Monthly Archive: November 2016

Dennis O’Neil Gestures Hypnotically

 

mandrake-the-magician

Chortle chuckle yukyukyuk. O, boy ain’t we having fun hee-hee-hee here in Nyack ho ho ho ho and how about that last Tuesday wasn’t that darn day a rib-tickler heh heh gargle lipticon smoothie ha ha ha ha ha ha giggle snortle honk.

Enough – hee hee – merriment. Where were we? Oh yeah. I sort of vaguely suggested that I might continue last week’s discussion of Doctor Strange, who has been a Marvel Comics character since 1963 and currently is the eponymous star of a big screen movie, the box office champ for the second week in a row (and for a little extra coin you can see this champ in 3-D! And don’t tell me, mister, that life is not a party.

Here I’m going to mention that ComicMix’s resident film critic had a few reservations about the flick and I hereby bow to his acumen; oh and by-the-way he has become one of my favorite reviewers, which strikes me as a bit wonky considering that he’s considerably younger than my youngest child and I’ve known him all his life and a hefty portion of mine and aren’t authority figures supposed to be aged and wizened just like The Ancient One in the Doc Strange yarns and…

mandrake-gesturesHere we are, having survived another digression, back in Doc Strange turf. Yes, the doctor. A conjurer.

His ilk are sprinkled throughout the history of comic books. Before Superman jump-started the business in 1938, a comic strip featuring Mandrake the Magician appeared daily and Sundays in the paper my parents had tossed onto the lawn every day. Mandrake was created by Lee Falk, a St. Louisan, and first appeared in 1934. I’m pretty sure that when I read or at least looked at the strip as a kid I understood Mandrake’s modus operandi: the captions told me that Mandrake “gestured hypnotically” and illusions appeared to gebollix the bad guys. It was an okay gimmick as long as you knew little or nothing about hypnosis and in 1934, who did?

A couple of years later, Lee Falk created The Phantom. The “ghost who walks” – that Phantom – but since he is not a magician, we’ll ignore him.

And speaking of magicians… As a genre, they were never awfully important in comics, certainly no rival to superheroes. Arguably, the most prominent of them was another doctor, surnamed Fate. He could be mistaken for a superhero; he looks superheroish and he’s invulnerable and strong and he can fly and do other stuff. Mostly, he uses sorcery that doesn’t seem very defined, but it doesn’t have to be at long as it’s used judiciously.

About that (those) costume(s): one of the nifty things about the doctor – Strange, not Fate – is that his clothing is definitely a costume, but one that suggests magic. And there are his powers; in a way, he’s a first cousin to Iron Man as both spend a lot of time shooting energy of some kind from their hands – very visual and so very appropriate for comics and, oh heck, we’ll admit it, also to movies. Whoever Doc Strange’s haberdasher was, hooray!

We’ll end with what you can consider another digression, a couple of lines from Lord Byron:

And if I laugh at any mortal thing

‘Tis that I may not weep.

Chortle chortle?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JL Dark Releases Trailer, DVD Details

all_four_3BURBANK, CA (November 16, 2016) — To battle unparalleled supernatural forces, Batman must combine efforts with a new team of heroes – led by occult specialist John Constantine – in the next DC Universe Original Movie, Justice League Dark. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, the full-length animated film arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on February 7, 2017.

Justice League: Dark will be available on Blu-ray™ Deluxe Giftset ($39.99 SRP), featuring an exclusive Constantine figurine; Blu-ray™ Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP); and DVD ($19.98 SRP). The film will be available to own on Digital HD ($19.99 HD, $14.99 SD) starting January 24, 2017.

When innocent civilians begin committing unthinkable crimes across Metropolis, Gotham City and beyond, Batman must call upon mystical counterparts to eradicate this demonic threat to the planet. Enter Justice League Dark, reluctantly led by the Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. Like Batman, Constantine is a cunning, often cynical loner who is the best at his chosen profession – but quickly realizes the sinister forces plaguing the planet will require help from other supernatural alliances. Forming a new “league” with sorceress Zatanna, otherworldly Deadman, and Jason Blood and his powerful alter ego Etrigan the Demon, this team of Dark Arts specialists must unravel the mystery of Earth’s supernatural plague and contend with the rising, powerful villainous forces behind the siege – before it’s too late for all of mankind.

