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bringbackwendellvaughn · 3 years

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Some Light Christmas Fun

i saw a bunch of my posts had been flagged as inappropriate by tumblr and appealed all of them so they now can show up. even the one about my obsession with psylocke. one i couldn’t appeal though (because it was a reblog) was a reply trying to identify all the characters depicted in The Raft as candidates for the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #155.

So now I am going to repeat some of what I said, add some more thoughts and try and identify them all.

This is actually one of my favourite past-times working out what stock background space fillers could reasonably be established characters. Let’s be honest, most of these were probably not meant to be anyone and were just people Kev Walker drew to fill up a room. But, within the story itself, they all have to be established super-villains who would be considered as applicants for the Thunderbolts. For identifying these, there are a few things to refer to here - the characters who are ultimately chosen to join the team are probably there, the next issue identifies some of these people who don’t make the cut, there was a poll featuring a vote for who you wanted to join the team (Shocker won, i voted for Madame Masque), some of the characters appear in other issues of Thunderbolts, some star in a preview story in Enter the Heroic Age and then in Heroic Age: Villains, Steve Rogers proposes several inmates of the Raft as potential future recruits for the Thunderbolts - some shown here.

1. Bison (Billy Kitson) or Man-Bull (William Taurens) Bison is a Thunderstrike enemy who later showed up on Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil in Kurt Busiek’s run on Thunderbolts. What we can see here is that it is an orange furred man, but the face cannot be seen. I am inclined to say that this would be Bison since Steve Rogers recommended him as a potential addition to the Thunderbolts in Heroic Age: Villains. This would be slightly off-model for him and it seems we should see his horns poking out here, but Bison is confirmed as being at The Raft and has that reason for being there. Alternatively it might be Man-Bull who is later shown to be at the Raft in some issues of Hercules. Then there is also Griffin (John Horton) who was a poll choice but like Bison’s horns, we should be able to see his wings, so I am definitively removing him as a possibility here..

2. Shocker (Herman Schultz) Shocker joins the team next issue and is depicted with this hair. I’d lock him in as a definite.

3. ? We don’t have much to go on here besides a sort of faux-hawk hairdo. I’ve ran down the list of who could be there and turned up squat. Maybe in prison, Badd Axe grew a mohawk style. Badd Axe was another of the characters Steve Rogers proposed as a possible team candidate. Blizzard is confirmed as being there next issue - maybe he shaved his head like this to try and look more tough in prison.

4. Bloodshed (Wyndell Dickinson) Bloodshed is a Spider-Man baddie and another member of Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil (there’s a lot of them here). He’s apparently grown a goatee but I’d be confident to lock him in as another definite here. He was another of Steve’s candidates from Heroic Age: Villains.

5. Grizzly (Max Markham) I am a bit obsessed with shoving Grizzly into the background of this run. It’s not without precedent, he is depicted in Enter The Heroic Age as being at the Raft, Steve Rogers nominates him as a team member and before this run he was a full-fledged member of the team. This character design mostly suits being Grizzly, he’s the right size and has his soul-patch. The one thing stopping me from saying it’s definitely him is he appears to have some form of faceplate on him. Maybe this was an inking or colouring error? Maybe - just maybe - it is bandages from when Ant-Man climbed into his ear and beat up his ear-drums in Thunderbolts #143. That’s really reaching, especially considering Grizzly had appeared since without his ears being wrapped, but I really want to say this is Grizzly.

6. ? This character receives a fair amount of dialogue bullying pre-transformation Mr. Hyde in the next issue. Possibly trying to deflect their own lack of power by bullying Mr. Hyde when he thinks that Mr. Hyde is a weak timid guy worse off than him. We have a very generic black-haired guy who would bully a weakling, so who could it be?

7. Mr. Hyde (Calvin Zabo) This is kind of how he is depicted next issue when he is in his non-Mr. Hyde form. A small man with black hair cropped at the sides. He is also shown in front of 6 in a line and is bullied by him for looking weak and nerdy. Here he is shown stood in front of 6 again, so this would make sense as being Mr. Hyde.

8. Amazon (Katrina van Horn) or Titania (Mary MacPherran) I want to say this is Amazon, formerly Man-Killer, as she is an ex-Thunderbolt who despite only being on the team briefly always kept showing up in the book. She was again recommended as a possible Thunderbolt in Heroic Age: Villains and while her hair has grown a bit longer here, this would make sense as being her. I’d still hazard a bit to say lock this one in though because, alternatively, it could just as easily be Titania who is seen as an inmate in Thunderbolts #144.

9. ? This one has been bugging me for a while. I so know this character. Has black vertical lines on the eyes, right? Or it might be Armadillo (Antonio Rodriguez) which someone seems to have identified as being in this issue on terrible website ComicVine (I think they just confused 11 with Armadillo though). He’d be a good choice to be here though.

10. ? There is a few characters this could be. Next issue depicts a character with a hairless head with a less human face which might have been the intention here but it’s in the back so never required this detail. If we’re going with that one, the guess would be Headlok (Murray Singleton). At the other end, if you want to say he’s wearing a mask and again it’s the result of lack of detailed, Scarecrow (Ebeneezer Laughton) - next issue shows his mask as being biege. He was a poll choice and actually receives dialogue next issue.

11. Blood Brother The survivor of the two Blood Brothers, we saw this character in Enter The Heroic Age and in Thunderbolts #156 he is identified and given dialogue. He is depicted speaking to 6 and Mr. Hyde (7) next issue. There’s no area of debate this isn’t Blood Brother.

12. ? Short guy with long hair. This seems like it could be an easy one but I’m coming up empty. Dare I suggest this could be Grizzly again?

13. ? A tall woman with nice black hair. Possibly Titania again. Otherwise, the best I can think of is that Moonstone acknowledges Black Mamba as being there next issue. It’s maybe a bit too built for her but it’s also the one that looks the most like Black Mamba.

14. ? I’m pulling this one out of nowhere but this could be Asp. The hair matches and she is Black Mamba’s bff, so it’d make sense they’d be near each other.

15. Powderkeg (Frank Skorina) Powderkeg is a real Z-list villain fodder guy. He is confirmed as being a Raft inmate in Avengers Academy #4 (a light crossover issue with Thunderbolts) and I want to say this is definitely him even if it requires a little bit more footwork.

16. Super-Skrull (Kl’rt) Confirmed next issue.

17. Skeleton Ki (Alisher Sham) One of Steve Rogers’ picks and this one is wearing a skeleton face mask so it seems quite evident it is him. Lock in Skeleton Ki as number 17.

18. ? This character is also depicted next issue, stood behind Blood Brother and 6 during the Mr. Hyde bullying scene. Based on that, it’s clear he is a male with long hair.

19. ? Absolutely no idea. Woman with corn-rows.

20. Dark Beast (Hank McCoy) AOA-verse evil version of Beast. Jeff Parker originally wanted this character to join the team but was blocked by the X-offices. Centurius filled his role instead. Dark Beast is shown on the cover to #156, was also one of the poll choices and him being drawn a bit poorly here might have been a last-minute alteration to try and change it to NOT be Dark Beast. This is definitely meant to be Dark Beast though.

21. Poundcakes (Marian Pouncy) Poundcakes is shown as a inmate of the Raft in Thunderbolts #159. The body type is a match and the hair is consistent with how she is shown in #159. Lock her in.

22. Boomerang (Fred Myers) He joins the team next issue. This is another case where this is obviously the character. 100% definite here.

23. Ox (Roland Bloch) Member of the Enforcers (and briefly the Thunderbolts Army). This is how Ox was drawn in Enter The Heroic Age. The colour of his hair has slightly changed but put him in the definite machine.

24. Mandrill (Jerome Beechman) This is Mandrill. Easy.

25. Troll (Gunna Sijurvald) She joins the team. This is undebatably her.

26. Bushwacker (Carl Burbank) Bushwacker is a former Daredevil and Punisher foil. This is definitely him. He was depicted exactly like this in Enter the Heroic Age. Definitely lock him in.

Here’s the bit in issue #156 which features some roll-call with not necessarily the character models depicted.

Of those I can’t identify the first one (Blizzard because she mentions him? Really, any number of other bad guys listed below can fit this design), the next one is either 6 or 7, then up-front in that mask is Scarecrow (confirmed next 2 panels). Next that would b Bloodshed/4, and then possibly a miscoloured Ana Kravinoff, and finally Headlok and Super-Skrull.

