AHOY Comics is at it once more with another crazy, satirical comic. Justice Warriors, by Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, with colors by Felipe Sobreiro, is going into a second print run after a massively successful first run.
Not sure what Justice Warriors is? Just check out these sweet details:
JUSTICE WARRIORS follows two police officers, Swamp Cop and Schitt, who operate out of the world’s first perfect metropolis. Inside its protective shell, Bubble City enjoys equality, diversity, and prosperity—with no crime whatsoever. But outside the Bubble lies the Uninhabited Zone, a vast and densely populated slum where the majority of the mutant population actually lives.
Here’s what critics are already saying about Justice Warriors:
“Easily one of the most bizarre and memorable comics to come along in recent memory… This futuristic dystopia makes Judge Dredd seem normal.”—IGN
“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
Be sure and check out the full cover for Justice Warriors below. And be sure to pick up a copy while the second run is still available!
Star Wars is known for many things – epic stories, powerful characters, and alien species. But it’s also well-known for a gamut of strange and delightful droids. Now, we’re going to see droids like never before in the 4-issue Dark Droids event, written by Marc Guggenheim with art by Salva Espin and David Messina.
Here’s what you can expect from the dramatic Dark Droids event:
Starting in July, STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS is an all-new Marvel Comics crossover event that kicks off when a new threat is unleashed throughout the galaxy, corrupting droids, cyborgs, and everything in-between! The saga will bring horror to the galaxy far, far away as droids of all allegiances and roles unite for a bold new purpose, causing chaos for the Rebellion and the Empire alike!
If that wasn’t exciting enough, there will also be a spinoff series called D-Squad. Not to mention a connected variant cover illustrated by Josemaria Casanovas. Be sure and check it out, along with the release date info below!
STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS #2 (OF 4)
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art by LUKE ROSS
Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/6
STAR WARS #38
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art by MADIBEK MUSABEKOV
COVER BY STEPHEN SEGOVIA
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/6
STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #38
Written by GREG PAK
Art by RAFFAELE IENCO
Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/13
STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS – D-SQUAD #1 (OF 4)
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Art by SALVA ESPÍN & DAVID MESSINA
Cover by AARON KUDER
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/20
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTERS #38
Written by ETHAN SACKS
Art by DAVIDE TINTO
Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/20
STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #36
Written by ALYSSA WONG
Art by MINKYU JUNG
Cover by DERRICK CHEW
Dark Droids Connecting Variant Cover by JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS
On Sale 9/27
Thursday July 6th Adult Swim is premiering the newest animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and DC: “My Adventures with Superman” at midnight, and the next day on Max. Today they dropped the official trailer and some brand-new art focusing on Jack Quaid as Clark Kent, Alice Lee lending her voice to Lois Lane, and Ishmel Sahid as Jimmy Olsen.
“My Adventures with Superman” follows the lives of optimistic Clark Kent, tenacious Lois Lane, and plucky Jimmy Olsen as coming-of-age twenty-somethings, learning who they are and what they can do on their way to becoming the best darn investigative reporting team at the Daily Planet. Clark’s story revolves around the exploration of his unknown origins and the creation of his secret identity as Superman. Lois’ focus is on attaining star reporter status, with the help of Jimmy Olsen’s excellent photography and an eye for important stories. Amidst the individual goals is a budding romance for Clark and Lois, ever threatened by the possibility of Lois sniffing out Clark’s biggest secret! This classic trio embarks on adventures, brings bad guys to justice, uncovers secrets, and learn how each of them can carry the mantel of hero for themselves.
Season one drops as back-back episodes, with a new episode every Thursday. New episodes will repeat on Fridays 7pm ET/PT on Adult Swim and Saturdays at midnight on Toonami. You can also stream new episodes Fridays on Max.
Sam Register (“Teen Titans Go!”) serves as executive producer. Jake Wyatt (“Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus”) and Brendan Clogher (“Voltron: Legendary Defender”) are on board as co-executive producers and Josie Campbell (“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power”) as co-producer.
I will start this review off by saying this movie gets ALL the stars. It is a truly amazing film that will garner heaps of praise and you’ll need to dig through to find the very few nitpicky-level of complaints. I’ll warn you now: Spoilers are coming! So, if you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse yet, definitely get out there and see it before you return to read this review.
General Impression:
The purpose of a good sequel is to build upon the foundation created by the first movie, to adhere to the rules established, and finally tread new ground if possible (this mainly applies to fantasy, sci-fi, and comic book movies). Across the Spider-Verse maintains a lot of the things that made the first movie so fantastic. Self-aware jokes, stunningly gorgeous visuals, and a surprisingly down-to-earth story at the center of a completely fantastical adventure. We do lose some of Miles’ internal monologue this time and the humor is less focused on his adaptation to his new-found powers, but mostly this movie is designed to take everything good from the first one and kick it up ALL the notches. And I would say it does so in spectacular fashion.
Plot:
Where Into the Spider-Verse was a journey of self-discovery wrapped in a superhero skin, Across the Spider-Verse is a test of that newfound self in every sense of the word. Not only is Miles’ place in the Spider-Verse turned on its head, but the friends he made from the first movie return only to confuse his situation more. Funnily enough, his family provides the kind of stability he needs right now even as his secret identity threatens to widen an already growing gap between them. These very relatable emotional hurdles live comfortably alongside ones that would only apply to a superhero – for example, confronting a new villain-of-the-week only to discover he’s a nemesis and facing the truth that your actions, while done with the best of intentions, can have dire consequences. Perhaps my favorite part of this film is its understanding that these huge life questions cannot be solved in one two-hour-and-twenty-minute stint. In fact, the best surprise for me was discovering this move ends on a cliffhanger! Beyond the Spider-Verse is coming and I’m here for it.
Characters:
The two biggest characters in Across the Spider-Verse are Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). This isn’t entirely surprising as the budding romance between the two serves as a major storyline throughout the movie. Granted, it’s handled with YA style kid-gloves, capturing perfectly the kind of uncertain pull young people can feel towards each other, particularly when they find someone they can truly relate to. It’s also complicated in multiple ways, from other-dimensional long-distance, to potential other suitors, and of course, perceived betrayal. But their individual stories are so well juxtaposed it would be hard to imagine these two crazy kids don’t make it by the end.
Miles Morales has settled into his life as Spider-Man with a few bumps along the way. His super heroics have taken a bite out of his schooling and he admits he’s made some missteps, but what relates him best to Gwen is how he struggles to navigate his relationship with his parents. His father Jeff Morales (Brian Tyree Henry) has just been promoted to police Captain, and wants desperately to celebrate this accomplishment with his wife (Rio Morales voiced by Luna Lauren Velez), and his son, Miles. However, Miles is never around, always running from place to place, and never where he’s supposed to be. Rio suspects her little boy has a secret but she’s afraid to confront him, while Miles fantasizes about revealing his true identity to his folks to a positive outcome. The biggest difference between Miles and Jeff, and Gwen and George (Lt. George Stacy played by Shea Whigham) is that Jeff appears willing to hear Spider-Man out. In fact, the talks he shares with his father as Spider-Man are some of the sweetest moments in the movie because of what it means for the two even if one is in the dark. But, Miles mostly longs for the company of people he doesn’t have to hide his true self from. Namely: Gwen.
Relegated to third string in Into the Spider-Verse, Gwen actually starts off Across the Spider-Verse. Giving us a better idea of her tragic backstory. We also get to see the kind of toll being Spider-Woman takes on her, away from the cool persona she easily wore in Miles’ world, Gwen’s inability to confide in anyone drives her to quit the band she’s joined. Compounding this stress is her tenuous relationship with her policeman father, who hunts for the Spider-Woman convinced she’s responsible for Peter Parker’s death. And, unlike Jeff, George doesn’t seem interested in hearing her side of the story. It’s no wonder that, much like Miles, Gwen’s thoughts often return to the only friend she’s made since losing Peter.
Luckily for her, the spider-verse is happy to make a comeback. In this case it serves as a refuge after revealing herself to be Spider-Woman to her father goes horribly. Gwen makes the painful decision to escape with her spider brethren. However, this time around, there’s new additions.
The main players here are Hobi Brown aka Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya), Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman (Issa Rae), Pavitr Prabhakar aka Spider-Man of Mumbattan (Karan Soni), and Spider-Man 2099 aka Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac doing his best brooding). While Jessica Drew makes the first strike, she is largely sidelined in hologram form for much of the movie. The most we learn about her is she’s pregnant and fiercely devoted to Miguel O’Hara’s cause. Hobi, conversely, is an anarchist, and frankly a strange addition to Miguel’s Spider-Society. A punk that reflexively denounces anything he deems “conformist”, he serves initially as a perceived foil to Miles’ romantic interest in Gwen, but later proves himself to be an ally against Miguel’s unbending mission. Pavitr, a fun-loving, light-hearted addition to this crop of spider-people, also ends up willing to go against Miguel in a bid to save Miles from suffering a tragic fate. So, what exactly is this mission Miguel is so hardline about?
Spider-Man 2099 aka Miguel O’Hara serves as the surprise antagonist of Across the Spider-Verse. You may remember him as a much lighter character in his after-the-credits appearance from the previous movie, but two years later he’s a very different guy. The question then becomes what changed? As tragic origin stories go, Miguel’s is an interesting one. Much like Miles, he’s one of only a handful of non-Peter Parker (or some variation thereof) spider-men. And, while he’s suffered the requisite loss needed to become Spider-Man he also dared to take advantage of a loophole he discovered. Unfortunately, his plan to take the place of his dead-self in another dimension didn’t go so well for the dimension resulting in catastrophic loss of life. This hard-learned lesson makes him into a strict enforcer of what he believes to be the inevitable “canon” that all spider-people must live through. It is this devotion to the canon that eventually pits Miguel (and by extension the whole of the spider-society) against Miles and leads to the most jarring revelation in the movie.
Allow me to preface this by saying that with respect to both building on existing foundations and treading new ground, Across the Spider-Verse takes two minor details from Into the Spider-Verse and builds them into the devastating crux of the sequel. What was initially seen as an easter egg – the repetition of the number “42” is actually a clue, along with the glitching of the spider that bites Miles. Turns out, Miles Morales was never meant to be Spider-Man. That spider didn’t glitch merely as an artistic choice to indicate it’s radioactive, it was glitching because it wasn’t from this dimension. A clue, I, and (I’m going to reassure myself) many others, missed the first time around, despite the fact that glitching is one of the rules the first movie establishes. Funnily enough, though this detail makes for the earth-shattering reveal at the core of the film, it isn’t used much in the movie otherwise. Here and there it returns to remind us spider-people don’t do well outside of their own dimension, to the point that a device is introduced to bypass this rule – it also serves as a punishment of sorts for those spider-people exiled from the spider-society.
Gwen, for example, loses her dimensional watch after rejecting Miguel’s canon rule. Discovering that her disappearance from her own dimension led her father to quit the police force thus changing his own tragic trajectory. Hobi, ever the rebel, creates a bootleg dimensional watch which results in Gwen gathering her own spider-society to come to Miles’ aid. This includes the original cast of alternate spider-people from Into the Spider-Verse.
Now, I labeled Miguel as the surprise antagonist because the movie initially pushes The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) as its real villain. Appearing to be just a petty thief at first blush with Miles treating him as such, the Spot is much much more. This naked, faceless, albino has an origin-story-level bone to pick with Miles; deciding that the two are destined for a dark fate, he quickly learns to harness his unique power to the point of crossing into other dimensions. However, the trick isn’t easy, nor does it go unnoticed. It kind of reminds me of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness where the Illuminati focuses on the wrong threat – brushing off Wanda. The Spot is similarly ignored in favor of Miles, and possibly encouraged where Miguel is concerned because of his role to play in Miles’ “canon.”
Kudos:
Aside from the movie being an overall triumph in my eyes, it’s worth noting that the level of emotional expression the animators are able to attain is staggering, even when the characters have their masks on. Those huge eyes convey equal levels of sorrow, sarcasm, and joy – a feat no live-action superhero movie has a chance of matching. One could argue that all super-hero movies should be animated, especially those with mask-wearing heroes.
I also give the movie credit for the relationship created between Gwen and Miles, and Miles and his parents as two of the biggest storylines the movie has besides the super-hero centered ones. And to the film’s credit, these relationships are given room to breathe and exist alongside the more extravagant ones.
Gripes:
Here’s a general pet peeve I have with this kind of movie (or shows in the case of What If…). Movies that introduce the marvelous idea of a multiverse only to then immediately constrict what is possible. I’m not a physics major nor have I done much research into the deeper ideas of metaphysics and parallel universes, but given Marvel’s penchant for grounding much of their movie magic in quantifiable science fact or working theory, I would hedge a bet that somewhere in the annals of higher physics the idea of a “set-event” exists. To me, this is problematic. Isn’t the whole point of a multiverse that all things are possible?
Also, where is Madam Web!?
Finally, my three major complaints about this movie are that, one: it is not showing in 3-D yet still has noticeably 3-D elements, two: it does occasionally bask in its own glory (albeit understandably), and third, sometimes the background tries to outshine the show. The second one simply means that after a scene has ended, the camera will linger – art house style – for what can become a slightly painful amount of time, but again, it’s a very minor quibble. The third complaint refers to the fact that there is A LOT going on here – and not just with regards to the various spider-people thrown at you one after another with very little pause for acknowledgment, no, visually speaking while this movie is a feast it could be considered the Thanksgiving gorge-fest of visual feasts.
Gwen Stacy’s world is a good example of this as it consists of gorgeous matte-paint scenes set in calming pastels. This is both a help and a hinderance at times, because while the soft color palette does allow the foreground action and imagery to stand front-and-center it can also be a distraction when allowed to be…well, loud. There’s a very pivotal scene between Gwen and her father that is almost ruined by the background defying its usual support role and trying its hand at being the star. I do understand why it does this, don’t get it twisted, it is a very purposeful application but given how muted and silent her world’s environment is for the majority of her time there the change in atmosphere can be jarring. As for Miles’ world, while his environment is busy and loud naturally, when it gives being quiet or scenic a try the effort is noticeable.
Could the pacing overall have been better? Absolutely, but considering this movie turned out to be a continuation, the pacing is forgivable. I would argue the lags are at least worth the slow down.
Bottom Line:
See this movie in a theatre full of people. You will not regret it.