Actor Matt Ryan, who set the standard for the role of Constantine on the Warner Bros. live-action television series, returns to the role in animated form alongside Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Batman, Camilla Luddington (Grey’s Anatomy) as Zatanna, Nicholas Turturro (NYPD Blue) as Deadman, Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV videogame) as Jason Blood/Etrigan, Roger R. Cross (24, Arrow) as John Stewart/Swamp Thing, Jeremy Davies (Justified) as Ritchie Simpson, Rosario Dawson (Daredevil, Sin City) as Wonder Woman, Jerry O’Connell (Stand By Me, Crossing Jordan) as Superman, Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint, Veronica Mars) as Felix Faust, and Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Spider-Man 2) as Destiny.

Justice League Dark is directed by Jay Oliva (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns).  Story by J.M. DeMatteis and Ernie Altbacker (Green Lantern: The Animated Series) and teleplay by Ernie Altbacker.  Sam Register is Executive Producer.  Benjamin Melniker & Michael Uslan (The Dark Knight trilogy) are co-executive producers.  James Tucker (Batman Bad Blood, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders) is Supervising Producer.

“The chance to bring to life these amazing, complex characters–Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman and Swamp Thing – and the potential for their future adventures makes Justice League Dark a very exciting entry into the DC Universe Original Movies canon,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing. “We are especially excited and honored to have Matt Ryan reprise his TV role as Constantine in this animated film.”

Justice League Dark Enhanced Content

jldark-box-art-3dBlu-ray™ Deluxe Giftset and Blu-ray™

  • A Sneak Peek at Teen Titans: The Judas Contract: An advance look at the next DC Universe Original Movie, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
  • The Story of Swamp Thing (Featurette): Born out of the imagination of Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, Justice League Dark’s Swamp Thing had his own solo adventures throughout the history of DC. This documentary reveals the rich history of this fan favorite.
  • Did You Know?: Constantine origin, Color of Magic, Black Orchid, and Deadman Casting (Featurette): The creators of Justice League Dark will reveal surprising behind-the-scenes tidbits about thecharacters – and the actors providing their voices – during production of the film.
  • 2016 NY Comic Con Panel (Featurette): A look inside Justice League Dark’s panel at New York Comic Con.
  • Sneak Peek at Justice League: Gods and Monsters
  • Sneak Peek at Justice League: Doom
  • From the DC Vault – Two Bonus Episodes –
  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Dawn of the Dead Man!”Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Trials of the Demon!”

DVD

A Sneak Peek at Teen Titans: The Judas Contract: An advance look at the next DC Universe Original Movie, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.

REVIEW: Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray

REVIEW: Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray

gots6-dvd-pkg_3d-skew-6-7Out today is the Blu-ray edition of Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season from HBO Home Entertainment.

We previously reviewed the Digital HD version of the season here but there are new elements to consider with the box set.

The vast majority of Digital HD releases do not come with the bonus features, extra, and Easter Eggs we have come to know and love about the disc format. As a result, the Digital HD version is a nice add-on for on-the-go viewing, but the complete immersive experience, the special features add interviews, behind-the-scenes information, commentary, and deleted scenes to enhance your appreciation of the material. This season set, though, does come with some, but all, the extras found on the Blu-ray box set.

This season was a mixed bag with incredibly strong storytelling undercutting its strength by not surprising us. No one, except readers of the novel, expected Ned Stark to die or what was to happen at the Red Wedding. But here, across ten episodes, producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, consistently gave viewers what they wanted as they use elements from the unpublished sixth novel and continue to deviate from the core texts, creating a parallel but not identical version of events.