Extra notes: - Centurius (Noah Black) is not depicted but joins the team. - Blizzard (Donnie Gill) is confirmed as being there in this room as seen above but I don’t see any character that could really really be him. - Scarecrow (Ebeneezer Laughton) is as well but he’s been speculated all over the place. - Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy) likewise. - The leftover Steve Rogers’ suggestions from Heroic Age: Villains are Absorbing Man (Carl Creel), Answer (Aaron Nicholson), Badd Axe, Hydro-Man (Morris Bench), Lady Stilt-Man (Callie Ryan), Mad Dog (Buzz Baxter), Redeemer (Shep Gunderson), Ruby Thursday (Thursday Rubinstein) and Vector (Simon Utrecht). Some of them like Ruby Thursday are clearly not there. - He also recommended the Young Masters but none of them were ever even arrested. - The cover to issue #156 also features Abomination (Emil Blonsky), Absorbing Man, Batroc (Georges Batroc), Ana Kravinoff and Sandman (William Baker/Flint Marko) - none of these appear to be there and Abomination had been dead for a few years by that point. - I can’t find the poll itself, I can find a link to it but it just redirects to Marvel.com, and other than the winner (Shocker) and who I voted for (Madame Masque), the other choices are sourced from a forum post. Absorbing Man, Batroc, Brother(s?) Grimm, Dark Beast, Doctor Demonicus (Douglas Birely), Griffin, Ana Kravinoff, Living Laser (Arthur Parks), Madame Masque (Whitney Frost), Mr. Hyde, Sandman, Scarecrow, Shocker and Other. Noticeably nearly all the ones on the cover to #156 were listed. Other allowed you to write-in a choice but they shouldn’t really count towards this. Of these ones, Absorbing Man, Doctor Demonicus (deformed face with horns), possibly Griffin, Ana Kravinoff, Living Laser (stuck in energy form), Madame Masque and Sandman are obviously not there. - Some other confirmed Raft inmates at this time from other Thunderbolts issues include Axe (Jerome Hamilton), Corruptor (Jackson Day), Mr. Fear (Alan Fagan), Mo Money, Purple Man (Zebediah Kilgrave) and Titania. #159 gives us 3 previously unseen characters: Big Roy (a Walrus monster man), Man-Mountain Mario (Man-Mountain Marko’s cousin) and Indali (a normal looking woman who is the Queen B of the women’s wing of the prison). In other books we see Basilisk (Basil Elks), Blackout (of the Lilin), Crossfire (William Cross), Griffin, Hecate, Man-Bull, Vermin (Edward Whelan) and probably much much more but those are the ones that come straight to mind from Avengers Academy #4, Hawkeye and Mockingbird and a Hercules story. - While Crossbones (Brock Rumlow), Hyperion, Nuke (Frank Simpson) and Norman Osborn are all being held at The Raft, they are not eligible for the team.

Feel free to contribute or ignore this.

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graphicpolicy · 3 years

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Check Out this Week's New Comic Releases

Check Out this Week's New Comic Releases. See what you can get in comic shops this week! #Comics #ComicBooks

Discover this week’s new comic releases courtesy of Previews and DC. As always, check with your local shop as to the availability of items. Highlights for the week include Commanders in Crisis #6, Deep Beyond #2, Home Sick Pilots #4, Karmen #1, Black Hammer: Visions #2, Children of the Atom #1, Eternals #3, Non-Stop Spider-Man #1, Strange Academy #9, Taskmaster #4, Thor and Loki: Double Trouble…

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#comic books #Comics

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thecomicon · 3 years

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Super Sunday (Part 2): Previewing The Newest Spidey Series, 'Non-Stop Spider-Man' #1

Super Sunday (Part 2): Previewing The Newest Spidey Series, ‘Non-Stop Spider-Man’ #1

Written by Joe Kelly Art by Chris Bachalo, Dale Eaglesham Inks by Tim Townsend Colours by Marcio Menyz “Buckle up, Tiger! Get ready for the most action-packed, pulse-pounding, adrenaline-pumping comic OF ALL TIME! As the name implies, once you read page one, panel one, SPIDER-MAN DOES NOT STOP! A mystery at Empire State University thrusts Spider-Man into an adventure that starts in uptown…

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#Chris Bachalo #Dale Eaglesham #Joe Kelly #Marcio Menyz #Non-Stop Spider-Man 1 #Tim Townsend

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comixconnection · 4 years

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Don’t have a copy of the latest PREVIEWS CATALOG that shows all the goods and goodies slated for shipment soon? Miss looking through our book of highlights here at the store during this period of social distancing and curbside pick-up? Fret no further, friendly shoppers! The Comix Connection Counter Monkeys are here to help!

Below, you will find upcoming titles from MARVEL COMICS that our staff have assembled to pique your interest! And if you’re a subscriber, you might have a special note in your latest batch of comics alerting you to specific titles that may be up your alley…so take a look!

–Want to see all recommended titles? START HERE!

AMERICA CHAVEZ: MADE IN THE USA : America Chavez is incredible - her origins, her strength, her ability to literally kick her way through dimensions via star-portal...but who is she, really? When the foundations of everything she believes is shaken, America will stand-up and face the parts of herself she’s been running from. From Runaways writer Kalinda Vazquez comes this explosive brand new series sure to be a superstar hit! ($3.99 single issues)

NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN : Prepare for the comic book ride of your life featuring Spidey’s best villains and his most amazing feats! Writer Joe Kelly says “NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN is, for me, the best of what Marvel comics can be: relentless action, epic storytelling, mind-melting art, and relevant themes, all grounded by the heart and soul of one of my all-time favorite characters, Spider-Man,” Kelly continues. “Chris and I want to redline your adrenaline and shatter your hearts, giggling the whole time. Please sign your waivers and gather your safety gear of choice before issue #1 comes out. I truly can't wait for this. Buckle up, Tigers.” ($4.99 single issues)

GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: STORM : In GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: JEAN GREY & EMMA FROST, Hickman and Dauterman took Jean and Emma into Storm’s mind to learn what had happened to her. Now in this follow-up one-shot they take the X-Men’s resident goddess to the far end of the world to save herself! ($4.99 oneshot)

SHANG-CHI : An ancient and evil society has been in hiding since the death of their leader, Zheng Zhu. But now his successor has been chosen: Zheng Zhu’s son...Shang Chi! Don’t miss this epic tale of family, betrayal, justice, and lots of kick-ass action as the greatest fighter of the marvel Universe digs into the secrets of a past he thought he’d left behind forever! ($3.99 single issues)

THE DARKHOLD - ALPHA : For hundreds of years, scholars and sorcerers alike have searched for the full text of the Darkhold -- also known as the Book of the Damned! Now one of the greatest sorcerers in the Marvel Universe has found it...and its elder god author has found him! To save everything, the Scarlet Witch must gather the world’s greatest heroes...and unleash their inner darkness. Witness superstar writer Steve Orlando’s Marvel debut as chaos enfolds all! ($4.99 oneshot)

See something you like? Give the store a call, message, or email us to place your orders! REMEMBER ALL PREVIEWS ORDERS ARE FINAL!

#previews recs #previews recs 05 2020 #previews recs marvel #previews recs marvel 05 2020 #previews recs superheroes #previews recs queer stories

