Tagged: lobster johnson

Is the New HELLBOY Movie in Good Hands?!

Wow! So yesterday Mike Mignola made a stunning announcement that Hellboy will be returning to the big screen! BUT and there’s a big BUT here, without Ron Perlman & Guillermo del Toro’s involvement. This is a bit shocking to many as we’ve been waiting the third and final installment that’s been teased for years. I wish they’d have done it and I feel a bit bad for Ron Perlman as he gave the role his all and has been fighting for the fans for so long to complete the trilogy. With that being said, David Harbour, the cop from ‘Stranger Things’ will be stepping into the role of the big devil himself and he seems like an amazing choice for the role. I can already easily picture him as Hellboy just on his looks alone and the guy is a decent actor as well. So I think they’re off to a great start in terms of casting. I’m hoping that they’ll create Hellboy in the same way they did with Ron Perlman. His and the rest of the BPRD’s make up was incredible in del Toro’s movies and I’m hoping that they’re not going to simply CG Hellboy and the gang. One thing Guillermo did extremely well was the creation of incredible monsters using mainly practical fx and incorporating CGI only when truly necessary.

Also announced was director Neil Marshall, who I was immediately thrilled about, for the simple fact that he’s made easily two of the best horror movies of the last twenty years, Dog Soldiers & The Descent. Both of these movies are mind blowing-ly awesome and they’re 100% rock solid proof that this director just might bring us the best Hellboy movie possible. Heck, I go as far to put ‘Dog Soldiers’ right up there with ‘An American Werewolf in London’ and ‘The Howling’. As excited as I am at the possibility here I realized that ‘The Descent’ was released all the way back in 2005 and it got me thinking just what the hell has Neil Marshall really been up to the last twelve years? Lets find out as it may give us a better idea of exactly what we’re in store for with this new Hellboy flick.

After ‘The Descent’ Marshall went on to direct the lackluster ‘Mad Max’ influenced movie ‘Doomsday’ in 2008. The movie was a bit of a box office bomb and to me didn’t bring anything new or exciting to the table honestly in the post apocalyptic adventure genre. I guess I give him an ‘A’ for effort for giving it an honest shot but the movie was just too bland to make any real waves and has been largely forgotten for the most part.

After that he did ‘Centurion’ in 2010, with Michael Fassbender starring. It was a an ok attempt at a historical hack and slash war movie about the disappearance of the Roman empire’s ninth legion. This was also a bit of a bomb at the box office and largely went under the radar of movie goers. Once again this movie didn’t bring anything to the table that hadn’t really already been done before. One thing though I’ll say are that his movies look great and even Doomsday visually was at least effective in that area. Still ‘Centurion’ is one time viewing and it doesn’t have much to differentiate it from anything else that was being cranked out in the  genre at the time.

After that Marshall disappeared from the movie scene directing 2 excellent episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ as well as episodes of ‘Black Sails’, ‘Constantine’, ‘Hannibal’, ‘Timeless’ & ‘Westworld’. In 2015 he was one of the directors in the horror anthology movie ‘Tales of Halloween’ and directed the excellent installment “Bad Seed” about the killer GMO pumpkin! Loved it…

So what we’ve got here for Marshall is a big return to the silver screen on a big budget flick. I don’t have any reason to believe that he’s going to fuck it up, in fact with a great script which I’m certain Mignola will be part of and the supposed “R” rating the movie’s rumored to get we just might see a more true to the comic version of the character. I think it’ll be much darker, bloody and quite possibly a much bigger hit this time around. I’ve always thought cinematic Hellboy was ahead of it’s time and that the strange Mignola-verse would fare far better in today’s landscape than that of 2008 to movie goers. Hellboy & The BPRD are easily my favorites of the current comic book franchises out there, so this next movie means a lot to me.

If they lift the amazing feel of the del Toro movies and add a bit darker tone (don’t lose all the comedy though) we’ll be in for one helluva Hellboy flick. I’m also hoping that the movie might make a role for Ron Perlman, Doug Jones & Selma Blair (perhaps as villains?) because we all know how badly they wanted a third film. How cool would Ron & Doug be starring as some crazy creatures? Let’s let Neil Marshall return to his true roots and give the Hellboy movies the lethal does of horror they need today. The guy is super talented and his two incredible horror movies he made are proof that Marshall is exactly where he needs to be. I’m hoping this will begin many more Mignola-verse based movies or a BPRD tv series dammit!! So don’t fret I think Hellboy’s indeed in good hands… 

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Hellboy 3: Will It Really Finally Happen?!