Whether you were frozen for two years or twenty, few things can elicit anxiety in any red-blooded American teenager as the not-totally-made-up pre-midterm jitters. You know, there should be an approachable mascot implemented for this very thing in every high school; like a guidance counselor, but you know, effective.
It’s a new era at Clone High (Max Original), where all are encouraged to introduce their personal shit to the proverbial melting pot for our entertainment, so kick back with some (child-free) pumpkin spice whatever, and enjoy the review.
“Anxious Times at Clone High” Review
In the tertiary episode titled “Anxious Times at Clone High”, it’s pre-midterms but Joan of Arc (Nicole Sullivan) isn’t fretting, and why should she? Joan can’t spell study without her ‘stud’ JFK (Christopher Miller), so they’re like, basically prepared, right?
If the couple is on the hippy-dippy side of the anxiety spectrum, Harriet Tubman is the bookend. The fear of becoming a vacuous “winemom” due to a failed pre-midterm is beyond comprehension. Before Joan can sway her on the ways of the purely physical, a gift from JFK gives her something she didn’t expect; perspective. Move over #winemom, “JoanFK” might be the cringe nobody asked for.
Frida Kahlo (Vicci Martinez) entertains Abe (Will Forte) and the wrenching about his best friend dipping her toe into a portmanteau. His view of the future looks just as bad as Joan, Harriet, or Cleo (Mitra Jouhari) whose face is only half painted. No matter what way you shake it, Outlook Not So Good can only be read one way.
With their fears at a fever pitch, phase two of Operation Spread Eagle has begun for Candide Simpson (Christa Miller). The extra signage telling the student body not to stress only adds chum to the water. Principal Scudworth (Phil Lord) wants credit but craves being ignored even more.
In keeping up the morale of the frazzled student body, Candide introduces a Babadook-inspired de-stress mascot, aptly named Heebie Jeebie. Joan asks her best friend. She doesn’t want a parasitic twin, but the advice he gives is a half-column B, half-column Abe. It’s not totally selfless, and it’s not totally honest, so Pops wouldn’t be happy.
“We need to talk.” The Dear John of the digital age. It’s enough to bring a gym class to a grinding halt when it’s directed at JFK. His stress sweat is hitting an all-time high, which only rings the dinner bell for Heebie Jeebie. A master of avoidance, Confucius (Kelvin Yu) offers JFK an oasis in the form of wood-shop class. JFK’s smitten with the stupid shit he could get into and Confucius is more than happy to roll with it for the Likes.
No one is safe at Clone High. Not even Abe is able to stress dump in the girl’s bathroom. Harriet’s nearly at her breaking point, Cleo’s about to pop. The emotional support opossum of Topher (Neil Casey) is now wall art, this monster needs to be stopped.
Scudworth might be next on the list if he doesn’t play his cards right with Candide. Nothing’s been working yet, so the sympathy angle might get him pinging on her radar. She’s more concerned with plans for the Broad Daylight Swimsuit Dance, so the sacrifice of an innocent bunny will just have to do.
With the creature hot on Joan’s bouncing soles, Abe steps in, sending her to JFK. The creature has Abe already there, but Frida doesn’t want that shit near her temple. She’s cool as a cucumber in gin and tonic. Her ways must be imparted.
After a horrible nightmare, Harriet’s driven from her car by the stress eater. Across town, Frida shows Abe the finer side of not giving a fuck. He wants to know her secret for balance. Creating murals for sick kids isn’t exactly Abe’s cup of special tea, but before he can figure out one, the Heebie Jeebie crashes their hang.
They book it on a skateboard to the school after hours only to find JFK and Joan in the midst of ‘talking’. Harriet confirms that the thing more malice than the mascot. What is it though?
Scudworth’s plan naturally backfires. It’s a red-eyed white bunny and the only one who couldn’t see the carnage coming was Candide.
Trapped, the students take refuge from the Heebie Jeebie under Confucius’ weighted blanket until Joan puts everything straight for the two men in her life. It doesn’t take long for the mascot to just exist as a stress reliever, not an eater, getting the shit kicked out of him. Before it gets to curb-stomp territory, 90210’s Ian Ziering emerges from under the helm. Turns out he took the gig to scare kids into a better approach to mental hygiene.
We wrap at the Broad Daylight Swimsuit Dance, but despite high spirits, this ain’t no neat bow-type deal. Those captured can go all Manchurian Agent with the simple chirp of Candide’s flute, Joan is still with Abe, and the only calm thing is the empty mascot suit.
Strike that. It’s now occupied by the rabbit. Don’t worry, true believers: Heebie Jeebie Will Return.
Westeros needed a makeover anyway.
“The Crown: Joancoming: It’s A Cleo Cleo Cleo Cleo World” Review
The second episode, “The Crown: Joancoming: It’s A Cleo Cleo Cleo Cleo World”, starts off white-hot with a Stone of Eternal Servitude being unearthed thousands of years ago. A crown is forged and the jewel is placed, but its power proves too great for mere mortals.
Cut to Candide, now in possession of this game-changer. With Homecoming on the horizon, control is within grasp, not for The Secret Board of Shadowy Figures but rather for Candide herself. Cinnamon’s ass is on the line, not hers. She’s playing with house money.
Joan and Frida work on a flat so politically loud, the old JFK would want to knock its block off. The new JFK only wants to knock boots with Joan on top of it. Oh, Abe’s quite aware. Cleo courts votes with pumpkin spice lattes and though Joan thinks campaigning for something trivial as Homecoming, who can resist the fucking tractor beam of the “Instructional Boogie”?
Joan can’t be swayed. Not even when told to on rhythmic cue. Cleo ostensibly has constituents, but what good is a crown if its history of bloodshed isn’t upheld? The thing is things don’t have to stay the same if you stay and fight.
In the journey to raise awareness of what you stand for, acknowledging that what you stand against still exists is an extremely handy thing. It’s not giving power to your enemy, it’s merely calling them into the light.
This is Joan we’re talking about here, however. She skips the middle lane and pumps the gas with an accusation lobbed against Cleo’s java, only red lining it when “Blood Pumpkins” trending is the October Surprise nobody saw coming.
After the sanctified ceremony of ballot casting, two victors are announced by Harriet.
JFK and Joan. Of course, it was, but accepting the crown would mean accepting defeat. I guess in Joan’s mind, fighting the patriarchy didn’t include leaving Cleo in charge.
At the Homecoming game, Joan manages to break JFK free from Cleo’s clasp, but can only count on Confucius, so they decamp to the library. Cleo’s sentinels Abe and JFK find her and take her to the Queen, being pampered on by Frida and Harriet.
Sadly, Confucius’ invisibility is useless when he puts Joan on blast for sabotaging Cleo, but it’s no matter. Even with her infernal, I mean eternal Homecoming just getting underway, Cleo’s minutes are numbered. Mr. Butlertron helps Joan break free from her metaphorical chains before suffering one hilarious indignity. Choreographed clones and pumpkin-spiced tsunamis can’t stop what’s coming: the truth.
With Joan’s heartfelt and Cleo’s half-hearted apologies carrying the same amount of weight, it’s politics as usual for the student body of Clone High.
Takeaway
In both intros, Abandoned Pools’ bulletproof, iconic theme is experimented with, first with an unsettling outro and then with a Sousa-esque march. In an era where skipping is as commonplace as binge-watching, I enjoy these little moments for the fans. Title sequences are sadly an overlooked and underappreciated art these days, so it’s nice to some creators still using them as an additional canvas rather than a simple banner.
The absence of Michael McDonald does not mean a Gandhi-less Clone High as Frida’s mural cemented his legacy while also razing any doubts about her functioning as the heir apparent.
True guest spots have an air of nostalgia for me in modern cartoons. It’s not in vogue as much these days, as more celebrities are more likely to lend their voice rather than their likeness to an IP. Clone High’s never shied away from this and Ian’s real cause for mental health awareness keeps the cartoon as socially relevant as ever.
We finally get to spend more time with Cleo but I’m still on the fence. Something in the voice doesn’t seem to have that nuanced balance of vanity with vulnerability for me yet, but hey, maybe it’ll take for the better, not unlike the siren song of the “Instructional Boogie”.
Thus far, the show continues its steady incline. We’re not even halfway into this crucible of crazy, so starting off on a decades-old cliffhanger could be a boon or bane. They could have placed a little more effort into the other clones at the Dance, teeming the world with life, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a Business Daddy opening the purse strings issue. I’m not going to stress about it.
AHOY Comics has had quite the run in the last five years, with tales involving Jesus’ friendship with a superhero, a kick-ass eldritch horror fighting grandma, or a cavalcade of space cats, and their readers have been along for the ride. This fall, AHOY is jam packing a new anthology of the truly weird and wild. Project: Cryptid will bring together unimaginably amusing and laughably unreal stories of cryptids from around the globe.
Collecting comics and short stories from voices new and old, Project: Cryptid is a marathon across the world from the depths of Loch Ness to the freezing peaks of the Himalayan Mountains and even the humble backroads of Ohio exploring each of these amazing locations’ lore. Asking if Nessie, the Yeti, and of course the Loveland Frogman are even real. And if they are, the most critical piece of information: are they funny?
The anthology will feature comics and stories from writers Mark Russell, Paul Cornell, Alisa Kwitney, Alex Segura, Bryce Ingman, Paul Constant, Liana Kangas, Henry Barajas, AA Rubin, Joe Illidge, Melissa Olsen, Zander Cannon, Gene Ha, Hanna Bahedry, Matt Ligeti, Stuart Moore and more, as well as art by Jordi Perez, Madeline Seeley, PJ Holden, Mike Spicer, Mauricet, Steven Bryant, Peter Krause, Richard Pace, Jamal Igle, Ted and Ro, Lew Stringer, Lane Lloyd, and more.
Check out some quotes from the writers below. And be sure to check out Project: Cryptid at your local comic book stands this September!
“Everybody needs something to believe in, especially these days,” said editor Sarah Litt. “We here at AHOY believe that anything is possible — and possibly, everything is possible. From mothmen to chupacabras to Mongolian deathworms, the creatures in PROJECT: CRYPTID will test the limits of your faith in reality. You’ll believe something is out there, although maybe not the truth.”
“Combining horror and critters is the peanut butter cup of comic deliciousness,” said writer Alisa Kwitney. “Also, cryptids exist. I had a Bigfoot encounter in Davie, Florida, when I was staying overnight at the Sunny Daze Nudist Camp back in ’76. Mauricet, my artistic partner in crime, claims to have kept a small mandrake in his drawer for years but finally had to throw it out when it grew large and its screams could be overheard in the neighboring apartment.”
In honor of 60 years of Marvel stories, the next generation of Marvel’s Stormbreakers is sharing the love with variant cover tributes to classic stories. This just in time for the big Fall of X event. As for who the Stormbreakers are? They’re a talented class of artists that is being highlighted, which includes the following names — Elena Casagrande, Nic Klein, Jan Bazaldua, Chris Allen, Martin Coccolo, Lucas Werneck, Federico Vicentini and C.F. Villa.
As for what to expect, here’s a good synopsis:
Each month, Marvel’s Stormbreakers bring their incredible talents to your favorite comic series and characters and flex their skills with exciting themed variant cover collections. Each of these artists embody the raw talent and creative potential to shatter the limits of visual storytelling in comics today! As the next evolution of the groundbreaking Marvel’s Young Guns program, Marvel’s Stormbreakers continues the tradition of spotlighting and elevating these powerful artists to showcase their abilities, artwork and prominence in the world of comic books.
Be sure to check out the details for individual comics by Marvel’s Stormbreakers below. And make sure to take a gander at a few of these amazing variant covers!
On Sale 7/5
CAPTAIN MARVEL: DARK TEMPEST #1 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY C.F. VILLA – 75960620532500161
X-MEN #24 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY ELENA CASAGRANDE – 75960609999302481
X-MEN: BEFORE THE FALL – SINISTER FOUR #1 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY MARTIN COCCOLO – 75960620661200141
On Sale 7/12
IMMORTAL X-MEN #13 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY JAN BAZALDUA – 75960620004701351
X-FORCE #42 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY NIC KLEIN – 75960609467704231
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST – DOOMSDAY #1 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS ALLEN – 75960620591200151
On Sale 7/19
X-MEN RED #13 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY FEDERICO VICENTINI – 75960620212601341
On Sale 7/26
X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA 2023 #1 STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY LUCAS WERNECK – 75960620574500191
July will mark the 25th issue of Jed MacKay’s wildly successful Moon Knight! This milestone issue will be oversized and overflowing with amazing art by Alessandro Cappuccio, Alessandro Vitti, and Partha Pratim. The epic tale will show that Moon Knight’s past becomes prologue as his former mercenary crew returns complete with old-flame Layla El-Faouly – making her comic book debut!
But, what happens in Moon Knight #25 doesn’t stay in #25, as the events will lead directly into the limited series Moon Knight: City of the Dead. See, Layla isn’t just a pretty face from the past, she’s about to become a hero in her own right as the Scarlet Scarab in David Pepose’s Moon Knight: City of the Dead. Featuring art by Marcelo Ferreria, this thrilling adventure finds the Scarlet Scarab teaming up with Moon Knight for a mind-blowing trek into the underworld!
July is going to be Moon Knight’s month, and fans will get a taste of things to come with this all-new trailer for Moon Knight #25 and Moon Knight: City of the Dead!
MOON KNIGHT #25 – 75960620137202511 Written by JED MACKAY
Art by ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO, ALESSANDRO VITTI & PARTHA PRATIM
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
On Sale 7/12
MOON KNIGHT: CITY OF THE DEAD #1 – 75960620602500111 Written by DAVID PEPOSE
Art by MARCELO FERREIRA
Cover by ROD REIS
On Sale 7/19
The acclaimed Babylon 5 science fiction writer J. Michael Straczynski revealed his dramatic return to Marvel comics. After working with Marvel editor Wil Moss on an epic Thor anniversary issue, and having subsequent follow-ups with fellow editor Alana Smith, the resulting takeoff in popularity had the team request Straczynski to return for the monthly Captain America relaunch. Which is absolutely happening and kicking off this September.
Known for creating the series Babylon 5 and co-creating the Netflix series Sense 8 with the Wachowskis, the writer is highly celebrated in the entertainment world, having even scripted big Hollywood movies such as World War Z. From 2001 to 2007, he was also a beloved writer for Marvel comics, having penned both Amazing Spider-Man and Thor. Returning to Marvel to pen everyone’s favorite American hero, Straczynski will be working with artist Jesús Saiz (PUNISHER, DOCTOR STRANGE).