Jon Snow (Kit Harrington)’s fate was the most discussed cliffhanger since “Who Shot JR?” He survived and went on to abandon his post at The Wall in order to reunite the north now that it’s clear the Night King is coming closer. This led to episode nine’s incredibly satisfying but unsurprising “Battle of the Bastards” as Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Theon) gets his comeuppance. Long-lost Uncle Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle) turns up long enough to help Bran (Hempstead Wright). Cersei (Lena Headey) exacts her revenge and the one real surprise this season was an unintended consequence. Little in the way of surprises here.

The 1.78:1 ratio is retained and overall, the high definition transfer is sharp as details pop and you don’t get lost in the many shadows. The discs come with Dolby Atmos with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core so they sound terrific.

The special features, listed below per disc, provides you with some important information regarding the thinking that went into the rise of the women, the resurrection of Jon Snow, and charting a path further from Martin’s novels.

Disc One

  • In Episode Guides
  • Audio Commentaries:
    • Episode 1with Director Jeremy Podeswa, Director of Photography Greg Middleton and Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne)
    • Episode 2with Writer Dave Hill, Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd)
    • Episode 3with Director Daniel Sackheim, Production Designer Deborah Riley, and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon)

Disc Two

  • In Episode Guides
  • Audio Commentaries:
    • Episode 4with Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei, Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm)
    • Episode 5with Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy), Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy), Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) and Kristian Nairn (Hodor)
    • Episode 5with Prosthetics Supervisor Barrie Gower, Camera Operators Chris Plevin and Ben Wilson and Executive Producer Bernadette Caulfield)
  • Recreating the Dothraki World(20:15) documents the efforts to revive elements that hadn’t been seen since season one.

Disc Three

  • In Episode Guides
  • Audio Commentaries:
    • Episode 6with Director Jack Bender, Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman, John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) and Hannah Murray (Gilly)
    • Episode 7with Producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, Ian McShane (Septon Ray), and Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell)
    • Episode 8with Director Mark Mylod, Essie Davis (Lady Crane) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)

Disc Four

  • In Episode Guides
  • Audio Commentaries:
    • Episode 9with Director Miguel Sapochnik, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Kit Harington (Jon Snow)
    • Episode 9with Director of Photography Fabian Wagner, Visual Effects Producer Steve Kullback, and Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Bauer
    • Episode 10with Executive Producers/Writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)
    • Episode 10with Special Effects Supervisor Sam Conway, Camera Operator Sean Savage and Producer Chris Newman
  • The Battle of the Bastards(1080p; 30:01) is a detailed look at one of the largest set pieces in the series’
  • 18 Hours at the Paint Hall(1080p; 28:17) is a “you are there” featurette showing what a day on set can be like.
  • Histories and Lore
    • The Old Way(4:25)
    • The Kingsmoot(3:45)
    • The Summer Sea(4:05)
    • War of the Ninepenny Kings(2:49)
    • The Great Tourney at Harrenhal(6:07)
    • Robert’s Rebellion(1080p; 6:07)
    • Vaes Dothrak(3:56)
    • The Dothraki(4:43)
    • Northern Allegiances to House Stark(4:56)
    • Children of the Forest vs. The First Men(4:43)
    • Brotherhood Without Banners(3:56)
    • Oldtown(5:35)
    • House Dayne(4:11)
    • The Little Birds(3:12)
    • Knights of the Vale(5:35)
    • House Tarly(4:35)
    • Riverrun(3:35)
    • Great Sept of Baelor(4:23)
    • Deleted Scenes(11:08)

Mike Gold: Comic Books’ Pot Luck

fabulous-furry-freak-brothers

One of the overlooked outcomes of last week’s election is the growth of the marijuana legalization movement. Buying, possessing and using the stuff is going to be legal for adults in Massachusetts, Nevada, California and Maine – as it is now in Colorado, Alaska, Washington State, Washington D.C., and Oregon. Over 20 percent of Americans reside in states where such use by adults is legal. In over half of these United States, weed is kosher for medicinal use.

reefer-madness-piano-sceneFirst Fun Fact: A few years ago, the Heeb Magazine website informed us that, properly handled, cannabis is indeed kosher. That should popularize the Passover herb plate.

