populist Party!
Here’s a cool cover I’ve always been a big fan of that’s more relevant today than ever! Yeah it seems all we’re hearing about is how bad the Russians are and it’s looking like a conflict in the real world with the russians is closer than ever before. Well it just so happens in the Marvel Comics universe the Russians have their own awesome version of the Avengers by way of the Soviet Super Soldiers! I’ve always thought this was one bad ass super team and back in 1992 Marvel did indeed try to give them their own series. Today though that seems like the last thing Marvel would want to do, they just might revive them if things keep heating up and have them square off with The Avengers, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that though in the real world. Anyway issue #258 of The Incredible Hulk was their first appearance way back in 1981. The epic cover was epically drawn by the legend Al Milgrom a truly awesome battle for the Hulk!
It’s Halloween officially today and it’s time to take a look at some of the creepiest superheroes of all time. We all know most superheroes are usually super pretty, handsome & wholesome, but not all of them folks. There are some creepy heroes out there willing to put their necks on the line for the earth against evil. They’re not enough of them in my opinion this Halloween let’s take a look at a few that deserve their time in the spotlight!
The Son of Satan
Yeah sure the Son of Satan is a bit of a pretty boy but hey who cares he’s the muthafuckin’ son of the damn Devil!! Daimon Hellstrom appeared way back in 1973 in Ghost Rider and started out as an occult investigator and exorcist. This guy is legit and even battled his dad a few times too. He had a tough time getting used to living among humans but hey props to the son of the devil for giving it an honest shot!
Lilith Drake
Here we have another sibling of evil, Marvel’s Lilith Drake is the daughter of Dracula and she vowed that her life goal would be to kill him! She’s a bit of a confused character for good reasons and has clashed with other superheroes while trying resist her blood lust. She’s also though teamed up with the likes of Brother Voodoo and Doctor Strange. At the end of the day you just really don’t wanna mess with Dracula’s spawn because you can never be sure what type of mood she’ll be in when you cross paths!
Brother Voodoo
I love Brother Voodoo, he appeared way back in 1973 and he’s gone down in Marvel history as Doctor Strange’s equal. With a real name as cool as Jericho Drumm it’s clear this guy is the real deal. Where ever there’s some creepy as shit going down you can bet Brother Voodoo isn’t far behind. In 2009 he replaced Doctor Strange as Sorcerer Supreme, Brother Voodoo is legit and needs more love in the Marvel Universe.
Spawn Continue reading
Here’s a good recommendation for a cool Halloween movie that a lot of people haven’t ever heard of or just haven’t given a fair shot. ‘Murder Party’ is a great dark horror comedy from 2007 that’s perfect viewing for Halloween night! If you’ve seen the director, Jeremy Saulnier’s more recent movies like Blue Ruin & Green Room then you know this one is likely to be an interesting event. It also features Macon Blair who appeared in those movies as well.
Murder Party follows a lonely socially awkward guy who receives an odd invitation to a halloween party in Brooklyn, New York. Deciding he’s got nothing else to do he constructs a cool costume from some cardboard boxes and heads off into the night ready to mingle. Well to his surprise he quickly realizes this costume party is clearly not going to be a good time as he’s taken captive by some crazy art students who intend to make him into a murderous piece of art.
What happens next is a zany fight for survival – nerd vs. artsy hipsters in a ridiculous bloody battle! Things get pretty crazy and even with a micro-budget there’s some pretty impressive practical effects to behold and plenty of laughs. This one has largely gone under the radar, but it quickly grew a bit of a cult following over the years track this one down, it’s a great option to the usual classics like Trick R’ Treat & Halloween!
Universal Dork 