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anthonyonrequest · 7 years

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On Request Magazine's Best of E3 2017! Last week, E3 2017 kicked off, and during the last week a slew of new games, technologies and consoles were unveiled. While the Xbox One X highlighted Microsoft's conference, Sony came out swinging with as slew of new and exciting games, and Nintendo unveiled some breathtakingly beautiful games to come on their recently released Switch system. Let's break down some of our favorite games from this year's conference! 1) Assassin's Creed: Origins: Always a highlight of not just Ubisoft's conference, but of the convention as a whole, the creators of the Assassin's Creed series unveiled the highly anticipated trailer for their latest game, Origins. Set in the highly requested time period of Ancient Egypt, you play as a man who will build the foundation of what will be known as the Assassin's brotherhood. Coming into a time when Egypt already has much history and lore, the fall of the empires are at hand, and that is where players will come in. The biggest update has to be the new gameplay mechanics, which focuses more heavily on RPG elements now, such as skill trees, loot and more. While the gameplay looks fun and the demo looks just as visually bright and stunning as AC IV: Black Flag, we here at On Request Magazine just hope the shift in gameplay doesn't take away from the magic that built this franchise into the powerhouse it is now. The game comes out this October. 2) Call of Duty: WWII: One of the gaming industry's biggest franchises is returning to their roots with Call of Duty: WWII. Building a story about the soldiers who fought a war that changed the world forever, the game will also include new multiplayer modes, as well as a brand new Nazi Zombie mode with a new storyline as well. This is a game not to miss, so be sure to check it out when it releases this November. 3) Days Gone: The zombie apocalypse genre has been done so many times within the industry, that when a new one comes around, you look for what makes it stand out from the rest. In Sony's Days Gone, that something special has arrived. Within the demo, we're treated to a mission to rescue a friend, and along the way we navigate an apocalyptic world, filled with murderous raiders, blood-thirsty wolves, rival survivor groups holding your friend, and a massive horde of zombie-like creatures. The scenery is beautiful to behold, and the highlight of the demo came during the rescue itself, when your character decided to blow up the barrier holding the creatures back. Soon you just sit back and watch as the creatures run full force after the survivors. It's an intense, action-fueled demo, and by the time a zombified bear comes by, the demo cuts to black, leaving everyone here eager to learn more about this incredible new world. Days Gone comes is listed as TBA now. 4) Fallout 4 VR: By now, we've all heard of the world of Fallout 4. Now, Bethesda studios has unveiled their foray into the world of VR gaming. While not much is known yet, the prospect of getting to explore the capital wasteland in virtual reality makes this a must play game for sure! 5) Far Cry 5: This is one of our favorite games to come out of E3 this year. Moving the setting of the Far Cry series to rural America, and focusing on a gun-toting cult makes this one of the most fascinating stories to come out of the franchise. Exploring a setting familiar to a lot of people and exploring the mentality of a cult when combined with the high-octane action of the series makes this a must play game. This game will launch in February 2018. 6) Kingdom Hearts 3: While the game is still listed as TBA, a surprise trailer was released for the highly anticipated Disney and Square Enix game, Kingdom Hearts 3. Showcasing the non-stop action of the updated gameplay and showing off the world of Hercules, as well as the return of several characters, including Maleficent, Pete and Hades, as the former two search for a mysterious black box. We cannot wait to learn more about this incredible game. 7) Marvel's Spider-Man: Another top contender for one of our favorite games of the conference, the newest Spider-Man game presented by Sony showcased a sense of magic and wonder that reminded us of the Batman: Arkham games. Focusing on a massive open world, new and obscure foes and a huge emphasis on web-slinging action, this game looks incredible. This is listed as TBA. 8) Star Wars Battlefront II: This game looks incredible. Right off the bat, this demo showcases so much amazing gameplay, including new classes of soldiers, various time periods from the Star Wars universe, and classic and new characters such as Darth Maul and Rey. The tease of the highly anticipated single player campaign was briefly shown as well, and the thought of a brand new original story makes me excited as well. This game is due out in November 2017. 9) Super Mario Odyssey: The biggest highlight of Nintendo's conference had to be this game. Taking Mario on a 3-D, globe-trotting adventure, players will utilize the Switch to unleash a slew of new abilities in order to save Princess Peach. Mario is one of the most iconic gaming characters, and the newest game is sure to bring a new generation into the fandom while giving long-time fans a fantastic new way to play. This game is due out in October 2017. 10) The Evil Within 2: One thing we were looking for at this conference was an exciting new horror game, and we were not disappointed. Serving as a sequel to the first game, The Evil Within 2 focuses on Detective Sebastian Castellanos as he must enter the nightmare world once more in order to save his daughter. The trailer was filled with several scares, and the visuals were absolutely terrifying and stunning. This game looks phenomenal, and we hope you'll look out for this game in October 2017. Well there you go guys. That was our top 10 list of games shown at this year's E3. Who do you think won this show this year? Did Microsoft win you over with the Xbox One X? Is VR the future of gaming? Let us know in the comments below what you thought of this year's conference, and be sure to tune in to On Request Magazine for all the latest news, reviews and previews of all things gaming.

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theshitireadincomics-blog · 7 years

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Return of the Living Shit: the 90′s- First Edition Collector’s Item #1.

If you are like me, you grew up in either the 80’s or 90’s (I spent my adolescent years in the former, and my teens and early 20’s in the latter). If you were into comics in the 1990’s, you remember an era that was plentiful and shiny to the point of nausea. Between the poly-bagged first issues and the holographic, die-cut, embossed covers, readers found themselves with more choices than ever for their comics and superheroes. The readers of the late 80’s who begged for a solo Wolverine book or more Punisher were bombarded with enough monthly adventures of each to choke a horse. If someone was a huge Marvel or DC fan and wanted to stay current with the exploits happening in their beloved universe, it stopped being a hobby level activity and became a chore to keep up. Hell, it seemed like X-Men titles were multiplying like rabbits. I distinctly remember starting high school freshmen year and affordably buying Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, and X-Factor, and Wolverine. By then end of high school, I was starving at lunch and stealing change from my parents to buy like 14 monthly X-books and whatever random mini-series was greenlit for that month. Granted, I bought and read them like a typical junkie dedicated to his craft, but fuck, was there really a need for X-Man?

Nowadays, I ask this question seemingly every month. Not about X-Man, as he has been shit-canned into the same dustbin as Spellbinder or Super-Pro, but about the current comics produced each month. As I flip through a new Previews in any given month, I fear we are beyond the over-saturation line. I mean, do we really need a monthly Foolkiller or a book dedicated to an alternate Spider-Man timeline when he stayed married? Do we? And I’m not even getting into the multiple versions of every character Marvel has created, each with their own title—that’s a whole different over-saturation problem. I am not just talking about Marvel either. DC is just as guilty, as right before their latest “rebirth,” they committed the ultimate unthinkable act of trying to give Aquaman two monthly titles—AQUAMAN!?!

Obviously, things are different now from the 90’s, as you could pay for Marvel’s wonderful digital subscription service, allowing you to read everything anywhere (if you are patient enough to wait out the release delays) and not be saddled with physical copies (I often ponder whether or not I actually need to own every copy of West Coast Avengers I’ve been hording for 20 plus years). DC has yet to develop a similar system, but there are digital copies of most things available through Kindle, Comixology, and piracy.

Now, our current comic climate is as bad as the 90’s—yet. For the most part, good storytelling prevails today, where sparkle and collector’s editions reigned then. However, because I am continuously reminded of that decade of oversaturation (two Black Panther monthly titles), I thought it would be fun to look at some of my favorite/most hated gimmicks on the 1990’s in a recurring column. Here is the first monstrosity:

FORCE WORKS #1, July 1994, Marvel Comics.

What happens when Tony Stark has enough of the rest of the Avengers’ shit? Well, Civil War I, II, and who knows what? But in the 90’s, he walked away to form his own super hero team.

In the ashes of the afore-mentioned West Coast Avengers who had just broken up, Tony, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch (minus most of her clothing), the Spider-Woman nobody cares about, and U.S. Agent (looking more like a shitty Rob Liefeld image creation than a Cap knock-off) broke away from the Avenger franchise—sort of. Of course, being the cannon fodder that he always is, Wonder Man “died” during their first mission. They quickly found his replacement in an ancient alien named Century (brilliance of on-the-nose comic book naming). The team eventually broke-up, when Stark named the Witch to led, but continuously undermined her in those classic Stark womanizing family traditions.

While this title was convoluted and vomited the 90’s at every page, this is not why it makes the list of crap gimmicks. That, goes to the special collector’s edition first issue!

At this point in 1994, EVERY gimmick for a comic cover had seemingly been done. We had seen “holograms,” prisms, and were on the verge of having chromium shoved down our collective throats. But the crap gimmick Marvel came up with for FW #1 was ground-breaking…if you were cool with destroying your comic in the process.

This issue came with a giant foldout poster of the team drawn by the book’s artist, Tom Tenney. I’m not shitting on posters—comic posters are cool! Grunge had taken over in the mid 90’s and I would have needed to cover up that Skid Row poster anyways. The thing is, this poster came glued to the cover of the comic, folded into a rectangular form and adhesive was used to attach it (diagonally for some reason) across the front of the book. There was no way to remove this poster without damaging the book from remaining glue residue or ripping the cover trying to get the damn thing off! It was just a bizarre idea. Other publishers, and even other Marvel titles, were currently offering non-attached posters bagged with the comic. That would have made more sense. Not to mention that fact that if you miraculously managed to successfully remove the cover, today your book is only worth a fraction of the current $1.70 that it currently goes for. Hell, next time you are at a shitty comic convention in a smoke-stained veteran’s hall, digging through the dollar bins, pick one up and discover the awesomeness for yourself!

Oh, and on a final side note, one of my all-time favorite Marvel books from that era was when they parodied FW in a Ren and Stimpy Special:

Until next time, Stephyn.