Hellboy 3 has from nowhere, suddenly become a real possibility and I’m pretty damn excited about it! I’ve been ranting about getting a third movie made here for a long ass time and with Guillermo del Toro’s recent fan fueled poll bringing the movie back into the limelight it seems it now has a real chance of happening. The movie has been talked about now for almost a decade and because it didn’t make a killing at the box office, making a third movie has been a tough sell for those big greedy Hollywood Studios. Over the years however the popularity of the unique oddball superhero franchise and comic book have gained quite a bigger following than they had back in 2008. So it could it finally be time for Hellboy to get the praise he deserves? I’d certainly say so!

For me the comic book series and all of it’s offshoot titles that Mike Mignola has produced over the years remain to me the most solid superhero comics of the past decade. Though the movies and the Hellboy comic series differ in many ways, mainly in terms of comedy, I think the movies did a great job delivering the heroic demon to the masses. The characters look absolutely amazing and del Torro is likely the one responsible for that. Ron Perlman fits the part like no other could and the rest of the crew like Abe Sapien, Johann Krauss & Liz Sherman couldn’t be represented any better in my opinion. The movies perhaps give us a bit of a lighter side of things than what you will see in the comics and added some romance into the story (which I actually kind of like as the Mignola comics rarely touch on that aspect of things) while visually making the seemingly impossible come vibrantly to life. I don’t think there’s a director I would have trusted more with Hellboy. Continue reading →

Comic Review: Rise of the Black Flame #1

Rise of the Back Flame #1 is another totally solid debut straight from the Mignolaverse. This one traces the origins of the legendary villain, The black Flame from the pages of Hellboy/BPRD and gives us an excellent set up for an intriguing jungle horror adventure that I’m sure Indiana Jones would most certainly sign up for. The setting is Burma and there’s been a series of disappearances of young girls that the locals believe to be the devilish work of a near by cult.

On the case are two Brittish detectives who’re on the case searching for clues, quickly meet Sarah Jewell and Marie-Therese Lafleur who tell them they’ve got an expedition set up to find the Temple of the Black Flame. Sarah Jewell goes on to tell them of some of her incredible supernatural adventures she’s shared with The Witchfinder himself Sir Edward Grey. I’m getting the feeling we’ll be seeing much more of these characters in the future of the Mignolaverse….if they can survive this expedition that is. 

Here we have again everything I love about reading comics, grand adventure set in exotic locales with a supernatural mystery brewing. Like I’ve said before Mignola’s books to me are the best on the scene, whether it be Hellboy, BPRD, Witchfinder or Lobster Johnson. They’re always a helluva great time to read and are all connected by a deep lore that’s been running strong for decades. So here we have the opening of another chapter in the saga and a true prequel for fans of the villain of the BPRD’s ‘Hell on Earth’. I’m certainly going to be back for issue #2 as it’s bound to be filled with some excellent storytelling and some creepy jungle adventure, for a good time check out this debut!  

Joe Golem Occult Detective #1: Mignola & Co Bring the Thrills & Chills Again!

Mike Mignola rarely lets me down, in fact I’d go as far to say that these days the Mignola-verse is where I really like to spend most of my comic book time. So yesterday it was a no-brainer that I’d have to pick up issue #1 of Joe Golem: Occult Detective. The series is based on characters from the ‘Joe Golem & The Drowning City’ Novel by Mike Mignola & Chris Golden, but the comic is meant to be a stand alone story (actually outside of the Mignola BPRD / Hellboy world) so you don’t need to read the novel first. However this first issue has peaked my interest in the book so I’ll probably check that out soon as well.

Well as you can guess by the title, this one is a bit of a pulp style supernatural thriller and takes place in severely flooded New York City in 1965. There in waters that fill the streets children are disappearing, being abducted by vicious creatures that roam below. We’ve got Joe Golem on the case though trying to figure out just what the hell is really going on here, we also get a bit of background into the cities past and some strange flashbacks or nightmares that will somehow tie into the dangerous waters of New York City.