In an interview speaking with io9, Straczynski revealed that he’s taking a more Steve-Centered approach to the upcoming series:
“I come from television, where the #1 rule is that you must service the main character above all else. When I took on The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter had been all but lost in a crowd of supporting characters, so I set them aside to delve deep into him, his relationships, his fears and his dreams, along the way setting the stage for the Spider-Verse. I did much the same when I came aboard Thor, and began asking what it actually means to be a god, and putting Asgard in Oklahoma to see how he and the others relate to the mortal world, making them both more god-like but also more personal. Ditto for Supreme Power and Mark Milton. Again, it’s all about servicing the main character first and foremost.”
He concludes with expectations for fans, “Overall, the goal is to do some really challenging stories, some really fun stories, and get inside Steve’s head to see who he really is in ways that may not have been fully explored before. If folks like what I did with Peter in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and Thor in, well… THOR, then they should give this a shot because I’m really swinging for the bleachers in this one!”
Few of our iconic heroes have been around as long as Captain America. Now, Marvel is putting that legacy to good use and laying the groundwork for a new era of Captain America in issue #750.
For those that need some catching up on what’s happened to Cap lately, try this:
THE CAPTAINS AMERICA MOURN THEIR FALLEN! After the harrowing events of CAPTAIN AMERICA: COLD WAR, the Captains America return home to face the cost of victory and honor the power of legacy. Writer Tochi Onyebuchi and artist RB Silva reveal the secret origin of Sam Wilson’s new shield and the reason he chose to pick up the mantle again. Writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing and artist Carmen Carnero bring readers the tumultuous reunion of Steve and Bucky. Is there a way forward? Plus, don’t miss a bold new direction for Sharon Carter!
In addition, CAPTAIN AMERICA #750 will include all-new backup stories starring both Steve and Sam! Honoring 750 issues of CAPTAIN AMERICA, a team of fan-favorite guest writers, including classic Cap creators like JM DeMatteis and Dan Jurgens, join forces with superstar artists to spin timeless tales celebrating the epic history of the star-spangled hero!
It’s certainly exciting to consider where this story may go next. Check out the particulars below, and stay tuned to The Workprint for more Marvel legends.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #750
Written by COLLIN KELLY, JACKSON LANZING, TOCHI ONYEBUCHI, J.M. DEMATTEIS, GAIL SIMONE, DAN JURGENS, STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, & CODY ZIGLAR
Art by CARMEN CARNERO, R.B. SILVA, DAN JURGENS, DANIEL ACUÑA, RACHAEL STOTT, MARCUS WILLIAMS, & SARA PICHELLI
Cover by GARY FRANK – 75960620637700111
Variant Cover by GEORGE PEREZ – 75960620637700131
Virgin Variant Cover by GEORGE PEREZ – 75960620637700117
Hidden Gem Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA SR. – 75960620637700118
Variant Cover by ADI GRANOV – 75960620637700119
Design Variant Cover by CARMEN CARNERO – 75960620637700120
Marvel Icon Variant Cover by JAVIER GARRON – 75960620637700141
Hellfire Gala Variant Cover by C.F. VILLA – 75960620637700151
Variant Cover by ERNANDA SOUZA – 75960620637700161
Variant Cover [RED] by JOHN CASSADAY – 75960620637700171
Variant Cover [WHITE] by JOHN CASSADAY – 75960620637700181
Variant Cover [BLUE] by JOHN CASSADAY – 75960620637700191
On Sale 7/5
Stephen King said, “They’d be fucking stupid to release [The Boogeyman] on streaming and not in cinemas,” and I’m sad to report I disagree with his passionate praise of this adaptation of his 1973 short story.
The elements for a perfectly solid horror movie are all present, but The Boogeyman never convinced me that it rattled and entertained test audiences as much as Smile and Evil Dead Rise, two other recent horror films meant for streaming that got theatrical releases. It’s far more competently made and effective than last year’s Firestarter remake, however, and while that’s a very low bar, it’s one I’m sure King was glad this movie cleared like the check he cashed for allowing it to be made.
A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and Black Swan co-writer Mark Heyman loosely adapt King’s original story, taking the seed of a distressed father (a dynamite David Dastmalchian making a meal out of his small role) telling a psychiatrist/therapist that the boogeyman killed all three of his children, discarding the original ending, and expanding the story to be about the boogeyman trying to kill the therapist’s two children. Also, their mom just died because we all know that every horror movie has to be about trauma now.
The Boogeyman offers each member of the Harper family a grief-related arc. Will (Chris Messina) simply refuses to engage with his feelings. Sadie (Sophie Thatcher, getting her first major theatrical release after her promising debut in Prospect and her excellent work on Yellowjackets) engages with her grief all the time. Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair, who made a splash as a young Leia Organa on Obi-Wan Kenobi) sleeps with the lights on?
I don’t know if that’s related to her grief. I lied, only two members of the Harper family get a grief-related arc, and the small child just innocently says, “Mom would have known what to do,” the algorithmically generated line given to a small child who’s lost her mom in order to pierce the audience’s heart, and then never mentions her mother again.
Pretty much all of the grief material feels algorithmically generated instead of sincere and authentic, but Thatcher’s performance gives it much more pathos than it otherwise would have, her most cutting scene is one in which Sadie pours her heart out to her dad, who spends all day listening to people pour their hearts out to him, and instead of having a heartfelt conversation with his daughter, he tells her to talk to her therapist about that. The film also decides to throw some potential ghost/afterlife material regarding Sadie’s dead mom into the mix for emotional resonance, but it does not really mesh well with the boogeyman mythos, especially given that the boogeyman can supposedly mimic other people – a concept the movie does absolutely nothing interesting with.
Unfortunately, The Boogeyman, a movie about the boogeyman, fails to do the boogeyman justice. The completely CGI creation feels entirely weightless, and the film can’t decide what kind of supernatural monster it wants it to be. While one character delivers exposition implying that it’s some ancient being that existed even before humans, the film doesn’t actually convey that sense of cosmic horror. That same character also delivers exposition implying that it latches on to the hurt and vulnerable, which turns it into some kind of metaphor for grief instead of the traditional embodiment of a child’s fear.
Another character says it’s what comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention, which turns it into some kind of metaphor for the father not paying attention to his grieving children? I guess?
While the script isn’t clear on what the audience is supposed to feel about the boogeyman, it also isn’t clear on the boogeyman’s M.O. I get the sense that Beck and Woods simply said, “What if the aliens from A Quiet Place but it hates light instead of sound?” and thought about it like an actual physical thing more than a supernatural monster. Director Rob Savage does cultivate an ominous atmosphere—though I wish cinematographer Eli Born didn’t lazily shoot the damn thing in muted tones by default—and he has a lot of patience in his desire to induce dread more than unleashing jump scares. The problem is I’ve seen movies like Lights Out and The Conjuring do similar scares with more cleverness and terror.
Still, he gets a lot of mileage out of the creepy image of the boogeyman’s glowing eyes in the dark, and his best work comes when he shows the least, as in a great series of shots where you can see the boogeyman appear in flashes but only out of focus in the background. It’s the less conventional way to do that scare, and I wished for a lot more of that creativity, as Savage’s innovative scares in Host gave me high hopes for this movie. Intellectually, I could see the craft in Savage’s horror direction, but I rarely felt it viscerally because of the weak script and the generic score by Patrick Jonsson.
I should have left this movie terrified of my closet door being ajar! You wouldn’t be fucking stupid to go see The Boogeyman in a cinema, but unlike King, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to wait for it to hit streaming.
From indie publishers Ratalaika Games and Blackwing Gaming comes Kuroi Tsubasa, a vividly colorful graphic novel featuring Blackwing, a literal mini devil who escaped hell, and Kureha, an office worker who becomes his partner in vanquishing an evil shadow while helping people along the way.
Set to release on June 2, 2023, the story features a huge cast of characters with a variety of different, yet relatable issues. Blackwing and Kureha must aid these individuals who have become possessed by evil through conversations and finding means to cope with each fear and trauma. As the evil only enters people who have deep emotional issues and challenges, quiet and shy Kureha has been granted the ability to transform into a Magical Girl (thanks to her devil buddy) in order to read people’s emotional state.
While the graphic novel is linear, a player can make several choices that unlocks extra scenes, high-quality CG art, and background information on different characters.
Kuroi Tsubasa will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch for $4.99.
Features
120,000 words, around 10 hours of playtime plus achievements
Over 50 songs, all created for this game, including several vocal tracks
Two music videos in-game
Including variations: over 50 CGs! (CG = graphic that’s not sprite + background, but a unique piece of art for a specific scene)
A completely new bonus chapter after the game, exclusive for the console release
Price: $4.99 / €4.99
Release Date: 2nd June (Friday)
Platforms: Xbox – PS4/5 – Switch
Genre: Graphic Novel
In episode one of this Max original titled, “Let’s Try This Again”, Abe (Will Forte) and company are unfrozen and sent back to school. He’s determined to win Joan (Nicole Sullivan) back, though she’s not above entertaining taking JFK (Christopher Miller) out for a spin. I fuck with you, Abe Jr., but you’ve had an entire season to bite the bullet and deliver your speech. Ya shanked it. Ya shanked it pretty fucking hard.
Overseeing the uptaking of this new plan is Candide Simpson (Christa Miller) with Scudworth (Phil Lord) as her ottoman. Though looking down on someone through a literal glass ceiling does have its perks, this is her baby, so virtually all eyes are on her.
Cleopatra (Mitra Jouhari) takes the news with aplomb while Joan is unnaturally shaken. After a pop culture rundown, class president Frida Kahlo (Vicci Martinez) and Harriet Tubman (Ayo Edebiri) inform the student body of a mandatory Unity Week. So far, I’m really digging the bright styles of both girls as well as their personalities. Abe seems to be willing to embrace the new as well.
At the ribbon cutting, Confucius (Kelvin Yu) and Sacagawea (Jane Schmieding) introduce the first exercise of literally walking a mile in a fellow classmate’s shoes. Abe gets acquainted with an incognito (Chris)Topher (Colum)Bus (Neil Casey) and maybe could learn a thing or two from someone who just added a third C of “Canceled” to their name.
Besotted by the progressive, multi-hyphenate Harriet, Joan is assimilating just fine. She’s asked to join something for once, and what’s more something exclusively inclusive; Cleo need only apply makeup and walk the other way. “The more things change…” Abe, on the other foot, is still struggling. Not only is JFK praised for his lack of filter, but also rewarded for it with a seat at the table. “…The more they stay the same.”
At the Inclusivity Committee’s cordoned-off lunch area, Joan’s neck is on the line, having stuck it out for Abe, who proceeds to perform a masterclass in being canceled. This new high life of Joan’s isn’t guaranteed, so liabilities aren’t welcomed. That includes Abe. Even his apology video couldn’t escape public wrath. He is canceled.
Scudworth grows enamored with Candide’s ways upon finding out she wants him dead, leading to an unexpected Chuck Jones-esque moment of paraphilia. You do you, Scudsy. As usual, Abe starts a movement, with everyone wanting their own luncheon under the banner of unity. Joan’s canceled by the Committee. Yes, yes, the more things change and all that jazz.
Several paper cuts later, Abe’s reached the plateau of enlightenment on his dock (not like that time when he was puffin’ on a raisin doobie.) Is public humiliation the surefire way to Joan of Arc’s heart? Only time will tell, though I’m sure Caligula at least may have given him an “‘Atta boy.”
Some secrets you take to your grave like a goddamn street soldier.
In the second episode, “Sleepover”, Joan’s caught in an Abe-fueled sex dream smack dab in the middle of math class. Ya just can’t beat the one-two combo of libido and boredom as a recipe for a rumor. Trying to outrun it, Joan stumbles upon a secret celebration. Poor Joan hasn’t had the rare luxury of sharing secrets, so Frida and Harriet propose the age-old rite of passage: the inaugural slumber party. Joan readily accepts as a means to avoid a bigger issue, encouraging JFK to hang out with someone outside of her, sending him into a tailspin. Thankfully, Confucius has his back.
With just enough exposition in the story sponge to squeeze into a shot glass, revelations of Candide as Joan’s new foster parent after Toots’ passing seem glossed over. A gecko acknowledging the laziness of writing was just beautifully textbook gilding the lily. She plans to inject a bit of truth serum into Joan’s plans, already off to a promising start. Frida and Harriet ain’t stupid. They know only a finely curated night will have Joan tipping her hand.
JFK’s trepidation of male bonding is stopped cold when Confucius introduces him to the world of social media. ADHD takes the wheel while the libidinal lizard brain kicks into siesta mode. JFK has found his artistic medium, working in Comments like Michelangelo worked in marble. This gains the attention and ire of Topher. The flame war is on.
At their sleepover, the snare is carefully pulled back by Harriet and Frida, for Never Have I Ever comes packaged with but one rule: don’t lie. The plan seems foolproof until it backfires when both girls admit to a homicide… not that Candide and company are capitalizing on the hot goss. They’re too busy drunkenly confessing.
Harriet proceeds to tell the tale of how she and her new friend Frida became bonded in not only training for singles-doubles tandem bike competitions but also in the death that it lead to and the reason for the anniversary. Before you can say turnabout is fair play, Joan rescinds her position to share, lest the girls weaponize her truth against their lie. But the night is young and stormy. To be honest, I question the sanity of those who don’t think that’s body exhuming conditions. The grave site comes up empty for the girls, but it’s too late. It wouldn’t be a sleepover without a proper horror film.
The inane trolling wages on until Topher gets personal, leaving JFK down for the count. It is in that shining moment Confucius makes his stance on friendship known, deploying one of the most passively stinging arguments in online history: grammatical correction. With their tender moment being slaughtered by a slap fight, maybe Confucius will be JFK’s sidekick. Heaven knows he’s got a lot of adapting to do.
The deceased ain’t really dead for the girls. In fact, this self-aware After School Special trope in jeans and a hoodie hearkens back to the chic cynicism that peppered early aughts cartoons. This leads Joan to show her cards. The Abe dream isn’t some small secret, and due to a fortunate misstep, with this coven, it shall remain. Welcome to yourfirst real club, Joan.