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gam3rpunk · 4 years

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Marvel Comics June 2020 Solicitations

The kind folks at Marvel Comics have supplied ComicList with their solicitations for comics and other products featured in the April 2020 Previews, scheduled to ship starting June 2020. NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1 JOE KELLY • CHRIS BACHALO (A) • Cover by DAVID FINCH WRAPAROUND VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS BACHALO DIE-CUT COVER BY CHRIS BACHALO – ORDER USING CODE MAR201129 HIDDEN GEM VARIANT COVER BY LARRY…

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cloudtales · 4 years

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Marvel Comics June 2020 Solicitations

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Fans Can't Get Enough Of The Latest Black Clover

SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE OF BLACK CLOVER, PLEASE STOP READING NOW. THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS A LOT OF SPOILERS. LIKE, IT'S MOSTLY SPOILERS.

Last week's action-packed installment saw Yami take on Marx, Owens and Charlotte, all three of them possessed by elf spirits due to Patry's resurrection spell. Our main boy Asta is still in the base of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and he's witnessing some of the "reincarnations" himself as members of the Royal Knights are also going elf. And knowing Black Clover, I doubt this ominous turn of events is going to slow down anytime soon, so let's just dive right in to the newest episode!

Yami's Black Magic has clashed with Charlotte's Briar Magic, and after seeing the rubble that lays before her, Charlotte is impressed that Yami, a human, was able to master magic like that. He managed to save the town and his slash even cut through one of her wrist gauntlets, so Charlotte pulls a classic "WE'LL MEET AGAIN, SPIDER-MAN" and retreats for the time being.

Yami bursts from the rubble and it's clear that some of those stones probably landed on his head.

Sol and Yami make light conversation (aka Yami yells and Sol argues back), and Yami tells her to go save citizens. Meanwhile, in the prison, we see many have also been possessed by the elves, and Gueldre Poizot, former captain of the Purple Orcas, views this as the perfect time to escape. He quickly runs into Revchi, who you may remember from the first episode. Back then, he was a creepy jerk trying to steal Yuno's grimoire, but he got taken down by Asta. Now he's...well...still creepy. Points for consistency, I guess.

We learn that Gueldre is responsible for Revchi's facial scars and giving him that classic Harvey Dent skin care routine. Gueldre is like "Dude, that was all your fault and everyone hated you," and honestly, knowing what I know about Revchi, I don't doubt it. I hate Revchi and he's been in Black Clover for, like, eight minutes tops.

They throw shade at each other until they bond over a mutual hatred of Asta, who either defeated or aided in the defeat of both. Aww! Remember Asta's speech from a few episodes ago about being able to bring people together? He truly works wonders!

They're soon confronted by an elf-possessed magic user and Gueldre immediately tries to reason with him, but this powerful stranger isn't having it. And so Revchi and Gueldre, the ultimate team that absolutely no one asked for, join forces to take this stranger down. Gueldre uses his invisibility magic to cloak the both of them, and Revchi follows up with a magic-sealing chain creation attack. Due to that quick victory, Revchi asks aloud "Is this my ticket out of obscurity?" and he may as well turn to the camera and beg to be the show's main character.

Gueldre and Revchi, now buds, walk away as the action returns to the Midnight Sun base. Luck and Ben are staring menacingly at their non-elf'd partners. They then embrace and this episode is just full of best friends. But this is a less-than-nice hug and Luck attacks Noelle, who still can't believe that Luck has gone bad. Elf Luck misses and before he can try again, he has his magic stopped by Kirsch's cherry blossom magic. Kirsch tells Noelle that they need to prepare for combat, despite the fact that Luck is a Black Bull and beating up your teammates is usually seen as unsportsmanlike.

Regardless, Luck is now powerful enough to break through both Noelle and Kirsch's magic. And things don't look too much brighter on Asta's side of things, as Raia, who they just beat up, is now fighting fit. Raia casts a dark magic and a light magic attack...

...And Asta is stunned that someone can cast magic of two different attributes at the same time. Mereoleona blocks Raia's spells and tells Asta that THIS is why his dream of uniting everyone is foolish. All the elves want to do is hurt them. And just when it seems like the fight against Raia is hopeless... a possessed Rill bursts through the ceiling to ruin the odds for the good guys some more. Raia refers to Rill as "Lira" and their reunion, like Luck and Ben's, is also not quite heartwarming.

Lira asks about Asta in the same way that every Black Clover hater has:

Raia and Lira team up to take down Asta, Mereoleona and Zora...

....and things get even worse when three more possessed Royal Knights join the fray. But before Asta and Zora come up with a proper retreat plan, Mereoleona throws them out of the room and announces that she's going to kill all of the elves.

As the episode ends (No Petit Clover this time), we're left wondering two things: 1) Mereoleona is cool. She's been the MVP of this arc. But is she gonna be able to take on five resurrected elves at once? What's her plan? I'm not doubting her, because, as the last few episodes have shown, it's best not to doubt Mereoleona, but I just wanna know what she's got in mind.

And 2) Just how widespread is this resurrected elves thing gonna be? In the last episode, it seemed like about half the main cast was getting possessed, but those numbers appear to be more lopsided with every new episode. And the preview for the next episode doesn't improve the protagonists' chances. The death of Julius, the Wizard King, was huge, but the resurrection of the elves and the damage that they cause might be an even bigger event.

Asta getting thrown aside by Mereoleona is giving me real "Luffy tries his best during Marineford but in the end he's not really ready for this stage of combat yet" vibes. I'll have to see how this arc wraps up to see if the two storylines are truly comparable, but it's nice knowing that there are some forces that Asta just isn't ready to tackle yet. Makes the narrative more intense.

Anyway, let's see what Y'ALL thought about it!

The villain used ritual magic to turn all your friends into genocidal elves? That sounds like some... Bad Luck pic.twitter.com/MlQXgMgYPA

— Peter Fobian (@PeterFobian) August 20, 2019

the new Black Clover intro is too fire

— Lee (@CaprisunStraw) August 20, 2019

Rill makes friends everywhere lol

— Gauri Gautam (@MisS_sOULeaTER) August 20, 2019

That episode of Black Clover was crazy!

— Lance Scott (@Lance_Scott25) August 20, 2019

Black clover is so gooood

— basstronaut (@ItssJul_62) August 20, 2019

Weekly Black Clover is great tweet

— cye (@Cyrokx) August 20, 2019

i'm already ready for next week!!!!

— David Gonzalez (@Dgonz45) August 20, 2019

I can't believe I have been sleeping on Black Clover all this while ????????. Now I have almost 100 episodes to watch.

— High Chief Obi (@Waffirian_) August 20, 2019

— Robert Sta-Ana (@PxndaLoL) August 20, 2019

What did you think of the latest episode? Let us know in the comments!

------------------------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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dispatchdcu · 3 years

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Non-Stop Spider-Man #1 Review

Non-Stop Spider-Man #1 Review #nonstop #nonstopspiderman #joekelly #MARVEL #marvelcomics #comics #comicbooks #news #mcu #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #spiderman #amazon #amazingspiderman #asm #amazing #spectacularspiderman #spidey

Writer: Joe Kelly Art: Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Marcio Menyz, and VC’s Travis Lanham Publisher: MARVEL COMICS Price: $4.99 Release Date: March 10th, 2021 Prepare yourselves for the most exhilarating and palpitating thrill ride in recent SPIDER-MAN history. As the title suggests, SPIDER-MAN just doesn’t stop! Really?! Well, a problem at Empire State University shoves SPIDER-MAN into a voyage…

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#Amazing Spider-Man #comic books #comics #featured #marvel #marvel comic books #marvel comic previews #marvel comics #Marvel Previews #Non Stop Spider-Man #Non-Stop Spider-Man 1 #Non-Stop Spider-Man 1 Review #Preview #Previews #Reviews #spider-man

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weirdsciencecomics · 4 years

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New Series Coming to Marvel THIS JANUARY 2021

New Series Coming to Marvel THIS JANUARY 2021 #MARVEL #marvelcomics #comics #comicbooks #news #mcu #art #info #NCBD #comicbooknews #previews #spiderman #hulk #starwars #xmen #ironfist #shangchi #childrenoftheatom #maestro #nonstopspiderman #immortalhulk

Check out all the New Series Debuting in this January at Marvel Comics BELOW! If you’re interested in any KING IN BLACK related series which are also debuting, click HERE to take a look at that article. To snag any of these comics, trades, or volumes through Amazon, simply click on the name of the highlighted/underlined series below. Enjoy and God Bless!

NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1

JOE KELLY [W] •…

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recentnews18-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/battlefield-vs-single-player-stories-are-the-right-way-to-do-war-games/

Battlefield V's single-player stories are the right way to do war games

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Part of The Verge holiday 2018 gaming guide

Fighting Nazis is timely again, and yet Battlefield’s return to World War II feels ill-advised. Endless war has taken a toll on this series, and the generals need a new strategy.

I’ll start with some praise. Despite its flaws, Battlefield V is a breathtakingly cinematic game, and it has all of the relentless chaos that fans expect. In my experience playing a press preview of the game, there were only a few bugs (mostly funny ones, like corpses wobbling in midair), and the game retains the series’s recent level of polish. Control inputs feel tight and fluid, everything looks really nice, and the user interface is better than ever, which are all real accomplishments. Battlefield V is an unquestionably well-crafted object.

But as I was thinking about this review, I could not escape a strange feeling. I’ve now been playing Battlefield since 2002. I’ve spent thousands of hours playing these games: it’s a weird fact that’s difficult to reconcile with my personal identity as an adult. A past self decided to love these games, and now I’m cursed by my mastery of them. At this point, it’s hard to tell whether I’m playing for enjoyment or routine.

It’s at least comforting to play the same game over and over, as the movements become rote. It’s nice when the body and a task become the same thing. (I think this is how games like Battlefield become so abstract: after a while, you’re not holding a gun or fighting Nazis; you’re just responding to patterns and using your limbs effectively.) But this familiarity can also be alienating. A few hours into my multiplayer tour, as the rest of the world faded to the background, I had a genuine out-of-body experience. It was like watching a phantom version of a younger self charging an enemy flag. The sameness of it all made me feel like a passenger. My Battlefield exploits now read more like The Myth of Sisyphus than a medal of honor citation.

Despite my optimism for big changes to the series, developer DICE bluffed its hand. The game’s “Grand Operations” mode strings together multiday battles that are supposed to have continuity, but the consequences of winning or losing a match are minor, like adding a little bit of time to the next round. You have to squint to see how Grand Operations differs from the 16-year-old Conquest mode, and other modes like Breakthrough and Domination don’t offer meaningfully different experiences. Battlefield V’s multiplayer is essentially a lot of the same chaos: capture a point, drive a tank, fly a plane, die, repeat. Character customization and progression are tedious and don’t add much to the experience, though I wholeheartedly welcome EA’s confident turn toward inclusiveness. Ultimately, Battlefield is still rock-paper-scissors with explosions — something with exciting moments, but no sense of accomplishment. At least they’re really nice explosions.

As multiplayer shooters are rapidly evolving with the emergence of differentiated battle royale games, Battlefield is no longer an FPS bellwether. I’ve been playing another recently released WWII game, Post Scriptum, which is made by a team of people who, incidentally, started as Battlefield 2 modders. If Battlefield V is a glistening statue, Post Scriptum is a pile of rocks. It’s buggy, clunky, and only for people with the patience for an early access game that might never be finished. It’s also one of the most memorable shooters I’ve played in a while, with moments that I want to run to tell my friends about.

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Post Scriptum is a shooter that lets you do things other than shooting, which I think ought to be the future of every multiplayer game with guns. Its clever trick is using the stakes and atmosphere of a war game to make the non-shooting activities feel genuinely rewarding. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with playing Post Scriptum as Euro Truck Simulator: World War II. As a logistics truck driver, I can ferry supplies to the front line while getting shot at, which lets me be a part of the deadly spectacle of a large-scale battle without killing people. Playing music out of my truck over the game’s local chat is met with laughs and appreciation. It’s something I simply can’t find in a Battlefield game. It’s weird. It’s fun. It makes me smile. I just wish it was made by the artists at DICE.

And then there’s Battlefield V’s single-player campaign, which really surprised me. The “War Stories” format, introduced in 2016’s Battlefield 1, is the smartest attempt at single-player storytelling in war games that I’ve seen. I just wish DICE had made more of them. There are only three war stories to play in Battlefield V, with a fourth coming in December. (Battlefield 1 had six.) Each story takes about an hour to complete, and while they’re hampered by forgettable action sequences, laughable NPC intelligence, and formulaic set pieces, the format still feels like something with great potential.

Instead of playing an untouchable hero who inexplicably massacres hordes of enemies like in so many other shooters, these short stories allow you to be a vulnerable part of war’s death machine, which feels more authentic than getting the costumes right. Battlefield V’s opening sequence achieves this feeling to stunning effect. When you start the game, you jump between characters in rapid succession, often taking the place of someone who just killed you and continuing the fight from their perspective. The opening whisks you from a nighttime raid to a desert ambush and huge aerial battle. I wish the entire game had been like this.

The War Stories format also cleverly echoes the intangible experience of hearing real war stories told, which often walk the line between real historical accounts and tales stretched tall by time. I was impressed by one Battlefield V story about two brothers from West Africa who were sent to France to fight for a colonial power whose land they had never seen. After native French soldiers took their guns and handed them shovels, they had to overcome the racism of their allies before being allowed to achieve glory in battle — only to see themselves erased from history in the story’s epilogue. It’s a tight and powerful single-player story that’s wrapped in the modern context of a veteran reflecting on his long-secret contribution to history. I wanted more like it.

The “Tirailleur” story could have been the model for a deeply felt war game that elevates neglected heroes into popular historical canon. We’ve had decades of interactive Clint Eastwood movies, and so I appreciate DICE’s attempt to break away from tried-and-true narratives, even if it’s clumsy about expressing them in gameplay. I just wish these stories were the centerpiece of a more complete game, not a context wrapper for multiplayer deathmatches.

If the next Battlefield game only has a collection of untold war stories, I don’t think I’ll miss its multiplayer spectacle. After 16 years, I’m ready for my own war story to end and for others to begin.

Battlefield V is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

The Verge holiday 2018 gaming guide

September 9

Donut County is a game about swallowing Los Angeles and realizing you’re an asshole

Dragon Quest XI review (PS4, PC)

Dragon Quest’s creator doesn’t want to stop working anytime soon

Marvel’s Spider-Man review (PS4)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Destiny 2: Forsaken review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit review (Switch)

Nintendo’s new Xenoblade expansion eases players into the daunting world of RPGs

Life is Strange 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

October 9

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Super Mario Party review (Switch)

428: Shibuya Scramble is the best crime book you’ll ever read on your PS4

The World Ends With You review (Switch)

Return of the Obra Dinn review (PC)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

Red Dead Redemption 2 review (PS4, Xbox)

Red Dead Redemption 2 improves some of my favorite parts of The Witcher 3

This queer horror game forces you to literally tear yourself apart

November 9

With Diablo III and Dark Souls for Switch, you never have to leave the dungeon

Déraciné review (PSVR)

Tetris Effect review (PS4, PSVR)

Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s trippy new take on Tetris will put you in the zone

Tetris Effect is perfect for people overwhelmed by modern video games

Hitman 2 review (PS4, Xbox, PC)

How Hitman 2’s developers turned its gigantic levels into ever-evolving playgrounds

Sean Bean is excited to see how he dies in Hitman 2

Fallout 76 journal: an ongoing exploration of post-apocalyptic West Virginia

November, continued 3

Pokémon: Let’s Go review (Switch)

Pokémon: Let’s Go is the perfect way to introduce kids to the series

Pokémon: Let’s Go is a ‘starting point for the next 20 years of Pokémon’

December 1

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s single-player mode shines on the Switch

Source: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/20/18103432/battlefield-v-review-single-player-battle-gameplay-combat-story-video-game

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graphicpolicy · 3 years

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Preview: Non-Stop Spider-Man #1

Non-Stop Spider-Man #1 preview. A mystery at Empire State University thrusts Spider-Man into an adventure that starts in uptown Manhattan and will take him around the world #Comcs #ComicBooks #SpiderMan

Non-Stop Spider-Man #1 Joe Kelly (A) Chris Bachalo, Dale Eaglesham (CA) David FinchRated TIn Shops: Mar 10, 2021SRP: $4.99 Get ready for the most action-packed, pulse-pounding, adrenaline-pumping comic OF ALL TIME! As the name implies, once you read page one, panel one, SPIDER-MAN DOES NOT STOP! A mystery at Empire State University thrusts Spider-Man into an adventure that starts in uptown…

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#chris bachalo #comic books #Comics #dale eaglesham #david finch #joe kelly #marvel #non-stop spider-man #spider-man

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furederiko · 7 years

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This week's Random-News-Digest comes a little early... because it feels appropriate somehow! PS: Is it because I won't be able to post a Kyuranger recap-view today? Perhaps... ^^;

Disney Live Action

There might be some backlash surrounding "Beauty and the Beast". With mixed reviews dividing critics, and the inevitable comparison to the animated classic that sounds rather... overly pessimistic (no kidding, like this thinkpiece for example), perhaps? Not to mention countries (like Russia, Malaysia, and others) flaming the movie's rating 'just because' of an LGBT character (lame excuse, huh?), eventhough the actual consensus is that the movie is nothing more than 'family friendly'. But that doesn't mean this remake is stopping anytime soon. In fact, prior to release last weekend, it was already tracking to a record breaking number, judging from the advance ticket sales. The remake has become the family film with the most pre-sale on Fandango. It has bested fellow Disney's titles "Finding Dory", and their Marvel Studios' "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron", placing it as a record breaking in the outlet's 17 years of history.