We also meet Golem’s partner Simon Church a mysterious old man who seems to keep himself alive with strange magic, he also keeps a golem like clay monster in is house that’s likely to play a major role in this story. The artwork by Patric Reynolds is also excellent giving us a great look and feel of the gloom of the dark flooded waterways of mid century Manhattan.

The story is titled “The Rat Catcher” and I’m most definitely on board for the rest of the 5 issues (though inside it states there’s only 3 parts to this story? hmm….) and some spooky tales of adventure & mystery that Mike Mignola has become a legend for telling!

Let’s Make ‘Hellboy 3’ Happen!!

I’m super happy that Ron Perlman is taking matters into his own hands recently with Hellboy 3!! To me it’s absoutely ridiculous that this franchise remains with out it’s final chapter! I’m a HUGE fan of the movies and  HUGE fan of the Hellboy/BPRD Mignolaverse and while the movie took a bit of a different take on the character in many ways I still think Del Toro nailed the look and vibe of the whole comic book world they exist in. I don’t think it was humanly possible to cast a better Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and all of the FX work was 100%! I mean how amazing was Doug Jones as Abe Sapien too?!

Well apparently not quite amazing enough for the masses as we never got the third chapter of Guillermo’s planned trilogy. Perhaps the Hellboy universe is just too dang bizarre for the people who yearn for ultra chiseled male models in costume? But for some odd reason we are getting a sequel to the rather unimpressive forgettable Pacific Rim? What gives? Well Perlman and the rest of the cast are pretty damn excited to finish the story. Good ol’ Ron has been speaking out about getting the third film made saying:

“I don’t have any news for you, but there’s always a chance, I’m getting to that age where, if I waited much longer, ‘Hellboy 3’ will be performed out of a wheelchair. So I was basically trying to say, if there’s going to be this thing, it should be sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t want to be involved in a crowdfunding. I don’t think it’s the fans’ job to fund a movie; I think it’s up to the people who do it professionally. I think it’s the fans’ job to sit back and buy popcorn and Coke and watch a movie and enjoy it.”

So here at Universal Dork I wanna use my voice (what little one it may be) to get more of the word out about making Hellboy 3 finally happen! Let’s not get a rebooted Hellboy just yet, let’s finish the story we started and see what Hellboy’s fate really is. Will he bring about the destruction of mankind bringing Hell on earth? Or will he somehow fight the creatures from deep down in the firey pits? Imagine some of the other BPRD agents added to the cast like Panya, Roger the homunculus, Benjamin Daimio, Howards or how’s about Lobster Johnson?!

 

And also how about a B.P.R.D. movie?! Or a Netflix series? Give us something dammit! I have honestly been slowly becoming totally burnt out on The Avengers movies, I think that Ant-man looks like a bland 2008 Marvel movie with another boring villain and the same tired formula as most Marvel flicks being churned out. Highly forgettable shit in the end. I really believe the Hellboy movie universe holds a lot more intrigue, horror and mystery at the moment. To me Marvel movies are starting to feel like a bit like a shiny boring Pepsi commercial. But in this day and age that’s what most people seem to dig, and if a film isn’t going to make massive amounts of cash then Hollywood just ain’t interested. The first two films didn’t make an obscene amount of money, so the idea of a third movie being made today I guess is kinda unfathomable.

To me the movies always seemed a little too unique and smart for the mainstream. Crowdfunding may indeed be the only way to get this one off the ground at this point. Or perhaps they could re-cast some male supermodels in the roles of Abe Sapien and Hellboy and make them all sexy? Ugghhh…Despite all of that  I still think Ron Perlman’s Hellboy could be the guy who saves the superhero flick….let’s get the word out there!

Comic Pick of the Week: Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. #1!

I have been looking forward to Hellboy and The BPRD #1 for quite some time now and this first issue was a real treat for any fan. I’ve missed Hellboy (and Abe Sapien for that matter) in the pages of BPRD now for quite sometime and this series is giving us a first look at his first adventure ever with the team!