Second Fun Fact: If not for weed, we might not have our direct sales comic book distribution system. Back in the mid-60s, we started seeing retail outlets called “head shops” pop up all over this great nation. These places were sort of like today’s vape stores but they sold snarky buttons, black light posters, incense, underground newspapers (thank you)… but, mostly, they sold supplies for cleaning, rolling and smoking marijuana cigarettes.

In addition to perpetuating the art of speed piano playing, these stores also became the initial outlets for underground comix.

r-crumbPublishers such as Rip-Off Press, Last Gasp, and Kitchen Sink brought us to the worlds of R. Crumb, Skip Williamson, Jack Jackson, Trina Robbins, the unmistakable S. Clay Wilson, and many, many others. They breathed new life into a dormant American medium and influenced a generation of new artists.

These comix were sold directly to head shops on a non-returnable basis. Several years later, Phil Seuling brought this concept of direct sales marketing to the burgeoning mass of comic book stores which, previously, existed largely to sell back issues. Seeing as how comic books were essentially unprofitable in the waning days of newsstand distribution, by providing the model for direct distribution underground comix and the head shops that sold them saved the American comic book industry.

denis-kitchenPersonally, I blame underground comix publisher turned agent, comic book and graphic novel impresario Denis Kitchen. This is because I am a trained political writer and I believe in punching up. My old friend Denis has a great deal of “up.”

So, really, the roots of contemporary comic book publishing were watered by illegally purchased marijuana… which is now increasingly legal in much of this country.

We can only hope that this new trend will have a similar impact upon comics sales. This, and of course damn near anything else.

Third Fun Fact: Next year’s San Diego convention should be real interesting. Damn, I might even go back there!

REVIEW: Citizen Kane

citizenkanebluThe American Dream, a term coined in 1931, essentially says that for any citizen, the possibilities for success are limitless if you work hard. That ethic was reinforced last week and today as Warner Home Entertainment releases a 75th Anniversary edition of Citizen Kane.

Orson Welles was a wunderkind, harnessing his many talents for the radio, scaring the beejezus out of the country with his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. With his ensemble, dubbed the Mercury Players, he was a powerhouse entertaining so it was no wonder he was enticed west to try his hand at film.

At 25, he cowrote, produced, directed, and starred in the story that was inspired by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, tracing the humble beginnings and rise then spectacular fall of a great man. It was a riveting portrait of a man in search of happiness, seeking pleasure in fame, fortune, and feminine companionship, failing time and again. He parlayed his fame into a run for governor, speaking truth to power, challenging the political machine of the day – sound familiar? – until the machine bit back and the dream faded. This is one of the first mass media productions to explore how the medium can be used to manipulate public opinion.

As a filmmaker, Welles attempted things that few other directors seemed interested in. He played with story structure, starting with Kane’s death, using a news reel to relay the vital facts, before a reporter investigated further, attempting to understand his final word, “rosebud”. We meet the great and small people who encountered Kane and their flashbacks tell the real story.

Visually, Welles was the first to combine a variety of techniques already in use by German directors — deep focus cinematography, shots of the ceilings, chiaroscuro lighting, and temporal jump-cuts – into an American production. He claims he did this through ignorance of the rules, much as Kane wrote his own rules along the way. Welles also brought his radio know-how to the screen, so overlapping dialogue and sound effects deepened the film experience.

The movie was a success, and one of the few to enjoy 100% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. It has withstood the test of time, staying atop AFI’s Greatest Films of All Time list. The virtuoso production, which gave us actors such as Joseph Cotton and Agnes Moorehead, endures because of its themes and rock solid production. It forces you to watch, to pay attention, and understand one of the most complex figures introduced during Hollywood’s Golden Age.