And the result? The opening weekend in North America has even leaped ahead the forecasted number of $120-140 million. It cleared out $63,8 million on Friday alone, thanks to a mighty $16.3 million received from Thursday-night preview. Giving the overall weekend result a heaping sum of $170 million! Successfully proving the House of Mouse's box office powerhouse status. It's a number that is more than their own "Finding Dory", that previously holds the record for PG title's opening weekend. And more than that, surpassing a certain dour DC Film of last year, setting up a new record for March opening. Similar success can be heard in the United Kingdom region, as the movie stands tall and proud with an 'A' Cinema Score (as of writing). According to reports, this movie appeals audience of cross-generations, particularly in the way the tougher and independent Emma Watson's Belle resonated with younger women. Other studios opted to avoid the movie, giving it a relatively free competition. Thus explaining why it's such a huge hit despite some negative backlashes. So have you seen the movie yourself? I'm going to... probably this week if not tomorrow *grins*.

In a rather disheartening news, we might want to enjoy all the glamour singing and dancing of "Beauty and the Beast" as much as we can. Why? Because we probably won't see much in "The Lion King", and likely won't get any in Disney's live action version of "Mulan" as well. Director Niki Caro said so in an interview with Moviefone (via Variety), though she noted that her children aren't pleased about it. That's a little disappointing, if you ask me. Because if there's one element Disney can highlight to separate it from those many other live action adaptations for Mulan (Remember, SONY is also producing one), is by turning it into a fullblown musical. Only Disney has songs in their version, and ones that are very memorable too to both fans and public. Instead, Caro's currently envisioning it as a "big, girly martial arts epic" that will be "extremely muscular and thrilling and entertaining and moving". Wait a sec... muscular? HUH? "Mulan" will arrive on November 2nd, 2018. I guess we'll have to wait and see how muscular and not musical it will be...

Disney Pixar

Last year, Disney Animation released two titles, while the Pixar division only had "Finding Dory". But this year, it's the other way around, because Pixar will be the one releasing two while Disney Animation is in fact sitting the year out. The first will be "Cars 3", a sequel that practically noone asked for... eventhough it has a high possibility to score big in the box office. But it's the other one that critics has been buzzing about. "Coco", a movie that will tell a journey about a young boy who journeys the Land of the Dead. A story inspired by Mexican festive "Day of the Dead".

The first teaser for "Coco" has been released, and looks like the critics are indeed on point. Easily reminding us of the critically acclaimed Oscar winning "Inside Out", this gorgeous looking trailer introduced the main star of the supernatural-themed movie, Miguel. The young aspiring musician is voiced by newcomer Anthony Gonzales, and along with his dog Dante, his character will team up with Hector the charming trickster, who is voiced by "Mozart of the Jungle" very own Gael García Bernal. Aside from the two leads, latino celebrities like Benjamin Bratt, Ana Ofelia Murguia, and Renée Victor also lend their voices as the deceased singer Ernesto de la Cruz, Coco's Mother, and Granny. Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina are co directing, while Darla K. Anderson is producing.

The visual looks stunning, and the teaser alone is enough to make me feel all those melancholic goosebumps/feels. But I don't know about you, for some reason, I'm sensing interesting similiarities to Disney Animation's "Moana" on the main character. While on a certain extent, also Pixar's very own "The Good Dinosaur" that somehow failed to live up to many people's expectation. Suffice to say, this can be good or bad. The good news is, Unkrich and Anderson respectively directed and produced "Toy Story 3", which was by far still the best iteration of the franchise, and remains to be one of the most memorable animated movie of all time. That's a reassuring fact, but as always, we can't say anything until we see the movie with our very own eyes. Can't even tell why the movie is titled "Coco" as well, right? That's why we should plan ahead to catch it when it opens in November 22, 2017. Agree?

DC Films

As Ben Affleck opened up about the fact that he's been struggling with alcohol addiction and had just completed rehab, comes another not so surprising news. Script for "The Batman" that he has spent extra time developing with Geoff Johns, is being completely rewritten from scratch, following the announcement of Matt Reeves as the new director. With this in effect, the movie might not begin production until 2018, because Reeves' schedule is occupied with "War of the Planet of the Apes" until June.

It's unclear whether the new script will stick to or at least mirror the original plan or not, but this put the current casting report into an undeniably halt. Which means, yes, unless he shows up in this year's "Justice League", we can't really count on Joe Manganiello to show up as Deathstroke now (why not, go and play Kraven on Marvel then? *grins*). In fact, Reeves won't be meeting any talents until July. If you ask me, this is just another pessimistic indication that Affleck's role as Bruce Wayne might very well be numbered as well. Let's just hope this doesn't get into a weird loop. Unfortunately, with a series of non-stop drama to what seems to be the 'easiest' DC solo movie to pull off (due to the character's popularity and already massive fanbase), it's easy for fans to get negatively worked up about the movie, eh? So to those who are still insisting that there aren't any problems with DC Films? I sincerely offer you my condolences...

Meanwhile, the tentatively titled "Suicide Squad 2" has a writer in negotiation. Nope, not David Ayer, who is currently oversexualizi... er I mean, working on Margot Robbie's "Gotham City Sirens". This is a new writer, but not so new for Warner Bros. One that gave birth to that trepid-quality "The Legend of Tarzan", Adam Cozad. Yep, WB seems to LOVE running around in circles, huh? Appointing the same people over and over again, eventhough they honestly should have looked for better or more suitable ones for the job. No offense to Cozad, but while the Alexander Skarsgard-starring movie was indeed watchable, it was also (honest opinion)... NOT that great. Not just that, his "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" was equally... bland. So obviously, this does NOT inspire confidence to us all. But we really can't judge a movie by its screenwriter alone, can we? After all, it also depends on the director, whether he can realize it perfectly or even better on screen, or does the complete opposite instead. Things like the latter happens all the time, right? There were buzzes that WB wanted Mel Gibson, whose Oscar-nominated movie "Hacksaw Ridge" catapulted him back to the spotlight. Yes, his high profile would help the movie, but even that sounds like an uncertain prospect for now.

By the way, "Aquaman" has also been delayed for two months. To those who actually expected the movie to arrive earlier? Allow me to offer you another sincere condolences. The movie that was supposed to come out on October 5th, 2018 will now premiere on December 21st, 2018. It will now be swimming in the spot previously occupied by the also delayed "Avatar 2", which is arguably, a better release window. Looks like WB is back to being openly bullish though. Because it's making a direct challenge to SONY's Animated "Spider-Man" that will feature Miles Morales. This delay practically means that there might be a long 1 year gap for DC movies following this year's "Justice League". Or at least, that's the current situation. Why?

As a direct response to what's happening with "The Batman" and "Aquaman", looks like WB is actively pushing to... shoot one more title this year! Wait, what? Of course, the goal is obviously to have a second movie up next year. But is this a wise move? I'd argue that this is somewhat concerning, because we all know that rushing into things doesn't usually end up good. In fact, many seems to think the same way, that it's better for WB to take a back seat for a while and rethink their strategy before moving forward. I say, just give it a rest and be content with one title, will ya WB?!

Candidate titles for this rushed production include "Gotham City Sirens" that as far as I know is currently in writing process, "Suicide Squad 2" that we know has a writer in talks to work on it, "The Flash" that has no director and currently undergoing page-one rewrite as well, super director Doug Liman's "Dark Universe" that... I have nothing to say about because I couldn't care less, and "Green Lantern Corps" that is also being written. The good news is, WB is NOT insisting to have one ready if it's not up to standards. So if things doesn't go as plan, "Aquaman" might end up swimming solo to carry the DC flag for the year.