Takeaway:
Revisiting the first season of the Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse) with Bill Lawrence’s (Ted Lasso) cult favorite, I was steadfast that a second season wasn’t needed. Season One could be frozen for eternity, existing as a pristine specimen of a series masterfully “Leaving Them Always Wanting More”. Is that edging? Ya, and it’s goddamn selfish if more stories are waiting to be told.
In keeping with their seamless commentary on the passage of time, the jokes were mostly solid. I felt JFK’s signature lamp-shading is noticeably amped-up in this iteration, at least in the Pilot. Confucius seems the closest enough to Gandhi’s rubbery wild man personality, but he doesn’t overstep. Harriet is the new Queen and Frida lights up the goddamn room. Even Topher’s delivery, bone-dry like a fine wine had me saying Gandhi who?
Kidding aside, the absence of Michael McDonald’s portrayal of the well-intentioned if not misunderstood id-based Gandhi was deftly handled as an afterthought. The creators are well aware of their mistakes and right a few wrongs. Comedy’s all about knowing your audience. Old heads and new heads alike would be able to sniff out “cringe” from a mile away and lampshading Ghandi’s absence would have absolutely reeked of it. Thanks, showrunners, for treating your audience like they actually have minds, and using them with some regularity.
I did also enjoy how Abe was forced to join the likes of John Wayne, Marilyn Manson (former guest), and Mr. Sheepman (a former recurring character played by Andy Dick), all of which were voiceless. These showrunners aren’t wet behind the ears. They got some skin in the game and it shows. They know sometimes all the elephant in the room should get is a peanut, not a parade.
With that in mind, the next eight episodes should bring new towering highs and shattering lows. Sign me up.
We all (hopefully) know by now how much representation matters—both for those of a specific identity, to help them feel seen and understood, and for those outside of it, to provide perspective outside of one’s own lens. Disney Plus’ new teen contemporary fantasy series, American Born Chinese, leans into its exploration of Chinese American identity. Released on May 24, it just squeaked into the tail end of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Congrats, Disney, you have a go-to show to stick in your marketing emails next time you need some Asian rep!
Much has been written about the recent triumphs for (East) Asian (especially Chinese) representation in Hollywood lately. We’ve come a long way from the days when Chinese American silent film icon Anna May Wong was denied a role playing Chinese woman that later went to a white actress (who won for an Oscar for it). From the box office success of Crazy Rich Asians to Marvel (and Hasbro!) starring an Asian superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (and Snake Eyes!) to the Oscars triumphs of Everything Everywhere All At Once and its talent, it feels like we’ve finally reached a fertile land after decades in the desert.
Yet this position feels precarious, and after a lifetime of treating every drop of water, no matter how tiny or tainted (looking at you, Cho Chang), as a precious gem, an instinctive protectiveness arises each time another appears. You will love this Asian American show, my gut tells me, because if you don’t, and it’s perceived as anything but a smashing success, you might never get another. Being good enough isn’t enough. It must be considered exemplary, because anything less than exemplary puts all entertainment of its kind in danger.
Thus is the burden of representation, felt by every minority kid who was the only one of their background in a classroom. And considering how many plots and characters and ideas and concepts were stuffed into its 8 half-hour episodes, those behind American Born Chinesefelt this burden all too acutely. It tries to be everything, everywhere, all at once (it features nearly the entire principal cast of that hit!) — it’s a contemporary coming-of-age tale, it’s a gods-and-demons-in-the-modern-world urban fantasy, it’s a Disney Channel teen comedy, it’s an exploration of stereotypes straight from your corporate diversity training video, it’s… it’s…
By the way, the above is not necessarily a complaint. If anything, it’s a plea — for more, please. More screen time to develop characters that appear only as plot devices (especially the women and girls), more time to flesh out world-building details and lore, more episodes to give the multiple intersecting plots space to breathe.
The show is (very) loosely based on Gene Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese and follows two disparate yet constantly crossing storylines. We’re first introduced to Sun Wei-Chen, the adolescent son of the Sun Wukong, who steals his father’s magical staff and flees Heaven in search of the mythical Fourth Scroll. He lands in contemporary California, where high schooler Jin Wang is starting a new school year. Jin, meanwhile, is living a pretty typical high school drama. He wants to get onto the soccer team and be among the cool kids. He’s crushing on his biology lab partner. He’s dealing with parents who can’t stop arguing.
Thanks to a prophetic dream, Wei-Chen believes Jin will be his guide on Earth and seeks him out in the guise of a new student. He’s everything Jin wants to avoid being — he speaks with an accent, he eats traditional Chinese food, he wears geeky clothing… and the teacher saddles Jin with being Wei-Chen’s buddy because they have “so much in common” (because they’re both Chinese, get it?). But what really gets under Jin’s skin is Wei-Chen’s unabashed confidence. Jin has gone out of his way to avoid being seen as a typical Asian nerd, but Wei-Chen, who embodies all these traits, has no problem being one.
I have to say, the early episodes try too hard to stuff every stereotype, bias, and micro-aggression faced by Asian Americans into a single show (I didn’t buy for one second that the teachers — in California! — would misread “Jin” as “Jim” repeatedly). Again, here is the burden of representation… an almost palpable fear that if this show, with its huge platform, doesn’t say something, then no one will.
Meanwhile, a pantheon of characters from Ming dynasty novel Journey Into the West (which proliferates Chinese culture as much as Greek mythology does Western ones) come after Wei-Chen. The only one who seems to be on his side is Guanyin, the goddess of compassion and mercy. This leads to some wonderfully choreographed action scenes inspired by classic wuxia films and Hong Kong-style action movies.
While Wei-Chen and Jin’s story lines are in conversation with each other, they don’t truly intersect until the very end, and sometimes it felt like watching two different shows, both entertaining in their own ways. Meanwhile, we get subplots with Jin’s parents (the father who has hit a bamboo ceiling, the mother harboring unrealized ambitions) and an actor who once portrayed an Asian stereotype in a decades-old sitcom.
With a constellation of Asian talent both in front of and behind the camera — Michelle Yeoh! Daniel Wu! Ke Huy Quan! Stephanie Hsu! Ronny Chiang! Jimmy O. Yang! Destin Daniel Cretton! Kelvin Yu! Lucy Liu! Plus our charismatic newcomers Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu! — there was no way this show wasn’t going to entertain. And at the end of the day, American Born Chinese is a fun and charming show full of eye-popping action, witty comedy, quirky teen drama, fantastical lore, and meaningful explorations of what it means to live between worlds. Plus throwbacks to old Chinese TV shows, particularly 1986’s Journey Into the West. It’s also extremely watchable — I binged all 8 episodes in 2 sittings, and there was never a dull moment on screen (an increasingly rare trait in the era of streaming services at the mercy of the gods of “hours watched”).
If it sounded like I didn’t enjoy this show because I started off with a list of criticisms, then know that it’s only because I love it enough to see its potential to be better… like many-a Chinese parent with their overachieving kids. The season 1 finale hinted at future adventures to come… here’s hoping season 2 is around the corner. And many more seasons to come.
4/5 stars
P.S. For those who may not be familiar, the term ABC, which stands for “American Born Chinese,” is commonly used by Chinese and Chinese American people to describe folks like me… born in the U.S. and quite Americanized. So this ABC just reviewed ABC 😉
Another comic series from Trevor Fernandes-Lenkiewicz,Minutes to Midnightis the young writer’s hot new comic Kickstarter Campaign. A short story anthology featuring some brooding tales and thought-provoking mysteries, the project features four shorts written by Fernandes-Lenkiewicz entitled ‘Time Fleeting, War Immortal’, ‘Bear Market Businessman’, ‘Marvelous Misadventures of Melancholy Man’, and ‘Reflections and Other Little Devils’.
Minutes to Midnight features artwork from Samuel Iwunze, Steph C., Marcio Freire, and Ryan Best, with letters by Jerome Gagnon and Micah Myers. Having read the first short in Minutes to Midnight, Reflections and Other Little Devils there is a lot to like regarding the detective noir setup and perceptive undertones of this anthology. Toted as ‘The most ambitious work of his career’, The Workprint spoke with Fernandes-Lenkiewicz in our exclusive interview, which you can check out below.
The following Interview was shortened for clarity.
MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT AN INTERVIEW WITH TREVOR FERNANDES-LENKIEWICZ
Let’s start with your humble beginnings. How did you start your journey into comics and where has it taken you to date?
It was a pretty peculiar one. I didn’t get into reading comics until I was in my later teenage years, and by the time I got to college, I didn’t really have many friends that were into them. I started doing YouTube reviews and interviews and eventually, as those scaled up, I found it necessary to learn the technical language surrounding comics and the craft, something I thought was missing from the review space. People were giving more or less opinion and I wanted to be able to talk about the craft and the execution.
Eventually, I wound up getting press passes to a Marvel fanfare panel for New York Comic-Con in 2019. I stood up to ask a question to Marvel’s editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski and Chris Claremont, the godfather of the X-Men. When I was walking out, CB had approached me and asked me if I had ever thought about working in comics. At the time being a molecular and cellular biology student, the answer was very much no.
It never seemed reasonable until the moment that Marvel’s editor-in-chief had asked me that and gave me his business card. He referred me to apply and I ended up interviewing in March of 2020, the week that hand sanitizer and toilet paper was selling out. I got a call back and then about a week later, we went on lockdown and all of that kind of fell by the wayside because of the pandemic.
So I cried about it for six months as a depressing, angsty 22 year old. Eventually it came to a point where I was like, all right, like I can put up or shut up. Like, we don’t know when the pandemic’s gonna end. I don’t know if that opportunity’s gonna be there for me. So in October of 2020 I ran the Kickstarter from my first comic, Area 51: The Helix Project issue one, and then by January of 2021, that first book came out. And it’s been quite the journey ever since.
We’re seeing layoffs everywhere. Physical comics sales has slowed over Manga. What’s your take on the industry changes? Where do you see it all heading?
I really don’t know. I mean, I have ideals of where I would like it to go. You know, becoming more and more creator centric as opposed to property centric would be a hope of mine. But I don’t necessarily see that being the case. I think there are a couple things to look out for though, and I’m interested to see if it catches on. One of them being the founding of DSTLRY.
I’m interested to see if that’ll take off. The idea that their leading creators will have a percentage of ownership in the company. I wonder if that will make any element of a splash. There’s an interesting little tidbit though, where they’re kind of trying to imply that they’re gonna make NFTs without admitting that they’re making NFTs. I don’t know if the element of the collectible digital comic will be a thing, and if it is, I think it’ll be temporary.
DSTLRY is sort of a modernization of the original idea behind image. I wonder if it’s just too little, too late, or if there will actually be a sort of movement surrounding creator ownership, not only in the intellectual property, but in the publishing entity itself. Only time will tell, right?
I think comics are so unpredictable because no larger entities in the industry want to stick by them. They’re sort of avant-garde decisions made to see whether or not they stick. Companies look for immediate validation, and when they don’t get it, they pivot. It does a lot of their ideas a disservice because even if it doesn’t work out immediately, it doesn’t mean that you can’t. I wondered what would happen if these companies that are making these big splashes were to just kind of naturally let those ideas evolve as opposed to being so willing to change trajectories.
If you’re a big corporation, like a Marvel or a DC, you’re always looking at bottom line numbers and pivoting strategy accordingly to what’s hot and making money right now. That’s a problem when it comes to creative fields. Don’t you think so?
Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s the reason Marvel was able to build a cinematic universe and begin to watch it crumble even before DC could even start one. It’s because they stuck to an idea. We could argue that they’ve oversaturated themselves right now but they’ve also had an undeniable amount of success. And so I think that partly is because comics is a niche entertainment business with a lot less capital invested on the ground floor.
I brought this up in interviews before. Karen Berger letting Neil Gaiman publish Sandman was a risk. Yeah. What happened by the end of the Sandman run? It was outselling DC’s major properties. Why is that? Because it was persistent quality and word of mouth began to flourish and that would not have happened under really today’s market.
What’s your take on AI for art and writing?
Here’s the thing, man. I think if it were controlled, it could be used as a tool. I think with anything, you will have people who try to abuse it and try to rely on it too much. The work shows and unfortunately, I don’t think most comic book criticism is at a level right now where the average person is gonna be able to look at an AI comic, wherein somebody has covered their tracks as best as they can, and be able to determine what the issue is.
That is problematic because, you know, basically the laws of the land never really quite catch up with what technology is capable of. I do think that there could be potential benefits to the use of AI. Most photo editing softwares already use AI for background removal, for spot removal, for things like that. I think for artists it could be interesting to develop sort of little concepts for other palette or for sort of shape and form composition for cover pieces. I think as a writer, you know, it could prove valuable to come up with prompts to test somebody’s ability to play in different spaces.
But you know, like I said, unfortunately people abuse it and then try to take credit. I also think it promotes a lot of lazy, wannabe creatives who don’t really have the gumption or the talent to do anything of their own accord. They put a couple of words into AI engines and feel like they, you know, are part of the creative community, and I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. It promotes a certain laziness that I definitely can’t condone on both the writing and editing side.
For anybody that really knows comics, you, you look at the attempts to make via AI comics, and they do come off as sort of soulless static Shells of what a comic should be. But the unfortunate thing is, is that most consumers don’t really have the eye to be able to discern that, you know?
Alright, let’s get to the heart of Minutes to Midnight. Tell me about ‘Reflections and Little Devils’, this larger-than-life investigation that takes a trippy NSFW turn. Where did this come from?
What you read was actually one third of of that overall story. Reflections and Other Little Devils is a 22 page story. Large enough to be its own single issue. That one is me reteaming up with Samuel Iwunze, who took over the last two issues of the Helix Project. In this piece, he’s also coloring his own work instead of just penciling and inking. It’ll also be lettered by Jerome Gagnon. A really talented French Canadian graphic designer and letterer.
The story is a grim and moody mystery about detective Carlos Mansebo, an aging and grizzled detective, as he investigates a strings of suicides linked to addresses from a stretch of properties involved in a failed eminent domain seizure attempt. It takes place in my hometown of New London, Connecticut and plays off of a little bit of our our town’s history.
Carlos’s discoveries and drug laden flashbacks end up leading him into the gullet of an almost saw-like murder case that puts his long dead drug-addled marriage into question. His journey ends up sort of spiraling into a sharp edge of perception and addiction. It’s ultimately the way in which our understanding of our reflections end up impacting the way we look at ourselves and, by default, the world around us.