It remains watchable and entertaining, such is its power. Warner has remastered the film, previously released in DVD and Blu-ray, in 4K resolution, making for the 1080p 1.33:1image even sharper image on Blu-ray players. The audio is DTS-HD Master Audio is superb.

The 70th Anniversary box set remains the best package overall with the bonus material included but this Blu-ray still comes with many previously released features such as separate commentaries from Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdonavich, Turner Archive Project interviews with actress Ruth Warwick and film editor Robert Wise, Opening: World Premiere of Citizen Kane, and “The Production,” a 15-minute onscreen slideshow with contextual commentary from Ebert.

If you have never seen this, now is the time. Its lessons and entertainment value cannot be overstated.

Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest Debuts Today

pcq-296The force will be strong on devices across the nation today as Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest comes to Comic–Con HQ. Mark Hamill has been collecting comic books, original artwork, toys and other mementos since the early 1970s and now he gets to share his passion and enthusiasm for collecting in his new web series.

“I’ve been a collector all my life,” said Hamill. “This show is a natural outgrowth of that passion. Now I have an opportunity to collect other people’s collections! I can’t wait to see what’s out there and share it with the world. Collectibles are a living history of who and what we are, so we just might learn something…but there’s no doubt we’re going to have fun!”

This series kicks off at the DC Comics headquarters with the legendary Jim Lee, as the co-publisher and Mark trade favors and end up with their very own pieces of pop culture history. Join Mark throughout the season as Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest uncovers comic book memorabilia, film props, Godzilla, pinball machines and beyond with special guests including monster amasser Scott Zilllner, famous collector Bob Burns and many more!

Hamill will once again team with his friend and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi producer Howard Kazanjian.  Kazanjian was Executive Producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark and served as VP at Lucasfilm during the dramatic expansion of the company in the 1980s. Producer Darren Moorman, whose film Same Kind of Different as Me will be released next year, and longtime collector and vintage show promoter Scott Kinney will round out the producing team as Executive Producers on the series.

San Diego Comic-Con is only once a year, but Comic-Con HQ is year-round! The new subscription video – on – demand destination is available at Comic-ConHQ.com via web browsers, iOS/Android devices, Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Channels, with more to come.

To celebrate, the first episode is available to fans worldwide via DC Comics. In the pilot episode, “Joker’s Favor,” Mark Hamill heads to DC Comics Headquarters, home to one of the greatest collections of comic book memorabilia and one of the most celebrated artists in the world, Jim Lee. Join them as they share their stories of pop culture collecting and trade favors to end up with their very own pieces of pop culture history.

Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest: Episode 1 – Joker’s Favor

With Mark Hamill as your guide, explore the most exclusive pop culture collections in the world! Join Mark on his weekly quest to track down the rumored rocket-firing Boba Fett, the original Time Machine, the last surviving armature model used to animate the original 1933 King Kong, the 1992 Batmobile, and so much more! Mark travels inside pop culture’s vaults to uncover why we are so fascinated with collecting and what our passions say about us

Tune in next week on Comic-Con HQ as Mark’s affinity for Godzilla and giant robots leads him to collector Scott Zillner, whose passion transcended his home – filled with thousands of monsters and robots – and led to the creation of Power Morphicon!

Box Office Democracy: Arrival

I went in to the theater knowing less about what Arrival was and what it was about than any movie in recent memory. I had skimmed the first few sentences of the Wikipedia page but only knew the absolute broadest strokes. I was beyond pleasantly surprised; I can’t recall being so enthralled by a movie that was so far off my radar since Drive. Arrival is the best kind of science fiction that provides us with some fantastic things and concepts, but what it really tells is a mundane story through a fresh lens fantastically well.

Arrival has the kind of plot that sounds boring in summary— a linguistics professor is called to translate the language of a visiting alien— but ends up working well. The movie got me thinking about linguistics and the intricacies of language more than I have since I decided not to take an introductory level class in the subject back in college. There’s an inherent tension involved in any alien encounter, and something about the way the score does string hits that kind of sound like the way the aliens talk gives even the safest moments a hint of looming doom. There’s this overlay of global tension, that other countries might attack their local aliens and that this will spark a war for some reason, but none of that ever feels terribly compelling. I care about the characters they’re making me care about; I don’t care about vague threats that never make much sense.