The bad news though? That new Squad or Lantern movie could potentially fill in the missing piece. How? Because apparently WB wants to hire David Goyer as the director to one! I don't know about you, but just the thought of the so-called 'DC architect' writing Lantern's script (alongside Justin Rhodes) alone is enough to make me worried. Lest we forget, the story of "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" originated from him! And how about "Blade: Trinity"? Not to mention this is the same guy who thought She-Hulk is a sexual object! But seriously, don't be surprised if WB does end up honoring him with the gig, especially judging from Goyer's long history with the studio. After all, like I said above, WB loves running around in circles... and falling into the same wormhole over and over again.

Spider-Man Universe

This one's intriguing, and a direct follow up to what happened in the previous category. As soon as WB pushed back "Aquaman", immediately SONY Pictures jumps in to venture and claim the open water. Yes, by placing "Venom" as the replacement title on October 5th, 2018. More comic book adaptation should make fans delighted with joy, especially Marvel's. Because remember, there's an 8-months Marvel gap between July 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" and March 2019's "Captain Marvel". But I wonder if this... by all means, merely the studio's way to answer WB's bullish challenge? Hmmm...

The issue with this title however, has begun to rise up due to one particular concern: Will this movie be canon to this year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming"? I'd argue that it'll likely exist in a different universe than the one with Tom Holland's Peter Parker. Many seems to think that way, especially if we take note of the development news surrounding it. Which obviously means, it will NOT be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don't forget, a Spider-Verse scenario has totally been made possible now, thanks to "Doctor Strange"! But that didn't stop fans from getting, well, negatively concerned. Why? Because in the comics, Venom technically exists because of Spider-Man. A great amount of creative liberty will need to be taken for this movie to work in a world without the web-crawler. And that can be quite fatal in execution. On the opposite side, it has the potential to limit the Symbiote from being used in the MCU too. Which means, we will never see Holland's Parker dealing with the alien super villain! And even I, am not pleased about that...

Anyway, the movie is said to be using a freshly submitted script written by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, not the one written by Dante Harper. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, alongside Amy Pascal are producing. Alex Kurtzman was reported to be in charge for the directorial duty before, but this latest news confirmed that the movie doesn't have a director yet. Which means, Kurtzman is likely out of the picture. It's unclear what plot this movie will go through. Perhaps Venom will go straight into Agent Venom, thus he's always been a hero and never on the dark side? Or it will tell the story completely from a villain's point of view? It's anyone's guess, and we'll have to wait and find out. But with the movie arriving in just 19 months, I suspect more information will crawl to headlines really soon...

The Matrix

Do we even NEED a reboot for "The Matrix"? I'd argue NOT, but as long as it keeps the money going, Hollywood seems to think the opposite. In case you didn't get my point, yes, WB is currently in early stages to relaunch the 1999 franchise. Because their DC properties didn't sell as much as they hoped? I'm not surprised if that's one of the primary reason. Zak Penn, who did the first draft for "The Avengers", is currently in talks to write. Actor Michael B. Jordan is being mentioned as the potential lead, likely as a younger Morpheus who was originally played by Laurence Fishburn. Apparently no talks have been made though.

Interestingly, it's currently unclear if the Wachowskis sisters as the original visionary creators will be involved or not, because it's producer Joel Silver who approached WB with the project. Actor Keanu Reeves, who gained huge popularity thanks to the movie, had even stated that he would love to do another sequel or a reboot, ONLY if the Wachowskis are returning. Admittedly, its two direct sequels ("Matrix Reloaded" and "Matrix Revolutions") were not received at the same level, both critically and financially in the box office. But even so, Penn is playing coy but surprisingly optimistic about this movie. He even vaguely hinted about whether it's going to be a REMAKE, a REBOOT, or even pure RE-RELEASE. Remember, this is the guy who co-wrote "X-Men: The Last Stand"! So I think we should be a little cautious with his words...

With that said, regardless of whether it is the right or wrong thing to do, I'm sure we might be seeing another journey to the Matrix in the coming years. Why? Remember, this is the exact studio that produced "The Legend of Tarzan", eventhough we don't really need another one. One that has spin-offed "The Lord of the Rings" into not-one-but-THREE unnecessary chapters of "The Hobbits", and currently doing the same to "Harry Potter" with last November's release of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". So yeah, we WILL get another Matrix movie. You can count on it.

Marvel Studios

A sad news might be brewing over Marvel Studios as well last week. Or at least, a somewhat sad. Actor Chris Evans had an interview with Esquire recently about politics and others. When talks eventually hit upon his sore muscles, an after-effect generated through workout session obviously to prepare for "Avengers: Infinity War" (he starts filming in April), the outlet made a bold statement by writing "After that, no more red- white-and-blue costume for the thirty-five-year-old. He will have fulfilled his contract.". Of course, this put everyone into a quick frenzy. Many sites immediately interpreted that Evans would be putting down his Captain America role, after the concurrent Avengers production. Mind you, everyone's forgetting that Evans has had similar situation a few years ago when he said he wanted to focus on directing, which eventually forced him to backtrack a bit and debunked media's interpretations. Since I believe he didn't blatantly say with his own mouth that he won't play the role again to Esquire, I don't see why it's nothing but similar scenario of misunderstanding or quick assumptions.

On the other hand, he HAS been around since 2010, so it makes logical sense if he simply wants to 'move on'. Even Hugh Jackman has bid farewell to the Marvel character that made him a household name, right? Let's just treat this as if it's 'true' now, for the sake of conversation. If Evans DOES decide to not extend his contract, does this mean we might expect to see his Steve Rogers sacrificing himself for the greater good in one of these upcoming Avengers titles? Or... is this merely a huge red herring, considering Rogers HAD already put down his shield at the end of Civil War, thus Captain America is technically no more in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? If you ask me, Evans can always return in future movies but in a mentor figure or some sort that doesn't require action scenes (no need to workout) and can be filmed in a more lenient schedule. The same thing has happened with Robert Downey Jr., right? I don't see how Marvel Studios won't offer the same opportunity to Evans, whose trilogy by far remains to be the best one in the MCU. But worst case scenario, at least we can still see him as the character until 2019... *sigh*

Anyways, speaking of filming, apparently this concurrent production will take part in Old Town Edinburgh this week. Scotland's Cockburn Street, the Royal Mile, and Parliament Square are expected to be featured. Perhaps it's filling in for Nidavellir, home of Eitri the Dwarf King? According to the report, "dozens of A-listers" are expected to be present. Now this is... intriguing. Because as we already learned earlier, Evans will not join production until April. We can add to that, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, since both have also confirmed that they will start in April as well. So WHO are these A-listers, then? So far, we know Robert Downey Jr., Chris Pratt, as well as Peter Dinklage have all been involved from day one. Tom Holland was among them, but he should be doing reshoots for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" right now. The same with cast for the "Game of Thrones"-esque "Black Panther" which is filming in Atlanta and certain parts of South Korea. Brie Larson (assuming Carol Danvers is in one of the movies) is promoting "Kong: Skull Island" around the world with Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L. Jackson. The latter has even vaguely say he's not involved in these movies. The only characters who seems to be unheard of is the cast members of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"! Does this mean, it's them who are expected to show up?

Speaking of "Guardians", James Gunn recently confirmed on The Adam Carolla Show, that actor Sylvester Stallone will play a significant role in his upcoming movie. And he's not alone, because his character will be related to another character, who is played by Smallville's alumn Michael Rosenbaum. Thanks to that, the actor who is famously known for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in the TV series, has come out and admit the fact himself. Nature of Rosenbaum's so-called major role, as well as Stallone's, remains a huge mystery for now. Gunn specifically said "We do have a couple of characters who are very important to the Marvel universe, who are going to make their debut in Guardians Vol. 2, that people don’t know about". Emphasis on the words: 'Very Important', 'Debut', and 'Don't Know About'. The first two is obviously meant to tease future developments in the cosmic side of MCU, but the third is the most curious. Considering Gunn has the penchant for including obscure character like Chris Sullivan's Taserface, and also reimagining one like Pom Klementief's Mantis, Stallone and Rosenbaum could practically play... anyone! Who do you think they are playing? Richard Rider and Sam Alexander? Adam effing Warlock, which would be a fantastic casting? Or Mar-Vell and his son Genis-Vell as a lead up towards "Captain Marvel"? Yondu's comic book team mates StarHawk and Martinex? ...Or someone else? Speculate on!