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Mignola and John Arcudi (one of my favorite writers) team up again this time with Alex Maleev making this an epic event. I’ve been in love with Maleev’s brilliant artwork since his legendary  long run on Daredevil he did years ago with Brian Michael Bendis. He’s easily one of my favorite modern comic book artists and his work on this book thus far doesn’t disappoint. This is also the perfect time for anyone who was thinking about getting into the Hellboy universe to get on board, as the universe is at this point pretty vast. This shows us what the red devil was like on his first paranormal outing with a team.

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The story is a simple premise thus far. Professor Trevor Bruttenholm assembles a team of human BPRD agents to take a younger Hellboy on a mission to the jungles of Brazil to investigate a series of over thirty murders. They head out to a small village where the townsfolk claim a strange creature has been blamed. The team, a bit reluctant about bringing Hellboy along find refuge there near a huge ominous castle.

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This is a great set up issue, with awesome artwork, creepy locales and a cool mystery brewing. This is the kind of book I love. The series is planned to cover each year, in 2015 covering 1953 and so on. I can’t wait to see who we meet along the way as the BPRD fills it’s ranks with likely more odd characters, so buy this book and maybe we’ll get that third Hellboy flick we have been waiting for!

This Week’s Comic Book Reviews! Jack Burton Returns….

Here we are with some quick comic book reviews from my haul at the shop this week! If I had a million bucks I’d be reading or testing so many more, but these books add up quickly at 4 bones each! So let’s get started here!

1. Big Trouble in Little China #1, Boom! Studios I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while as we have John Carpenter & Eric "The Goon" Powell writing it together. This one starts off literally right where the movie ends which is a cool thing for die hard fans! Though I enjoyed the issue it's tone felt a little off from the movie and maybe a little too cartoony for it's own good. It felt like it was a full on comedy, which isn't bad but it left me craving a little more adventure and perhaps slightly slower pace to bring us directly back into this sequel. I kinda imagined I was reading the lost story board for the never made second film. The dialogue was pretty fun, I will say I could totally picture Kurt Russell's voice the entire time I was reading. I'm not a huge fan of the artwork for this issue, it's not to say Brian Churilla isn't a great artist, but one thing I enjoyed about the movie so much was the awesome set pieces and most of the time in this issue the backgrounds are simply blank solid colors, which for me feels a bit lazy for something we have waited this long for. This issue is getting a lot of buzz, as I do recommend it I'm not sure yet if this one will keep me on board for the entire ride. I'll be back for issue #2 though...

1. Big Trouble in Little China #1, Boom! Studios
I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while as we have John Carpenter & Eric “The Goon” Powell writing it together. This one starts off literally right where the movie ends which is a cool thing for die hard fans! Though I enjoyed the issue it’s tone felt a little off from the movie and maybe a little too cartoony for it’s own good. It felt like it was a full on comedy, which isn’t bad but it left me craving a little more adventure and perhaps slightly slower pace to bring us directly back into this sequel. I kinda imagined I was reading the lost story board for the never made second film. The dialogue was pretty fun, I will say I could totally picture Kurt Russell’s voice the entire time I was reading. I’m not a huge fan of the artwork for this issue, it’s not to say Brian Churilla isn’t a great artist, but one thing I enjoyed about the movie so much was the awesome set pieces and most of the time in this issue the backgrounds are simply blank solid colors, which for me feels a bit lazy for something we have waited this long for. This issue is getting a lot of buzz, as I do recommend it I’m not sure yet if this one will keep me on board for the entire ride. I’ll be back for issue #2 though…

Lobster Johnson "Get The Lobster" #4, Dark Horse What can I really say about Lobster Johnson? If you love movies like Indiana Jones and noir type adventure stories you'll greatly enjoy this storyline! Issue number 4 is jam packed with more weird ass characters & awesome art by Tonci Zonjic. It even has a cool ass battle that pits the Lobster against a metal armed man & giant Gorilla (who also sports mechanical arms) in a miniature model city. This goes down more like a brawl from a Godzilla movie! Anyway John Arcudi and Mike Mignola keep the bizarre story tightly intact furthering my desire to see Guillermo Del Toro tackle a big screen adaptation of this always excellent title. If you're not familiar with Lobster Johnson you're missing out big time!