There’s a turn in the story— I don’t want to call it a twist; there’s a massive shift in perspective in the third act. I usually don’t care about spoilers but I won’t give this away because I appreciated that I came in to Arrival with very little idea what the movie was about. The third act is brilliant, it’s clever, it’s suitably science-fiction-y, and it puts the whole film in to sharper focus. (This might be getting too close to what it is but I’ll never pass up a chance to give Zack Snyder grief: Arrival makes Watchmen look terrible.)

There aren’t enough good things to say about Amy Adams and the job she does here. She nails the big moments like being afraid of the aliens the first time she meets them and the big moments of grief and sadness, but the bigger moments seem easy. The small moments are what set the whole film apart. There’s a moment where she struggles with her hazmat suit the first time she has it on, the weight and the cumbersome nature seem to be smothering her and it communicates how awkward and massive that moment must have felt in a way that slack-jawed awe never would. There’s this need to lace so many touching moments with a sense of bittersweet inevitability in retrospect and it’s there, and it’s heartbreaking, and it’s beautiful. Forest Whitaker is excellent and Jeremy Renner does some of the best work I’ve ever seen from him, but Amy Adams is special in this film.

Arrival is an incredible science fiction film. Easily the best entry in the genre since Ex Machina although they’re nothing alike so there’s very little basis for comparison. With six weeks of allegedly top notch movies still to come, Arrival is comfortably on top of my list for best film of the year. It’s a haunting film that commands attention when on the screen, but more importantly infests your thoughts for days after.

Win a Copy of Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season

  • News
  • November 15, 2016

gots6-dvd-pkg_3d-skew-6-7You won’t be returning to Westeros for new adventures until summer 2017 but our friends at HBO are offering up a copy of the forthcoming Game of Thrones: The Complete Sixth Season. In order to win the prize, you need to tell us which of the many lands or Houses you would most want to live in and why.

Entries must be posted no later than 11:59 p.m. November 20. The contest is open to United States and Canadian readers only. The decision of ComicMix‘s judges will be final.

Digital HD Download

  • Bran’s Journey – A nine-minute feature delving into the shocking and revelatory journey Bran Stark took in Season 6.
  • The Dothraki World – Behind-the-Scenes featurette bringing viewers up to speed on the Dothraki culture, not seen since Season 1.
  • Inside Game of Thrones: Prosthetics – Behind-the-Scenes featurette detailing what goes into the show’s prosthetics creation.
  • The Game Revealed – Five-part series covering the creation of Season 6’s most epic set pieces and scenes.

Blu-ray™ with Digital Copy – includes all DVD features plus:

  • In-Episode Guide – Dig deeper into the show with thisin-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations, and relevant histories.
  • Histories and Lore – Learn about the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves in 18 history pieces.
  • The Old Way: narrated by Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk)
  • The Kingsmoot: narrated by Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk)
  • The Sunset Sea: narrated by Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk)
  • War of the Ninepenny Kings: narrated by Brother Ray (Ian McShane)
  • The Great Tourney at Harrenhal: narrated by Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick)
  • Robert’s Rebellion: narrated by Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)
  • Vaes Dothrak: narrated by Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen)
  • The Dothraki: narrated by Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen)
  • Northern Allegiances to House Stark: narrated by Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)
  • Children of the Forest vs. the First Men: narrated by the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow)
  • Brotherhood Without Banners: narrated by Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye)
  • Oldtown: narrated by Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) and Qyburn (Anton Lesser)
  • House Dayne: narrated by Young Ned Stark (Robert Aramayo)
  • The Little Birds: narrated by Lord Varys (Conleth Hill)
  • Knights of the Vale: narrated by Petyr ‘Littlefinger’ Baelish (Aidan Gillen)
  • House Tarly: narrated by Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner)
  • Riverrun: narrated by Brynden ‘the Blackfish’ Tully (Clive Russell)
  • Great Sept of Baelor: narrated by the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce)