That’s incredible. What can you tell us about the the other stories?
The next story in the collection is The Marvelous Misadventures of the Melancholy Man. I was delighted to pair up with the incredibly talented Steph C., who is a Mexican comic and film artist whose style is just incredibly emotive. This story is the only one that’s planned to be continued in the future. A supernatural coming of age story about an empathic boy who can turn others woes into gold, this boy has to find balance in a life where touching someone can mean healing their mind at the cost of his own, or even, ruin somebody else’s in order to preserve his.
This first story forces him to face down the a moral pendulum early in his childhood. What’s fun about it is how it ends up leading him to meet an acquaintance, a longtime figure in the comic book industry that fans will immediately recognize.
Ultimately this story will continue to grow and evolve as Midas comes of age as sort of metatextual exploration of self-sacrifice and self-preservation. The Marvelous misadventures of the Melancholy Man was created for people that feel like they are giving up a piece of themselves in order to help other people. This story is very sort of Daoist in principle about learning to find balance in innate empathy you have without letting it tear you down inside. Also, the story is lettered by the super ubiquitous Micah Myers, who you’ll find all throughout the indie scene.
Time Fleeting War Immortal
So the next story is Time Fleeting War Immortal. This is a Dante Aligheri-like historical fantasy following two nearly immortal soldiers as they reconvene throughout every great battle in human history in order to settle a conflict that spans from before time was measured to the end of all existence as we know it. Ultimately, this is a timeless story about the changing landscape of war and how adversity is often conditioned. The fact that two immortals can coexist in a good versus evil battle throughout all of history then really stopped being about that and more about their relationship.
Because ideals change. These characters kind of switch ideological sides pretty much every time you pick up with them. It’s just this idea that most of the time, none of it really matters. There is a sort of tragedy in the fact that these characters don’t see that they’re using these ideals as an engine for brutality and cruelty. I think that is more interesting to me than who is on what side? Sides really don’t matter. It’s this idea they can wander into the storm of war and know that they will find each other at its epicenter.
Bear Market Businessman
The last story in the collection is probably the most personal, raw thing I’ve ever written. It’s called the Bear Market Businessman. It’s a simple interpersonal story that takes place several centuries in the future in this extremely loud and neon adorned New York City as it weighs down upon the richest man of the world. He’s got to figure out the key to survival. The choice to live.
Beautifully drawn and colored by Ryan Best, whose art is just very emotive and very vital. He uses these very soft and flexible lines. Bold but not overbearing. I think people will come to find a lot of personality in that, that title, which makes him perfect for that story. Because again, it is very much leaning on the acting of the characters and the expressionism.
So let me ask you, you what, what gave you the idea to deal a short story anthology for minutes to midnight?
I’ve, kind of had an idea for a while throughout writing the Helix Project. In the beginning, I was always really scared that I wasn’t the idea guy. I thought that I was technical application guy and that ideas would take a lot of development. Then I found that to be absolutely untrue.
As I was writing the Helix Project, all these random ideas sort of popped into my head and whether it was the basis for a story or just a visual, I would write them down in these documents. I also really thought about how I would be looked at walking outta my first series. It’s very non-traditional for a new creator to jump right into a six issue project as compared to submitting for anthologies and getting these little short stories.
I was afraid of being pigeonholed and being typecast as somebody who does the sci-fi alien conspiracy thing. This was me being able to look the industry in the mouth and say, creatively I can function on, on different levels. You know, like the equivalent of being a, a three-tier scorer in basketball. I feel like I can get a bucket no matter where I am on the court.
I was writing the Helix Project during the pandemic and most of which was, you know, sort of bogged down by these echo chambers. People so caught up with being fed nothing but content that agrees with their perspective. Coming to an age and realizing that everything you hear about how adults act and behave was a lie. Adults are just big children with more responsibility.
A lot of their lesser traits are just pardoned, and therefore, we live in a world where people are so much more comfortable living in their echo chambers and being fed the same thing over and over and over again. I think it’s damning not only for them, but for sort of spaces that they keep. And so I wanted to tell a story about perspective. I wanted to have complicated characters that weren’t easy to boil down into sort of black and white absolutes.
Finally, as always, If someone could take away something from this anthology. A message for this project you wanted to convey. What is it?
The only thing monolithic thinking does is bring you down. Be prepared to grow and change. Otherwise you will be left behind.
Sophie Thatcher as Teen Natalie in YELLOWJACKETS, "Storytelling". Photo Credit: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME.
Review:
Here we are. The melancholic distortion of the Cranberries’ “Zombie” is enough to give anyone goosebumps as Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) ambles to the cabin. Travis (Kevin Alves) is the first to greet her, but bereft of words, the cabin shows, not tells.
The irrefutable magnitude of the Wilderness and its lip-smacking is enough to drive even the insurmountable Nat to tears.
At the lodge, Lottie (Simone Kessell) feels the end of the line upon them. Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) manages to talk her out of an early checkout, and suggests the squad go old school on this force by giving it a “Hunt”.
Judging from the response of the team, even for the unflappable Natalie (Juliette Lewis), the thought of getting down and dirty one last time on the Pitch of Life is too much to bear. Lottie, on the other hand, is relieved, as if coming out of a long overdue trepanation.
The thing is Shauna is trying to lure Lottie out by “giving in” to this reality of hers. The whole team is encouraged to follow her lead. Taissa (Tawny Cypress) co-signs to Shauna’s plan, but Misty (Christina Ricci) can read through them like rice paper.
“All the old games.” Masks, knives, card deck. The only thing required of Lottie is that the acolytes stay away from this very sacred game, so with that, she goes on her way. Misty votes for having her recommitted, and while that is a viable option, Natalie thinks this calls for something more hardcore. Van (Lauren Ambrose) agrees. They all have it in them, but your girl is on some next-level Tyler Durden shit.
That night, Misty (Sammi Hanratty) informs Lottie (Courtney Eaton) of a last-minute substitution in play. She’s also made aware of the simple yet elegantly unbiased way of choosing who to keep her alive. To me, this would make Lottie a sweeper, the last line of defense in a tight spot. It’s most advantageous in all having the six of a sweeper on the pitch.
She assures the rest of the cabin that Lottie was all too pleased with the will of the Woods, but the mood isn’t feeling chipper. Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) is called upon to do what she’d gladly swap places with Javi: telling his brother to step aside or become jerky.
Ever the most fearless on the field, leave it to Van (Liv Hewson) to grease the wheels when she offers Javi’s neck up to Shauna. Blindfolding herself, she commences the exsanguination. Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) are requested to make for the cabin with Van. Shauna needs to get acquainted with her new chatmate.
At the commune, Misty obtains the name of Lottie’s doctor in her office. She also happens to break into the locked armor armoire, retrieving her phone. Sensing somebody coming, she retreats before being found out by her knight in purple chore coat, Walter (Elijah Wood).
Preparations are in order for this very adult game of that childhood night-time spring favorite, manhunt, including the dulling of cutlery and the marking of the Queen of Hearts. The Wilderness has heard them in the past. Have they still got it in them to hear back?
On the ride to the commune, Jeff (Warren Kole) tries to convey to his only daughter, Callie, (Sarah Desjardins) the gravity of living as a fugitive. With doing time out of the question, the screws are really being tightened on him to find answers to questions he doesn’t even know exist. He opts for an alternate route to the commune.
Detectives Kevyn (Alex Wyndham) and Matt (John Reynolds) infiltrate Lottie’s hideaway, stumbling across Walter and Callie, respectively. One of the officers is knocked the fuck out and shot the fuck up, and the other is bestowed with a moral dilemma. Who is killed? To be fair, if I told you, would it matter? The way of death was callously out of character, not who was killed.
Out in the wilderness, Coach Ben (Steven Krueger) arrives at the carving station only to take in Shauna’s knife skills on display. This is way too much for him. He runs into Natalie, who fesses up to her belonging among the savagery of the cabin because of her inactivity to save a life outside of her own.
In Javi’s tree, Ben attempts to get a fire going. At the cabin, Shauna arrives with Javi, complete with the heart intact. Shauna looks at Travis. He offers up Javi’s whittled animal and proceeds to consume it with a heavy heart. The lifeblood has been restored through circuitry completion. The meat is clean. Misty brings up some for Lottie, but something’s weighing on her. Is this really what the Wilderness wants?
As Buffy Sainte-Marie’s trotting lyrics set the stage for a night hunt, the girls gather around the campfire for one last tale, one last chance to look each other in the eyes and know the bond is stronger than the flesh that houses it.
Shauna wants to know how long until help arrives. Misty reveals she and her inadvertent plus one had it covered. Lottie arrives ready to kick things off. Callie stumbles upon Matt. She’s saved from a fatal mistake with a buzz from Kevyn, compliments of Walter. It did what it was supposed to on its end: instilling fear in the Detective about his partner.
At the campfire, Lottie takes the dreaded Queen card and shuffles it to its rightful place, somewhere between unbridled chaos and sheer probability. Everybody’s 90 minutes is up. We’ve crossed into the temporal do-or-die zone of Stoppage Time. This ain’t no damn scrimmage either. When “it” plays for keeps, coming up empty only means the gut-wrenching dread is prolonged for a spell longer. This continues until Shauna pulls the winner.
The squad masks up. There’s no bargaining, there’s no two ways about it. Shauna calls a time out to lampshade the absurdity in her potential last moments on earth. The Wilderness doesn’t have time for bargaining, and with that, the hunt is on.
Matt discovers Kevyn in the trunk of their vehicle, but before he could spring into action putting out an APB, Walter swoops in like a majestic carrion to finish the job with a few bullets. He gives Matt a choice in his story path: that of bought glory or undeserved shame.
Out in the lovely, dark, deep woods, the bestial cries of the squad fill the air until a shot fired puts it to a dead halt. Callie’s aim for Lottie’s weapon arm is true as is her fear when Lottie summarily takes an interest in her.
There’s no time for explanation, though, as “it” has arrived, according to Lottie. The psych team was called off, so the team is at the mercy not of Lottie, but rather what she implores the group to heed: the call of the wild.
Lottie is up and about in the cabin. She has the full support of her team, even though she’ll never be the same. The girls settle in for a story. Van wants to share something off the beaten path, a story of the Wilderness itself and the house that it built. Lottie claims she never wanted this role, that the wilderness chose her as the appointed go-between because she had the gift of heeding its language. That gift resides no more in her, transferred instead to the rest of the team. A new leader is called for.
Natalie’s name surfaces as the new head of the cabin. Adult Lottie indeed sees the forest for the trees and hears its inescapable death knell of inevitability. Every single person standing before her has the wild within, Natalie especially. “Doomcoming” (also the 9th episode) had seen its first coronation, so who is Natalie to deny the mantel of a leader?
As Nouvelle Vague’s dreamy rendition of “The Killing Moon” flares up, the team takes turns in paying respect to their new Queen. Van accepts her as a superior, as does Taissa. Travis lays his undying fealty to his Queen before her. Lastly, though belabored, Shauna throws her support behind a fellow midfielder.
It’s too late. Even Lisa (Nicole Maines) holding up the crew at gunpoint isn’t slowing down the biorhythm of the Wilderness. Natalie isn’t giving her friend acceptable answers, so Misty answered for her Queen. She nails her bestie with a spike of something lethal, resulting in an “accidental suicide”. The irony is not lost on me.
This causes Natalie to black out and recede into an alternate reality where she’s the only passenger on the flight. As the unmistakable first notes of “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” reverberate, we soak in Natalie’s rage. The blood she’s spilled on the field, the blood she’s spilled in the theater of the wilderness, and the blood she’s spilled making good on one last thing. In a callback to Javi, the team can do nothing but bear witness to the horror of the Wilderness beckoning one of its own back into the loam.
All parties need to call it a night. Walter kills in order to protect Misty; meanwhile, Misty stands accused of just being a killer. Jeff is reunited with his family, and a fire was put out. It’s of no consolation. A bigger one will arise anyway.
Taissa assures Lottie that though she’s headed back to the Happy House; she and Van will visit. Lottie knows the Wilderness is pleased, but how could they ever be? A goddamn legend has fallen for good… operative phrase: for good.
That winter in Canada, the Wilderness did provide. Even when the cabin is set ablaze by none other than Coach Ben, they were in the Wilderness’ plans all along. Echo and the Bunnymen’s haunting tune tends to underscore the grandeur of this loss, but the Wilderness was giving.
Remember what I said about not seeing the forest for the trees during a forest fire? Maybe it’s what will get these girls out of the woods yet.
Takeaway:
With the through line of Coach Ben’s mentally deleterious state this season, I was expecting him to finally find peace in the sweet release of death within this hour. What we got was an act of cowardice. Personally, I love you Coach Ben, but ya gotta fucking peace out. Your story arc this season had just enough juice for a meaningful exit. The lack of an adult would have ratcheted up the stakes for next season for a truly heavy Lord of the Flies, finishing it out strong. #Justice4Javi
To be honest, I was left a bit empty by the time the credits rolled on this. I feel adult Natalie’s electric complexity kept her compelling from the very start. Yes, self-sacrifice is noble. Yes, being taken out by Misty and not some tourist in order to complete the circuit is poetic, even. I should have gasped at a moment like this, but instead, her death didn’t feel like anything. And it should have. It should have left me without air. Her rushed friendship with Lisa scuppered any potential for our connection with Lisa. Nope. One moment she’s with us, and the next she’s not. Suddenly, our front-row tickets feel like cheap seats.
The cold fucking sting of Death should mean something in a series like this, and following the ham-fisted tackling of Detective Alex’s death, another “shrimp on the barbie” doesn’t seem all that surprising. Remember, it’s always good to raise the stakes with storytelling. Raise that fucking bar. Danceinthe fire. If the storytelling is retardant to the flame, you have the ability to move an audience. If it isn’t, like the squad’s cabin, it’s just kindling.
And Natalie was just getting sober. Ghoulish move, peeps. Ghoulish move.
3/5 Stars. #Justice4Natalie
ADDENDUM: As for the season itself, Jeff has proven to be the most compelling to me. Huge kudos to the writers and Warren Kole for taking a seemingly one-note character in lesser hands and defiantly elevating it. Everycharactershouldmatter. They’re not NPCs (Sorry NPCs.) I say this because of Akilah, Mari, Gen, Melissa, Crystal (R.I.P.), Lisa, and Javi (R.I.P.).