Lobster Johnson “Get The Lobster” #4, Dark Horse
What can I really say about Lobster Johnson? If you love movies like Indiana Jones and noir type adventure stories you’ll greatly enjoy this storyline! Issue number 4 is jam packed with more weird ass characters & awesome art by Tonci Zonjic. It even has a cool ass battle that pits the Lobster against a metal armed man & giant Gorilla (who also sports mechanical arms) in a miniature model city. This goes down more like a brawl from a Godzilla movie! Anyway John Arcudi and Mike Mignola keep the bizarre story tightly intact furthering my desire to see Guillermo Del Toro tackle a big screen adaptation of this always excellent title. If you’re not familiar with Lobster Johnson you’re missing out big time!

 

Amazing X-Men #8 Marvel Wow I decided to add a Marvel comic to my small load this week! I was particularly X-cited to pick this one up and give it a try as it features my favorite Canucks The Alpha Flight! The five issue arc is called "World War Wendigo" and you know I love me some good Wendigo storys. This one is off to a fine start too as Wolverine travels up to Canada to visit his friend Heather Hudson (also known as Vindicator) to help her track down Guardian (her husband) who disappeared after they got into a possibly relationship ending lover's quarrel. The two of them suit up and go looking for him, but what they find ends up being and extremely dangerous situation for them both, especially Wolverine who no longer has his healing factor. This one looks and reads great so far, and i'm usually not a big Ed Mcguinness fan. The issue actually kind of reads like a horror movie which is perfect for a Wendigo storyline. I'm hoping the next issue features the rest of the Alpha Flight and generates some interest in the team again-they deserve their own monthly series again by a writer who can match the feel of the classic John Byrne run in the 1980's!

Amazing X-Men #8 Marvel
Wow I decided to add a Marvel comic to my small load this week! I was particularly X-cited to pick this one up and give it a try as it features my favorite Canucks The Alpha Flight! The five issue arc is called “World War Wendigo” and you know I love me some good Wendigo storys. This one is off to a fine start too as Wolverine travels up to Canada to visit his friend Heather Hudson (also known as Vindicator) to help her track down Guardian (her husband) who disappeared after they got into a possibly relationship ending lover’s quarrel. The two of them suit up and go looking for him, but what they find ends up being and extremely dangerous situation for them both, especially Wolverine who no longer has his healing factor. This one looks and reads great so far, and i’m usually not a big Ed Mcguinness fan. The issue actually kind of reads like a horror movie which is perfect for a Wendigo storyline. I’m hoping the next issue features the rest of the Alpha Flight and generates some interest in the team again-they deserve their own monthly series again by a writer who can match the feel of the classic John Byrne run in the 1980’s!

The Woods #2 Boom! Studios Here we are with another from Boom! Studios and it's a good one. Issue number one was one of my favorite debuts in some time. Issue #2 continues the story of the high school that's been mysteriously teleported & stranded on what appears to be an alien moon! We get a little more to the story as the teens have decided to take matters into their own hands and while the teachers spend most of their time sitting around a table, frightened discussing what their options are. It sets ups a nice teacher vs. student scenario that will be interesting to see unfold now that the kids feel they don't need to be listening to the adult anymore now that they're not on earth! Though this issue is not quite as page turning as the stellar first it's building the story nicely with even more crisp artwork than the previous. There's also some nice monster moments that I'm certain will make issue number three one not to miss. This one is becoming a favorite of mine quickly-go check this out!

The Woods #2 Boom! Studios
Here we are with another from Boom! Studios and it’s a good one. Issue number one was one of my favorite debuts in some time. Issue #2 continues the story of the high school that’s been mysteriously teleported & stranded on what appears to be an alien moon! We get a little more to the story as the teens have decided to take matters into their own hands and while the teachers spend most of their time sitting around a table, frightened discussing what their options are. It sets ups a nice teacher vs. student scenario that will be interesting to see unfold now that the kids feel they don’t need to be listening to the adult anymore now that they’re not on earth! Though this issue is not quite as page turning as the stellar first it’s building the story nicely with even more crisp artwork than the previous. There’s also some nice monster moments that I’m certain will make issue number three one not to miss. This one is becoming a favorite of mine quickly-go check this out!

 

T’was a good week at the Comic book shop! Let me know if there’s any other titles worthy of the 4 bucks a pop drop!!!