DVD:

  • The Battle of the Bastards: An In-Depth Look – Behind-the-scenes piece examining the production challenges of creating this epic event, including explorations of VFX, stunts, and interviews with key cast and crew.
  • Recreating the Dothraki World –Behind-the-scenes piece looking at the creation of Vaes Dothrak and its importance to Dany’s evolution.
  • 18 Hours at the Paint Hall –Follow all three shooting units as they converge in this behind-the-scenes snapshot of a day in the life of the largest show on television
  • Audio Commentaries – The most commentaries ever recorded for Game of Thrones, featuring:
  • Episode 601: Director Jeremy Podeswa, Director of Photography Greg Middleton, and Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne)
  • Episode 602: Writer Dave Hill, Michael McElhatton (Roose Bolton), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), and Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd)
  • Episode 603: Director Daniel Sackheim, Production Designer Deborah Riley, and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon)
  • Episode 604: Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont),  and Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm)
  • Episode 605 (2 commentaries): Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy), Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy), Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed), and Kristian Nairn (Hodor); Prosthetics Supervisor Barrie Gower, Camera Operators Chris Plevin and Ben Wilson, and Executive Producer Bernadette Caulfield
  • Episode 606: Director Jack Bender, Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman, John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), and Hannah Murray (Gilly)
  • Episode 607: Producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, Ian McShane (Septon Ray), and Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell)
  • Episode 608:Director Mark Mylod, Essie Davis (Lady Crane), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)
  • Episode 609 (2 commentaries): Director Miguel Sapochnik, Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Kit Harington (Jon Snow); Director of Photography Fabian Wagner, Visual Effects Producer Steve Kullback, and Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Bauer
  • Episode 610 (2 commentaries): Executive Producers/Writers David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister); Special Effects Supervisor Sam Conway, Camera Operator Sean Savage, and Producer Chris Newman
  • Deleted Scenes –Four deleted scenes.

The most-watched series in HBO history and a worldwide TV phenomenon, Game of Thrones returns with another power season. This year, after the shocking developments at the end of Season 5 – including Jon Snow’s bloody fate at the hands of Castle Black mutineers, Daenerys’ near-demise at the fighting pits of Meereen, and Cersei’s public humiliation in the streets of King’s Landing – survivors from all parts of Westeros and Essos regroup to press forward, inexorably, towards their uncertain individual fates. Familiar faces will forge new alliances to bolster their strategic chances at survival, while new characters will emerge to challenge the balance of power in the east, west, north and south.

Joe Corallo: Animals. Mostly Young.

young-animal

As much as I would like to spend this column and all of my writings for the foreseeable future on what happened this election and its consequences, I’ll be returning to comics this week as this is what I and everyone at ComicMix signed up for. If I feel it’s applicable down the line, you better believe I’ll be writing about it here.

Moving on.

stcg_cv1_fegredo_varI’ve dedicated more than a few of my columns to the new Doom Patrol and to DC’s Young Animal imprint. Everything I had written about prior to today has been speculative regarding Young Animal as a whole. Now that at least one issue of all four series under the Young Animal banner have been released, I’d like to discuss my thoughts on the imprint so far.

For those less familiar, DC’s Young Animal imprint is “curated” by musician and Eisner Award winning writer Gerard Way, those titles being Doom Patrol, Shade The Changing Girl, Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye, and Mother Panic. Doom Patrol is the flagship title and what Gerard Way had originally pitched. Shade is an update of Peter Milligan’s Shade The Changing Man at Vertigo, which was an update of Steve Ditko’s original concept in the late 1970s. Cave Carson is an obscure DC side character who’s never had his own series before. Mother Panic is a new character created by Gerard Way, Jody Houser, and Tommy Lee Edwards.