Javi’s (Luciano Leroux) reveal was a very welcomed surprise, but we hardly knew the bloke from a fart in the wind. He felt more like a shortcut than an earned road in the end, but the parallels of Natalie letting life slip through her hands not once but twice only galvanized my love and adoration for the character. Kudos to all, not least of which is the actress par excellence, Juliette Lewis. A cigarette-smoking spitfire to the very end with a bourbon-soaked soul, Natalie’s ticket punched was rough. I really wanted her to make it to the final whistle. So thank you, Ms. Lewis, for introducing us not to Natalie, but to Nat.
Were missteps had? Yes. Exciting as this season was, it relied upon filling too much into 9 episodes. It introduced new characters only to drop them in our lap with only vague outlines, and no fine details as to why they belong in the soup. That being said, this season felt like a cold, bitter slog. For their winter season. That’s what I loved about it. The weight of burden hangs low. However, some plot points were dropped off, like Sammy and Simone’s plight narrative in favor of spending way too much time on a teeter totter on whether the Family Sadecki gets carted off to jail. Very little hope was found this season for me. It felt like a SWANS song. I could have used every now and again a bit of sunshine in the form of someone coming out of a coma, or anything to drag me out of the sludge.
Like Laura Lee, my faith is solid like a goddamn rock. Though this desultory season’s cliffhanger was outshone by seeming disregard for Natalie’s sacrifice, its masterfully written character taught me that it’s never too late for an about-face in the 11th hour. I’m looking at you, Season Three.
Proko, a website dedicated to providing artists with lively and useful art instruction videos, has collaborated with Marvel Comics for the brand-new “Marvel’s The Art of Storytelling” course. Coming July 12th, the course is designed to help aspiring comic book creators understand what goes into making a truly marvelous comic with the aid of top Marvel professionals.
Marvel’s been delighting fans all over the world since 1939 with their timeless stories centered around bold heroes captured in breathtaking art and mesmerizing words. Now, Marvel has teamed up with Proko to pass down their collective knowledge to eager students through a comprehensive course intent on strengthening their storytelling skills to enable them to tell their own comics.
“Marvel’s The Art of Storytelling” is split into 9 lesson groups, covering essential topics such as scriptwriting, thumbnailing, character design, and coloring. Students will gain hands-on experience and valuable insights from seasoned Marvel artists and storytellers.
Lessons will be taught by the following Marvel artists:
Mark Morales – Inking
Alitha Martinez – Poses, Acting, and Performance
Mike Hawthorne – Basics of Cinematography and Perspective
Matt Wilson – Coloring for Comics
Daniel Warren Johnson – Environments
Jim Zub – Storytelling and Story Structure
Erik Gist – Comic Covers
Ryan Benjamin – Penciling
Sanford Greene – Character design bonus, Team design, and Action
Aaron Conley – Page and Panel composition
It’s a wholly unique collaboration where experts from the comics industry are teaching students in the ways that made them iconic. Proko and Marvel fuse their individual strengths into a transformative experience that encompasses Marvel’s magnificent storytelling with Proko’s informative art education to allow anyone interested in the comic book industry. Or who just wants to be able to do their own stories justice, the ability to tell captivating stories with their art!
Stan Prokopenko, the founder of Proko, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, “It’s been great to work with Marvel Comics on this course. This is the first time our students can utilize such compelling characters and stories and it really makes this course unique and special. Teaming up with their artists has let us make something unlike we’ve ever done before. Getting so many professionals in the industry to the Proko Studio has meant we could cover more than what a single instructor could bring to the table. I think it’ll really help our students make better art and better comics that will give artists the chance to bring their own stories and comics to life.”
You can now sign up for “Marvel’s The Art of Storytelling” and save 20% during the presale period. The first lesson will be released on Wednesday, July 12th. To learn more about the course, just visit here.
We’ve come to the end ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselin a journey that’s seen Midge do everything she can to seize her moment. From her earliest arrests with Lenny Bruce to tanking her relationship with Shy Baldwin, the comedian has come a long way in both building her career and burning bridges along the way. Stumbling forward, yet always arising to the occasion, in a will-she or won’t-she storyline that takes audiences on a journey of actualization: that the path to success is rarely ever straightforward.
Much like Madmen before it, this period piece of the 1960s will be talked about for years. As not only is ‘Four Minutes’ a perfect series finale, but it also ties this entire journey together, this female empowerment story, this breaking tradition, and conventions in the hopes of making those dreams a happy reality.
In this case, this season has represented it in the form of Midge’s performance on the Gordon Ford show. An impossibility all throughout the season, yet connected in an opportune moment that only comes right now. In a simple, yet impactful, stand-up routine. We break down the episode’s beats below.
FOUR MINUTES REVIEW
Tugging at the heartstrings immediately, the episode begins with Lenny Bruce doing standup. At a west coast club where he does nothing on stage but complain about arrest records from a grand jury. Untraditionally, Bruce is very much bombing on stage in complete forgetfulness on how to do a comedy bit. Dancing on stage for the audience, Bruce is showcasing his now failed career as a comedian.
What’s fantastic about this is how it plays in such a contrast to the episode set in Carnegie Hall where we’d seen Lenny Bruce perform at his prime. This opening, is also in fact, an homage to Bruce’s penultimate performance at San Francisco’s Basin Street West. It’s all done in a gesture of symbolism that shows the failures of a legend. How Lenny had become un-bookable across the US and having been pushed so far west to try, because of him being canceled by just about every talent and booking agent in the business. He’s offensive. He’s reckless. He’s Lenny Bruce. And despite how funny he was the world knew… he brought trouble.
Susie talks with him after his set but at this point the writing is on the wall. It’s an important mark in the history of the comedian, as despite trying to convince him that she can help, it’s sort of tragically obvious he knows that this is his end. It’s so terrible that even Midge refuses to see him. It’s also how we the audience know that his death would arrive shortly after this performance. The scene giving a forewarning about the dangers of success, and most of all, failure. Letting the audience see what’s a stake regarding Midge Maisel’s career.
Meanwhile, back in the present, Midge’s kids fake an illness to skip school as Abe leaves Rose to handle it to head into his writing job as at Theatre Critic . At that same time, Midge kept getting repeated phone calls, not realizing until she gets to the office that it was Mike Carr who kept calling the house. Mike tells Midge that Gordon Ford has some news and when she meets Gordon in his office, she learns to her excitement, that she’s finally getting what she wanted: an appearance on the show. At Susie’s office, Midge shares the good news with her manager. It’s obvious, that this is only happening due thanks to Hedy’s intervention from last week.
At that moment, Joel is visiting his father’s textile factory where it’s revealed, in a rather hilarious fashion, that apparently he fell in the shower. Though his wife Shirley tried to help him, she also fell, forcing the two to sit down and talk about… well, their lives. They acknowledge that he’s going to retire and sell the factory.
Over a call, Midge tells everyone she knows that she’s going to be on the show tonight as the comic. Joel tells her that it’s okay to talk about him and by now, it’s obvious she likes him there. That the two of them, while still divorced, seem to really love each other.
To prepare for the show, Midge keeps trying to change dresses. First, because she’s in a work attire, but then, because of the pigeon poop she caught on her dress while visiting Susie’s offices. When doing a dress rehearsal moments later, Midge goes over jokes with Susie, as Dinah surprises the girls by present Midge a new dress to wear for tonight.
Meanwhile, Midge is trying to reach Abe to share her news. In a heartwarming, surprising scene, Abe tells her that he thinks this is wonderful. Her father later shares the news to his wife, Rose, who has been ignoring phone calls from just about everyone not realizing the phone was left off the receiver. Finally realizing how big of a moment this is for her daughter, despite initial reluctance her and Abe try to attend though every cab in NYC seems to be taken. All for what’s a wonderfully New York external shot that films around the magnificence of the city.
Back at the Gordon Ford show at 30 Rock, it’s learned that astronaut Alan Shepard is on the show tonight along with Carol Burnett, who are two major guests in appearance. At this point we’ve established just how big a deal this is for Midge, but her hopes get suddenly dashed when Gordon Ford reveals that she is only coming on as a special interest piece as a writer.
Surprised by this, Susie starts screaming across the offices at Mike, who’ll try and see what he can do. It’s obvious Gordon changed Midge’s role at the last second out of spite, and at this point behind his behavior here and the possessiveness he had over Midge hearing out another offer for a different show, he’s proven himself to be a very jealous person. In fact, they don’t even say Midge’s name in the guest announcements during the show’s opening.
With the final show underway, we see everyone that we’ve come to love as a character in the series suddenly appear in the audience stands. Still, when she gets her moment, Gordon Ford barely gives Midge a second to speak, in a mean spirited belittling of her character. When she does showcase her witty tongue in conversation, Ford cuts to a commercial, with four minutes of show left. Which has everyone panicked as minutes of airtime meant so much more back in the day, given the larger audience reach compared to today’s times.
The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For…
And this? This is what it all comes down to… four minutes. You see, this is what the show’s been all about all along. That moment you take when given the call, whether approved or not. It’s the shot you take despite all odds working against you.
In the best scene of the series, time comes to slow… where just like that, Midge sees the microphone. Her destiny. Her moment to shine. Silence stills the room. The crowd stands in eager await with her family, friends, and loved ones there in complete approval and pride of Midge. She knows with determination what she’s supposed to do. Then, in such a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel way, she asks Susie if this is what it takes, knowing that she can do something that’ll ruin them. They know. Everyone knows. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for the entire series. The big break, beyond everything that we’ve seen her do: the spotlight in America’s number 1 talkshow. The moment millions give our girl the recognition she’s fought tooth and nail to deserve.
Midge, in the best ways, admits she’s just never been great at following rules. Then it happens. Slowly but subtly at first, a routine that’s not only funny… but culminates in the best of everything we’ve seen thus far, and more. I won’t spoil it because I think everyone who watches TV should see this moment, but it’s hard not to stress that magic of the shot. The routine. That moment that makes a career. It’s… by all means beautiful. And I think something that’ll be remembered in the hearts of TV history.
In the end, there’s just something about reaching your dreams. In overcoming all the trials. And most importantly, seeing what the struggle was for…
This is the episode that does that.
And it’s nothing shy of funny, and honestly, beautifully well done. The team behind Mrs. Maisel, Rachel Brosnahan, the cast and crew, and Amy Sherman-Paladino should feel proud. They didn’t make TV tonight. They made art.
If you’ve been enjoying the Summer of Symbiotes with its various sagas and series launches, you’ll love the upcoming peak: Death of Venomverse, a new series care of renowned Venom scribe Cullen Bunn with art byGerardo Sandoval!
Death of Venomverse centers around Carnage’s mission to become the new King in Black, but to do that he’s gotta make his way across the multiverse on a bloody rampage against any who stand in line for the throne! Gabriele Dell’Otto’s stunning Connecting Variant Covers aim to paint the perfect picture of what challenges he’ll be facing. Over the five covers, Dell’Otto’s striking images include the most notable symbiotes alongside breakout stars from Extreme Venomverse. Keep those eyes peeled or you might miss the Symbiote Six, making their debut before they cause chaos in Death of Venomverse #2!
“It’s been far too long since I’ve written any stories about Venom and company,” Bunn said in a Marvel press release. “About Eddie, about Flash, about Andi, about Carnage. This story–this completely bonkers epic–feels like the right time to throw my symbiotic hat back in the ring. Returning to a multiverse full of Venom symbiotes, maybe (but hopefully not) for the last time, I knew I had to do something big. Thus, the title—DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE–was born. Perhaps that title is a bit of a threat for our favorite symbiotes, but I promise you it is not empty! Get ready for plenty of surprises, some heartbreak, and more symbiotes than you can shake a stick at!”
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #1 (OF 5)
Written by CULLEN BUNN, DAVID MICHELINIE & TAIGAMI
Art by GERARDO SANDOVAL, JUSTIN MASON & TAIGAMI
Cover by BJÖRN BARENDS
Connecting Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
On Sale 8/2
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #2 (OF 5)
Written by CULLEN BUNN, DAVID MICHELINIE & TAIGAMI
Art by GERARDO SANDOVAL, JUSTIN MASON & TAIGAMI
Cover by BJÖRN BARENDS
Connecting Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
On Sale 8/16
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #3 (OF 5)
Written by CULLEN BUNN, DAVID MICHELINIE & TAIGAMI
Art by GERARDO SANDOVAL, JUSTIN MASON & TAIGAMI
Cover by BJÖRN BARENDS
Connecting Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
On Sale 8/30
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #4 (OF 5)
Written by CULLEN BUNN, DAVID MICHELINIE & TAIGAMI
Art by GERARDO SANDOVAL, JUSTIN MASON & TAIGAMI
Cover by BJÖRN BARENDS
Connecting Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
On Sale 9/13
DEATH OF THE VENOMVERSE #5 (OF 5)
Written by CULLEN BUNN, DAVID MICHELINIE & TAIGAMI
John Henry Irons, aka Steel, is enjoying his time in the spotlight thanks to the Dawn of DC, and the “Steel: Engineer of Tomorrow” storyline in the current Action Comics.
June 6th marks the hero’s 30th anniversary (thanks, Adventures of Superman #500), and as a special treat actor and science fiction phenom Michael Dorn will be breaking into the world of comics with a six-issue limited series: Steelworks.
You may remember Dorn as the voice of Steel in the beloved cartoon Superman: The Animated Series which means he has a good idea of who the character is, which helps as this is new territory for him. “Writing a comic book is a completely new experience for me,” said Dorn. “But working with Sami [artist Sami Basri of Catwoman, Harley Quinn fame] and seeing his art has really helped me bring the personality of John I crafted in the series to the page. I can’t wait for fans to see what we’ve got planned!”
The Metropolis of the future owes a lot to John Henry Irons, aka Steel, and his pioneering company, Steelworks, but there’s one person who isn’t into progress and instead wants to tear down everything Irons has done as the ultimate revenge.
Ain’t it always the way that when everything in life starts going great that’s when the problems start? John’s walking on sunshine lately, his personal and professional lives are finally on track, even his will-they-or-won’t-they dance with Lana Lang might be coming to a positive end. But, something’s gotta give and in this case it might be John’s superhero lifestyle: has the time come for him to retire Steel? And, if he does, who is he then? What happens to his niece, Natasha Irons and her embodiment of Steel? Still, these existential questions might be moot if Steelworks comes crumbling down…
Steelworks #1 features a main cover by Clay Mann, with variant covers by iconic Steel and Superman artist Jon Bogdanove, series artist Basri, Ariel Colón, and Héléne Lenoble, plus a PRIDE month variant cover by Joshua “Sway” Swaby. The debut issue is available for pre-order now; check your local comic book shop for availability and cover options.