Marvel TV

First Black Bolt. Second Crystal. Who's next to be spotted by public eye? Medusa, Auran, and Karnak. Yep, Serinda Swan's, Sonya Balmore's and Ken Leung's character have been seen during the production. Thanks to Reel News Hawaii, of course. Unlike Black Bolt or Crystal though, these three didn't look as clear. All we can see is Medusa's long red hair and her purple dress, while Karnak's possibly hidden in a green hoodie, a costume that's probably inspired by his comics version's latest run. Auran looks very vague, but doesn't resemble her comic book counterpart. Maximus is supposed to be there too, but I honestly can't see him anywhere. Is he supposedly hiding? Or that guy with the hood is Maximus all along? Hmmm...

They are filming a rather intriguing scene as well. This one shows the black-suited King and red-haired Queen, escorted by Auran in their front, walking through a line of... humans. A Royal Entrance? But who are those humans wearing gray-colored garbs? Just a wild personal guess, but quite possibly they are people who is lining up for Terrigenesis. Because that's the way it is in the comics, right? Only people given permission by the Royal Family can unlock their true Inhumans nature via the Terrigen Crystal. Then again, judging from the supposedly huge fountain, it might simply be a scene with the King and Queen taking a leisure stroll in the courtyards, addressing citizens. There aren't any more information about the scene, but it's nice to see more cast being caught by candid cameras. I wonder if we'll see Gorgon and Triton next, then?

X-Men Universe

I honestly can't decide if this should go to a 'Marvel TV' category or not, but here's a good news from the other TV side of Marvel. "Legion" has been renewed to Season 2. Yes, FX has renewed the Noah Hawley's series, which shouldn't be a surprise considering the strong reviews by both critics and audience. FX Programming President Eric Schrier even called it as "stunning achievement" because it's a "wholly original take on the superhero genre". He meant that for a TV series, perhaps? After all, "Guardians of the Galaxy" already did an original take on the genre before this. Schrier's words also confirmed that Hawley will be returning for the second season, but didn't confirm when it will be available. Easy money is that it will be released on Winter this year, or even the start of next year.

I haven't personally seen it myself, so I can't tell whether it's really that good or not. After all, just knowing that this show exists in that messy FOX's X-Men Universe is enough to dissolve any interest I have for it into thin air. Which seems to be the case with other audience too, so I'm not alone. But you know what? This renewal has definitely pigued my curiosity. Many media has also branded this show as 'unique', 'weird', and the likes. And sometimes we need this kind of materials as part of our straightforward lifes. Beside, it's only 8 episodes, so it doesn't demand much of your time. So yeah, I'll be checking it out real soon. Though I'm not sure when. LOL.

Netflix

Things are certainly looking... BAD for Marvel's "Iron Fist". While I currently reserve my judgement until I've seen the series completely (not just one or two episodes), knowing that it's sitting at a 16% score on Rotten Tomatoes is undeniably disheartening. I mean, eventhough I rarely check out the site's TV section, this is probably those few moments where I've stumbled on a TV series being awarded THAT bad in the critics' aggregator site. Interestingly, there's a contrast in public's reception. Marvel fans seems to enjoy it, while others, particularly more professional critics (who are equally Marvel fans, not haters), do NOT. This is concerning, because that means the series has divided people in two. I can't bear to imagine how general audience would response to it! But is this a mixed review then? Not necessarily. It's a situation that easily reminds me of a particular movie that was released March last year. Yes, "Batman v Superman"! "Iron Fist" has a much lower score than that boring movie (that ended with 27%) too, so imagine the irony. Hold on, let me correct that. At least audience are liking this show, as evident by the high score (86% with an average rating of 4.3 out 5, while "BvS" only gets 63%). That part CAN be called as ironic.

For the time being, as in just a few days following its release, it's safe to say that the much anticipated series has succeeded to become the most critically-panned live action adaptations that Marvel ever produced. Again, I don't know if such sentiment will last or not, or that people might appreciate it more after seeing the entire series. Moreso, whether this trepid reception will have a negative ripple effect, affecting the upcoming crossover Marvel's "The Defenders" that had just wrapped production. We can't really judge anything, because unexpected things can happen. As I said, I haven't seen this debut season, but has already begun lowering my expectation. I used to be looking forward for this particular title so much, and I honestly don't want to get all disappointed about it. So imagine the anxiety I'm feeling just to watch it.

With that said, we all need to remember one important thing: Don't ever think about blaming the lackluster quality on Finn Jones. He's only an actor, not directly involved in the story and all, and even if he has given great efforts, there's no helping when the material is already weak. If you want an actual scape goat, then look no further but to Marvel TV President Jeph Loeb (who allows too many productions happening, eventhough I don't think his division have yet the resource and proper control to do so), and also showrunner Scott Buck (who has the authority to whip this show into something better, at least critically speaking). Now let's just hope the combo won't be messing up with "The Inhumans" as well. Otherwise I might be really pissed...

The King of Fighters

2nd DLC character for "The King of Fighters XIV" has been announced! This news caught me off guard, since I didn't expect it to arrive this soon, though probably owing that to the way "Street Fighter V" is dishing out its 2nd season DLCs. But never mind that, because my speculation was correct. That crouching tall guy is indeed Ryuji Yamazaki. Just like Whip, the genuinely creepy-crazy deranged-brute feels like a natural inclusion to the roster, due to his, uhm, unique berserking fighting style. I'm not a fan of his character, but I AM a fan of him as a fighter. Because maaan, Yamazaki can sure pack a scary punch, and such a fun one to main with. Intriguingly, his official reveal video somehow hints that he might be teaming up with Whip after all, no matter how odd that might sound (Yamazaki is a known criminal, while Whip works for a government-sanctioned task force).

And also, as I said, there are 4 and not just 3 characters. Just look at that updated silhouette. That alone is solid proof that we're going to get 2 more along the way. Well... unless the 3rd character is a four legged Centaur, of course. Now the question is, WHO will these two characters be? I've speculated the left one due to the hair style. But the right one? Assuming it's not a newly designed character, nor a crossover from other franchise, that fighting stance easily reminds me of the mercenary agent Vanessa who debuted on "The King of Fighters '99 Evolution", Malin who debuted on "The King of Fighters 2003", or Psycho Soldier's latest member Momoko who debuted on "The King of Fighters XI". Neither has been playable again since "The King of Fighters XII", but have shown up in the Team endings for "The Women Fighters" (just like Blue Mary) and "Psycho Soldier" (alongside Bao). The speculation gets narrowed down, once you start connecting them into a team alongside Whip and Yamazaki. Yes, only Vanessa make sense in this theory. What do you think?

For now, Yamazaki doesn't have an official release date yet. But using Whip as the example, I'm sure we'll hear more about that in the near future. In fact, we might need to prepare ourselves for the confirmation of the 3rd character, very soon...

Nintendo

I'm going to close this week's (and probably month?) R-N-D with a quick news from Nintendo. According to Wall Street Journal, the company is planning to double the production of their new hybrid game console, the Nintendo Switch. Manufacturers might produce 16 millions and not 8 as planned. This will be effective in the coming fiscal year that begins on April 2017, and ends on March 2018. This news didn't come officially from the Japanese company, which until now remains silent about it. But even if it's just a speculation, it certainly makes a lot of sense. There's a huge popular demand of the console in the market. Especially if we factor the massive popularity of "Zelda: Breath of the Wild" that has taken the world by storm, and the possibility of "Pokemon Stars" becoming a reality. Many gamers who are currently holding back, would at least be tempted to purchase, as more fresh titles coming in the next months. Some have even stated that they are only waiting for the right software to purchase one.

Speaking of games, looking forward to play "Sonic Mania" on your newly purchased Switch? Well, you're going to have to wait a wee bit longer. The game has been delayed to Summer, with SEGA officially stated that it was intentional to ensure the quality of the product. The company announced this on the Sonic the Hedgehog's SXSW 2017 panel, while previewing a new stage for the game, the >"Flying Battery Zone". At the same time, the company also revealed that Project Sonic 2017 has been officially titled as "Sonic Force". To be honest, before seeing the trailer again, I've completely forgotten that it works as some sort of sequel to "Sonic Generations". Which means, we're going to play two versions of Sonics, modern and classic. In fact, Sonic Team Studio head Takashi Iizuka even described it as "an evolution of Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations". Not just that, apparently there will be an additional 'style' that will be revealed in the coming months. A short gameplay footage featuring a level that focuses on modern Sonic has been made available for public. That DOES remind you of "Sonic Generations", huh?

Interested about these games? I know I do, eventhough I haven't managed to get the hybrid console. Then again, now that Nintendo is increasing the production, the likelihood of the product running out on stores is now close to none. At least until March 2018. So plenty of time for you and me to continue saving and get one for the Summer or Holidays, right? Good for us... *grins*

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