It’s not often I stop to catch my breath while reading about comic book characters. But that’s exactly what happened today when I discovered that the one and only Ms. Marvel will soon be gone from the Marvel universe. Her heroic run will be cut dramatically short when she makes a heroic sacrifice in Amazing Spider-Man #26 this May 31st, though the story of her legacy continues in July with Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel.
Now, as a longtime comic fan, I know that comic book heroes have a tendency not to stay dead. Whether entire universes get reconstructed to bring them back or they find a new form to inhabit, they’re usually not gone in any permanent sense. But if the writers are smart, they’ll still find a way to make that sacrifice evocative and game changing. That said, about the last hero I wanted to see put through this crucible is the plucky, loving and wonderful Kamala Khan. Especially since her MCU debut goes to the theaters this November in The Marvels.
As for Fallen Friend, here’s some key details:
In the grand comics condition of other notable character deaths such as Captain America, Doctor Strange, and the original Captain Marvel, FALLEN FRIEND: THE DEATH OF MS. MARVEL will be a crucial chapter in the Marvel mythos and serve as both a farewell for Ms. Marvel and a glimpse of her death’s impact on all of Marvel’s heroes.
The heart of the Marvel Universe has stopped beating. Now join the other heroes of the Marvel Universe, the creators of Ms. Marvel, and comic fans everywhere in honoring and remembering one of Marvel’s brightest stars!
Remember to pick up your copy of Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel this July 12th. And keep your fingers crossed this isn’t the end of the one and only Ms. Marvel!
FALLEN FRIEND: THE DEATH OF MS. MARVEL #1 – 75960620702200111
Written by G. WILLOW WILSON, SALADIN AHMED & MARK WAID
Art by HUMBERTO RAMOS, TAKESHI MIYAZAWA & ANDREA DI VITO
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
On Sale 7/12
I used to really love Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics back in the early 2000s. Brian Michael Bendis (and many other talented writers) not only brought witty and wordy style to these reimagined stories, but they really made fans care about some of their favorite heroes in a whole new way. Now, one of the last remnants of that Ultimate universe is wreaking havoc in the mainline universe. And their name is The Maker, a twisted echo of the one and only Reed Richards.
Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch are taking the concept of the Ultimate comics and turning them on their head with the Maker’s Ultimate Invasion. Starting this June 14th, he not only defeats the Illuminati but reshapes the Marvel universe in his own twisted image.
Here’s what Hickman has to say about the opportunity:
“[Revisiting the idea of Ultimate Comics] couldn’t be replicating or revisiting what Bryan did in the original Ultimates — creating a streamlined, modernized version that would eventually become the spine of the MCU. And it certainly couldn’t be what I did, which was a final chapter of a pre-existing universe,” Hickman explained to Entertainment Weekly. “We also thought the very idea of Ultimate Comics needed to be inverted from what the original universe was — we wanted this to be something that could really only exist in the comic space: a new way of thinking about, and enjoying, a new version of the Marvel Universe. I’m pretty happy to say that it feels like we’ve accomplished those things and we’re very excited for everyone to get to read it.”
Be sure and check out the trailer for Ultimate Invasion below. And stay tuned for more Marvel stories.
What is a conductor anyway? Musician, interpreter, dancer, magician? The funky person in formalwear who waves a stick in front of an orchestra?
In Playing with Fire: Jeanette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting, two-time Oscar-winning director Allan Miller explores this question by painting a vivid portrait of a woman who spends her life bringing the subliminal secrets of music to life for us mere mortals to hear. Told at a young age that no orchestra would hire a woman conductor — and rejected by an actual orchestra on the basis of sex alone — conducting prodigy Jeannette Sorrell went on to form her own chamber orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, to bring Baroque music to life on period instruments, then wow the classical music world with her talents.
Jeannette Sorrell
Wait, but what is Baroque music? If you watch any kind of TV or film, you’ve certainly heard it — that old time-y soundtrack to elite functions, often used in contemporary media to denote prissiness. Violins and harpsichords and oboes. The music of Western Europe from about 1600 to 1750. Bach, Handel, Monteverdi…
It can be difficult for contemporary audiences to understand the passion and subtleties that lie behind the precisely performed melodies, shimmering over harmonies engineered for mellifluence. Playing with Fire takes a deep dive into how those who’ve dedicated their lives to this style of music experience it — how a melodic passage can represent climbing onto a horse, or how a chord can be as ominous as the slamming of a dungeon door. The film often presents Sorrell’s explanation of what she hears in the notes, then steps back to give the audience a chance to hear what she hears.
Jeannette Sorrell conducts Apollo’s Fire
The documentary follows Sorrell as she rehearses, performs, and teaches, showing the process and mindset behind what it takes to look at a page of black-and-white ink and transform it into sounds an audience can understand. How she speeds up or slows down the orchestra through her expressive yet precisely timed gestures to breathe life into a piece. How she uses storytelling and metaphors to help her musicians and students understand her vision.
The power of her conducting becomes especially clear when contrasted with the relatively rough movements of the novices she teaches — a moment that, coming late in the film, highlights her talents by showing how awkward and at times robotic a less experienced conductor can appear in comparison. Through this and other subtle techniques, the documentary shows what it wants to tell, giving the audience a chance to see for themselves what a good conductor can do.
While Sorrell does give a few personal anecdotes in her interviews, and a few moments are dedicated to the business of classical music, Playing with Fire primarily focuses on her art — how she approaches conducting, what she’s trying to get out of the score. Those already familiar with classical music will find the film a fascinating look at a conductor’s process. Those less familiar, however, may find it difficult to follow at times, as Sorrell enthusiastically rattles off Italian music terms with nary an definition in sight.
It’s difficult for anyone to describe exactly what a conductor does because there are so many nuanced actions, so many undefinable pieces that go into turning the transcendent into reality. That makes the difference between a computer playing pitches louder or softer and a true musician giving that same set of pitches, a soul. Through its portrait of Sorrell, a uniquely gifted and uncommonly dynamic conductor, Playing with Fire proves that it’s up to the challenge.
I’ll admit that Agatha Harkness wasn’t really on my radar until I finally watched WandaVision. I’d normally avoid spoilers, but here we go, since it was the first Marvel show on Disney+ a couple of years ago.
Kathryn Hahn was amazing in her portrayal of the delightfully witchy Agatha Harkness, and now I’m eager to see more of the character. This is great, since starting in Scarlet Witch Annual #1 she’s up to no good with something called the Contest of Chaos.
Written by Stephanie Phillips, Contest of Chaos starts this August as Agatha pits heroes against each other. Here are the details you need to know:
Recently rejuvenated and more powerful than ever, Agatha has more stake in the future of the Marvel Universe than ever before, and readers and characters alike are about to see just how committed she is to reshaping Marvel magic! The drama kicks off in next month’s SCARLET WITCH ANNUAL #1, a CONTEST OF CHAOS prelude issue, by Scarlet Witch writer Steve Orlando and artist Carlos Nieto. After stealing something dark and dangerous from her former pupil, Agatha unleashes her corruption on various unsuspecting heroes!
So who, you might be asking, is she pitting against each other? Here are the matchups. Spidey will be against Wolverine; Iron Man against Storm; Ghost Rider versus the Human Torch; Moon Knight versus Taegukgi; Ghost-Spider against White Fox; Venom versus Deadpool and Captain Marvel versus Cyclops. Then all the stories will be brought to a close in the Contest of Chaos Finale.
As someone that has grown up with comic book characters, this is hardly the first time I’ve placed bets on who would win in a fight, and I’m eager to see how Contest of Chaos pans out. Be sure to check it out starting this August.
SCARLET WITCH ANNUAL #1 – “Contest of Chaos” Prelude – 75960620691900111
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by CARLOS NIETO
Cover by RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
On Sale 6/21
SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1
Written by STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by R.B. SILVA
On Sale 8/9
IRON MAN ANNUAL #1
Written by JASON LOO & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by DAVID CUTLER & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by FRANCESCO MOBILI
On Sale 8/16
FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1
Written by ZAC GORMAN & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by ALAN ROBINSON & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by FRANCESCO MANNA
On Sale 8/23
MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL #1
Written by JED MACKAY & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by CREEES LEE & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
On Sale 8/30
SPIDER-GWEN ANNUAL #1
Written by KARLA PACHECO & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by ROSI KÄMPE & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by R1CO
On Sale 9/6
VENOM ANNUAL #1
Written by ALYSSA WONG & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by SERGIO DÁVILA & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by BEN HARVEY
On Sale 9/13
X-MEN ANNUAL #1
Written by PAUL ALLOR & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by ALESSANDRO MIRACOLO & ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by JOSHUA CASSARA
On Sale 9/20
AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
Written by STEPHANIE PHILLIPS
Art by ALBERTO FOCHE
Cover by PACO MEDINA
On Sale 9/27
There’s something to the age-old adage that pride is one’s biggest downfall. This episode embraces that exactly. Last week, was a heartbreaking moment that saw Midge miss out on the opening for Jack Parr. With the booker really not all that interested in Midge.
If it’s not obvious by now, all of these episodes play on sentiment. How these characters came to be and the reasons, we sort of fell in love with these characters to begin with. It’s a re-contextualization of everything that we’ve thus far seen.
In this episode, the funniest and surprisingly most heartwarming storyline is Abe’s. Who’s been visiting Ethan’s school repeatedly, not for the kid’s sake, but in asking for Esther to be there in school. Granddad is convinced she’s the genius he was looking for in the family (and she is) and is even trying to entice her to read,Being and Nothingness. This is hilarious, as it’s not a light read, having read it myself, and is the last thing you’d want a child to soak in at an early age. Rose suggests leaving candy inside the book to try and entice Esther to read it.
Again, while funny, the Abe arc ends with… what might be his moment in the entire series. It’s a time of self-reflection as the series is drawing to an end. A dinner with men, of about Abe’s age, arguing the same old crap. Abe realizes… after numerous drinks… that he was wrong. They were wrong. Life… is wrong.
There’s a monologue about Abe realizing that at the age of 64, he’s unsettled. Finding himself at a crossroads as the world keeps changing. It’s men that had blindness—controlling and meddling so much in everything. How at the end of your life, everything that surrounds you is just piles. Foreign piles of junk and trinkets of no meaning. See, Abe admits how he was wrong and did the wrong thing for both of his children. He doesn’t see that Midge, the daughter that he never took seriously, became an unfathomable success. How she did so with no help from anyone but her. That he is in fact, dumbfounded by this strength and fearlessness he never had. Thus finally giving Midge the approval he for so long neglected.
Midge meanwhile, spends an afternoon with friends from Bryn Mawr college. Gossiping about old times and old teachers, they celebrate Midge’s writing job at Gordon Ford. When asked why she does it—she reveals it’s because… well, she loves it. That’s really the only reason why. As the group continues to think about old times, we can’t help but feel the series is coming to an end here. Her cohorts, while proud, all think that this is an amazing chapter of her life. One that that they envy. But as we know, it’s a bit of a rocky period in Midge’s life… and worst, our girl refuses to see it their way. She does not want this to be a chapter. She wants standup comedy to be… life!
Back at the Gordon Ford show, Gordon’s wife Hedy had negotiated a deal that got them the one and only, Princess Margaret to agree to attend the show. With British royalty arriving in a rare public appearance on TV, they agree to go all hands on deck to create a sketch for the princess. It goes off without a hitch and even has a chance of getting them an Emmy, with a funny cameo from Moishe and Shirley in the audience attendance again.
There’s a really good quote in the episode, in a scene set in Grand Central station. It’s where Midge complains about having to move two steps forward and three steps back. It’s very endemic of the episode. The thing is, yes we love the journey, but the truth is… we’re also kind of feeling stuck just like her character. The truth is we can’t always get the chance of what we want and sometimes, asking for it isn’t enough…
Which is sort of the perfect setup for what’s to come in the series finale next week. Stay tuned.
Mari (Alexa Barajas) and Misty (Sammi Hanratty) assist Lottie (Courtney Eaton) in urinating to troubling results. Shauna’s one kick to the back had enough force to bullseye the kidney. She is a soccer player, after all. Mari doesn’t seem to grasp or care about the severity of Lottie’s state, but her breaking down crying tells me that there’s a soupçon of guilt attached to Lottie’s state, as mind harks back to the beating along with the Queen of Hearts chore card. I’d wager to say anything with the eyes crossed out can’t be a prophecy of untold riches.
What if the theories are correct and Mari is stacking the deck in her favor? What if they found out? Nobody is safe, not even Akilah (Nia Sondaya), who’s placed what waning sanity she had left in what turns out to be a desiccated rodent husk, rightfully freaking the crap out of Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and all present.
Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) informs her girls of the news. At this moment, only Taissa (Tawny Cypress), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), and Misty (Christina Ricci) are privy to what’s truly at stake, but for Shauna, her nuclear family takes precedence over her sisters-in-arms. Van’s (Lauren Ambrose) hunger for answers is only sated by a plate of the cold, hard truth: Jeff knows.
Lisa (Nicole Maines) and a few acolytes wander by as the girls grow accusatory, forcing Lottie (Simone Kessell) to move the dispute to more intimate environs. Van’s leery of it all, not least of which, the one person she thought she knew best.
Gen (Mya Lowe) and Melissa (Jenna Burgess) have also grown side eyes when Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) aids in Lottie’s recovery. Though Van (Liv Hewson) knows how important Lottie is, Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) seems to think her passing wouldn’t be the worst thing. Ben (Steven Krueger) agrees. She fears Lottie’s obtained too much sway over the cabin, Javi included, having caught him bowing to a glyph tree.
With Akilah not yet able to consume her friend and the belt soup (not a typo) looking dire, Mari once again hears the dripping and what’s more, Taissa now hears it. Mari is led to hysterics, seeing thick, syrupy blood seep through the only wall in the house harboring sharp instruments. It’s an illusion. Van chalks it up to being famished, but the appetite for what is the operative question.
Back in town, Detectives Kevyn (Alex Wyndham) and Matt (John Reynolds) are at the threshold of the Sadecki domicile, search warrant in hand. Callie (Sarah Desjardins) covers her own, recording Matt, slinging accusations, but the guy doesn’t seem flappable. Kevyn’s attempt at cracking Jeff (Warren Kole) isn’t moving fast enough, so Matt turns up the heat with photographs of Adam’s corpse. Pictures of limbs severed with surgical precision and cold-blooded intent. We’re officially wading into “I want a lawyer” territory so… mission accomplished? I mean the seed of doubt was planted. All it has to do is take up root.
In the Sharing Shack, Shauna reminds her teammates that no stone will be thrown in this glass house. All those accounted for have reasons placing them in the current predicament. Misty stirs the stewing, revealing Tai hired Jessica Roberts to tail them lest they spill the beans for the right cash. She’s out of the picture. Is Misty in the clutch once again? Her team doesn’t seem to think so, growing censorious of her. The verbal game of juggling goes back and forth before Randy’s name-dropping of Jeff during an “FBI” investigation raises only one flag and it’s looking mighty yellow.
A romantic evening for Walter (Elijah Wood) and his colossal jigsaw puzzle is interrupted and congratulations are in order for him at the Bureau of Citizen Detectives forum. Somebody’s posted the breaking news of Adam’s remains. He springs into action, contacting the Wiskayok PD before heading off for Misty. What was in that email? I’d hedge my bets on “two truths and a lie”.
That night, Jeff is rattled by a bad dream of his beloved transforming from a pensive lover to a literal killing machine. Along with Misty’s dream sequence, the surrealism in this season is giving me serious Twin Peaks vibes. Downstairs, Callie’s nursing a beer, wrought to the core at the prospect of being a waking nightmare, like her mother. It’s time for Jeff to open up the storybook on a tale of a new mother and the devastation to follow.
Travis (Kevin Alves) initiates an apology to Natalie. At this stage, there’s no sustenance in harboring grudges. Misty is reminded of this when Lottie requests her consumption. She’s good with the circle of life remaining unbroken in their alpine ecosystem until help arrives. Finding this unacceptable, Taissa rallies the team around a more unbiased, sterile mode of selection; something that won’t break the orchestral chaos of Nature itself.
Presently, the game of hot potato is rekindled when Shauna asserts all would have done the same, especially Misty or Taissa. Shauna’s got nowhere to run though, admitting to generating bigger fires when attempting to snuff them out. She doesn’t mince words admitting she would’ve killed the blackmailer had it been anybody else. Natalie’s desire to further pull the skin back on honesty is only shot down. Lottie now knows the truth lies not in therapy. With something bigger at play, she shows her metaphorical hand by sharing her story.
This force uniting them requires something. Lottie’s seen this in her visions of the cabin offering one of them for her, an arbitration exercised through the chore deck. Momentary sighs of relief fill the cabin before one sudden gasp sucks the air right out of it. Natalie’s pulled the Queen Is Dead card and Jackie’s necklace is bestowed unto her before Shauna can proceed to slit her throat from behind. I mean, come on! A true friend will stab you in the front. With tension at its zenith, Travis tackles Shauna, leaving Nat mere seconds to escape. “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” begins its drone as if it were a war cry. The hunt is on.
Now, grown Lottie acknowledges fucked up shit transpired, but is convinced this spirit in the woods that resides in all of them requires payment. Settling the bill according to Lottie can be achieved through self-sacrifice without prejudice: a one-in-six chance of painless death. She knows living’s not a carnival, just a sad circus. According to her, “it chooses” and even with a reshuffle of the proverbial deck, something will be fed. It’s a system they all were architects of. It’s the yardstick by which they have thus far survived.
Armed with a portable map, modified crutches, and a mind-seared picture of Javi’s sketch, Ben finds Javi’s ‘friend’. He notices steam rising from the ancient trunk before uncovering an entre. Proceeding in, what lay before him is Javi’s former palace, with enough room for a cozy little fire and, oh I don’t know, an Uruguayan rugby team?
Javi (Luciano Leroux) grabs Nat, leading her to his hideout as Taissa tunes in to her surroundings to locate the escaped sacrifice. The only problem is that though the girls chose by probability, Nature operates on the principle of chaos. There is poetry to Natalie having extended life slip through her fingertips through a hole in the ice not once but twice. This time she notices and does not fight it. None of them do. They just “give in” to instinct, becoming one with the Wilderness, accepting its gorgeous cruelty. A Bob Ross masterpiece this shit show surely ain’t.
Takeaway:
As a setup kick to the finale and its ultimate goal, this episode gave only to take away. Much like in The Wilderness, the balance of the plot relied on mankind’s folly of emotion for another. To their environs, there is zero difference between Javi and the elk. Though as the watcher, it was yet another tragedy bummer, I was also accepting. This is a great example of the audience’s interaction with the program. We feel as if we were right by their side, holding their hand and having their six, if only through the TV screen. That level of engagement is truly lightning in a bottle.
I feel next episode, Coach Ben’s story will come to an end. I totally buy him jumping at the opportunity to save lives if the added bonus was the risk of death, the sole, but heroic secret he could go to the grave with. If this is the intention, the poetic use of irony isn’t going unnoticed.
As for the mammoth tree trunk, I’m going to throw my hat into the Conspiracy Ring and say that due to the size and living ‘characteristics’ of this trunk, this is Nature in some form. It can hear and see all. If the smaller trees possibly represent her children, how many are there in the end? Is the Wilderness trying to both rid the invaders and save them? Did they disturb some very sacred and special piece of land?
Speaking of theories, we do find a harkening back to the Pilot, with vague glimpses as to who the “pit girl” may be and who it surely isn’t. My call is the season finale only welcomes more death. Javi’s countenance around the cabin lent a ‘warmer’ atmosphere for a few episodes, but his presence didn’t feel natural to me. This is smart, as we’re being more enveloped in the biggest character of the entire series, the great outdoors itself.
All I can say heading into the season finale is I’m beginning to think “I hear the wilderness and it hears me.”
One month later and Dan Slott’s Spider-Boy has become a blockbuster collectible and sensation with Spider-Man #7. The series has been awarded multiple-second printings as fans are going crazy about the collectible and the character. Now, Spider-Boy’s origins will finally be looked at by creators Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, who will begin to weave their own Spider-Boy tale with EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #3. Set to release on June 21st.
To celebrate, Marvel has of course unveiled a series of variant covers, along with some collectible virgin ratio cover by Humberto Ramos. There will also be a cover by Mark Bagley, the artist behind Spider-Boy’s first appearance.
“The all-new, all-different Spider-Boy of the 616: He’s got strange new spider-powers, secret ties to dark corners of Spider-Man lore, and a story that’s all his own… that is right about to begin!” Slott promises regarding the kid’s upcoming adventure.
It’s nifty to see that Spider-Boy is in fact, not an alter at all from the Spider-Verse comics. Whatever is happening, it seems Spider-Boy has apparently claimed to have teamed up with everyone in the 616 despite no one remembering who he is.
You can check out the comic variant covers below.
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #3 (OF 4) – 75960620643800111
Written by DAN SLOTT & DAVID BETANCOURT
Art by HUMBERTO RAMOS & JULIAN SHAW
Variant Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS – 75960620643800331
Virgin Variant Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS – 75960620643800333
On Sale 6/21
EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #3 (OF 4) – 75960620643800111
Written by DAN SLOTT & DAVID BETANCOURT
Art by HUMBERTO RAMOS & JULIAN SHAW
Ratio Variant Cover(1:200) by MARK BAGLEY – 75960620643800334
In a surprising move announced by Polygon, Marvel’s Thor comics run has a relaunch set for this August with writer Al Ewing. Known for his critically acclaimed Immortal Hulk run, Ewing will be penning a similar concept series with Immortal Thor #1, featuring art by Martín Cóccolo and a collectible cover by Alex Ross upon the printing of issue #1.
The comic is set to actually pick up from where Thor’s story left off: with Mjolnir back and on the throne of Asgard. The solicitation kicks off with an empowering little quote: “When injustice grips the Earth and ancient powers bring down the sky, he fights for those who cannot – and when the tale is done, we will know what that cost him. This is the story of THE IMMORTAL THOR.”
In the interview with Polygon, Ewing revealed, “Doors are indeed opening, buried secrets are waiting to be unearthed, and ancient gods – elder gods, if you will – are coming to bring trial and sorrow to Earth, Asgard, and Thor personally, and he’s going to need to be his absolute highest self to face them. And even then, he might not make it through. The omens are sinister. The storm is at the gate.”
On working on the book, artist Martín Cóccolo adds, “Even though I’m the artist of the project, I’m enjoying being surprised by the legend that is Al Ewing every time I turn a page of script and not fully know where the story is going. So, both as the artist and a fan, I tell you let Al cook and I don’t think you’ll regret it. And all I can assure you, dear reader, is that I’m making Al’s story as beautiful and as powerful as I possibly can.”
There is a lot of hype regarding this upcoming Thor run. Al Ewing has even gone on to compare this upcoming series to the New Testament, while calling his Immortal Hulk run, The Old, all in Biblical proportion terms. Known for bridging the gap between old and new, Ewing’s run on Immortal Hulk had the titular character face off against a cavalcade of body horrors while reintroducing Peter David’s beloved character, Joe Fixit.
Hopefully, the Immortal Thor run does well, as the most popular titles thus far by Walt Simonson, J. Michael Straczynski, and Jason Aaron are nothing to be shy about, having reinvented the character with such gems as Thor’s Ragnarok conclusion, along with the introduction of Mighty Thor’s Jane Foster. Will Al Ewing be able to top some of Thor’s biggest storylines? Time can only tell but given the huge success of Immortal Hulk… probably.
Announced via Marvel’s weekly podcast, it’s been revealed that the mystery writer replacing Chip Zdarsky after his critically acclaimed run is, in fact, beloved Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel writer, Saladin Ahmed. The rumors have been circulating for the past few months as Zdarsky is moving on to DC to write Batman on July 5th.
Ahmed will be taking over with a relaunch of a new Daredevil #1 this September 13th, with covers by Joohn Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz. You can read Marvel’s press release about it below and check out the covers for Daredevil #1 by Romita Jr. and Daredevil#14 by Marco Checchetto.
Today on Marvel’s original podcast series “This Week in Marvel,” host Ryan “Agent M” Penagos spoke with Chip Zdarsky and Saladin Ahmed about what’s next for Matt Murdock in the Marvel Universe. Following Chip’s acclaimed multi-year run, an all-new ongoing DAREDEVIL series from Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder will begin this September.
On the podcast, the DAREDEVIL writers discussed their respective runs, with the final issue #14 of Zdarsky’s run on sale in August leading right into the new DAREDEVIL #1 the following month. In the upcoming series, Ahmed and Kuder are ready to take Matt Murdock on a knockout of an adventure! Where does Elektra fit into all of this? What is the future of Hell’s Kitchen? Romance! Intrigue! And of course ACTION! All delivered in the Mighty Marvel Manner!
On writing the new book, Ahmed says, “I wanted to only take this job on if I felt like I had a new, unique take on Matt and on Hell’s Kitchen. And so that’s at the center of this… him and his world, but it’s the Marvel Universe. What I’ve really enjoyed in talking with other editors, other offices, is finding ways through these first couple of arcs we have planned to keep this centered on Matt, keep this centered on his people, in his world, but to bring (in a very organic and surprising fun way) some familiar Marvel figures that I think are going to blow people’s mind when they pop up on the page!”
When asked what he will miss the most about writing Daredevil, Zdarsky said, “Working with Marco, honestly, and Matt Wilson on colors. It was such a joy having those pages come in almost every day. It feels like the right time to leave. You know, when you finish the story, it’s kind of when you should get off the stage. But it’s my longest run on anything in comics, and it will probably end up being my longest running anything in comics because of the kind of character that you just want to hold onto for as long as you can.”
The king is out, long live the king! Welcome Eve L. Ewing, award-winning author behind Ironheart, Monica Rambeau: Photon, and Chris Allen, the artist of Marvel Stormbreaker (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), tackling a new ongoing Black Panther in the wake of John Ridley’s renowned run. This series will follow T’Challa’s determination to continue serving his people even after his exile from the throne. Despite being stripped of his royal birthright and forced on the lam, T’Challa isn’t quitting on his country, instead, he’s resigned himself to a life of covert contributions operating out of Wakanda city buried deep in the jungles of his homeland. A city that shares a name with his father: Birnin T’Chaka. Now no better than a common vigilante, the Black Panther remains committed to protecting the Wakandan people of this neglected city from crime. Unfortunately, that won’t be as easy as it seems when he discovers new challenging forces like deeply ingrained crime families, and unimaginable corruption.
For a first look check out the new Black Panther #1 trailer with exclusive artwork. See the streets of Birnin T’Chaka for yourself! A city that’s both beautiful and deadly, where the Black Panther sets his sights on the criminals and their network, along with a new foil, Beisa! This attractive thief is all too happy to show T’Challa how her city really works, and fans will get to see the brutal lesson right in the debut issue!
The trailer also premieres Black Panther’s stunning new costume design by series artist Chris Allen.
“I am so excited for people to see this character design! T’Challa is going to be looking really different. It’s much more edgy and kind of homespun. It’s not so sleek and slick. Not giving too much away from the story, he’s trying not to be seen. He’s kind of working incognito,” Ewing said during an appearance on The TODAY Show. “What I can say, honestly, is that we will be seeing Wakanda in a way that we have not seen it ever before.”
`
BLACK PANTHER #1 – 75960620503500111
Written by EVE L. EWING
Art by CHRIS ALLEN
Inks by CHRIS ALLEN & CRAIG YEUNG
Colors by JESUS ABURTOV
Cover by TAURIN CLARKE
Women of Marvel Variant Cover by ELENA CASAGRANDE & JORDIE BELLAIRE – 75960620503500121
Design Variant Cover by CHRIS ALLEN – 75960620503500118
Hidden Gem Variant Cover by STEVE RUDE & CHRIS O’HALLORAN – 75960620503500116
Variant Cover by MATEUS MANHANINI – 75960620503500117
Variant Cover by MR GARCIN – 75960620503500191
Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG – 75960620503500161
Stormbreakers Variant Cover by CHRIS ALLEN & GURU-eFX; – 75960620503500181
Howard the Duck Variant Cover by SANFORD GREENE – 75960620503500151