After reading three issues of Doom Patrol, two issues of Shade, and one of both Cave Carson and Mother Panic a few things have become very clear. These comics are all character pieces. They’re very much driven by one character in each series, with Doom Patrol’s focus shifting somewhat while keeping Space Case in primary focus.

Some of this works. In a lot of ways this approach is also necessary. These are characters most comic readers aren’t as keenly aware of. Mother Panic is entirely new, though taking place firmly in Gotham.

doom-patrolMy problem with the stories so far is they lack strong antagonists. There is no singular villain that shakes me to my core. The stakes in a lot of what I’ve read so far haven’t really been fleshed out. Space Case has some vague danger and weirdness following her, but we don’t really know to what extent and what’s at stake. Shade had aliens that seem to kind of be looking for her, but we aren’t really all that sure yet how that’s going. Cave Carson’s eye is causing him problems, but, again, there is no clear antagonist. The closest we get to a clear antagonist is in Mother Panic, and even then little time is spent on her.

Now to be clear, I do really like strong character pieces where other elements of the story become secondary. This is only a problem for me as this is prevalent in all four titles. If I feel like I’m getting more of the same across four titles, it’s easier for me to be willing to drop one as time goes on.

We are also getting more of the same across all these titles in that they are all about straight cis white women – with the exception of Cave Carson, who is a straight cis white man. This by itself isn’t inherently bad. However, DC Comics has been trying to expand its readership and I’m not entirely sure I’m seeing how this will end up doing so in the long run. They’ve been doing a good job in terms of pumping out plenty of comics with straight cis white women or now some bi cis white women with Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. I don’t see how creating another white hero in Gotham is a step forward or a tool to garner new readers.

I know it may sound like I can’t be enjoying these books if I’m being critical about them. That’s not the case; I have been enjoying these comics overall. If anything, I wish more of the main DC titles took up some elements of these books. They’re often weird and deal with alienation and other feelings that either aren’t tackled in other DC Comics. The art is expressive at best and different at worst. The characters do all stand out and were fleshed out well from their debut issues. I do plan on continuing to read them for the foreseeable future.

That being said, DC Comics and others need to be more considerate about the future. I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about the election and its aftermath, but this does feel applicable. Now more than ever comics are going to need to step up. We have elected a bigot to the highest office in the land who has already appointed a bigger bigot as his top adviser. We need imprints that aren’t as white. Imprints with more diverse characters and more diverse creators. Outside of Tamra Bonvillain, nearly everyone involved with Young Animal is straight cis and white. And while I do commend them on the amount of women working on the imprint and the amount of women that are leads in the comics they’re putting out, we need more than that. We need not just white women, but people of color, queer people, and non-Christians feeling welcome and accepted. Feeling they can be superheroes too.

catalyst-primeThere are plenty of places to start. DC Comics controls the characters and universe from Milestone Media and doesn’t seem to be doing anything with that. Now is the time to do something. Marvel Comics seems to be onto something having Ta-Nehisi Coates help to bring people in to expand their Black Panther universe. Joe Illidge has been working hard over at Lion Forge to start Catalyst Prime, a series of superhero titles with both diverse characters and creators set to debut next year. We can only hope other comic publishers will be able to learn a thing or two from what Catalyst Prime will be and I hope for their success.

I’d be more than happy for more pop up imprints like Young Animal. I do think Gerard Way is doing something good. We just need more and different things as well. We need comics important to other audiences.

Here’s an idea: give Grace Jones a pop up imprint. I don’t know what she’d do, but I can tell you right now I’d read it.

Mindy Newell’s Post-Election Blues

woody-guthrie

I used to play the guitar. I never had any really talent for it, and soon put it away. But there was one song that I did learn. I did a pretty good job with it, too.

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York Island,

From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters,

This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway

And saw above me that endless skyway,

And saw below me the golden valley, I said:

This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,

And all around me, a voice was sounding:

This land was made for you and me.

Legendary folk artist and social commentator Woody Guthrie wrote This Land Is Your Land in 1940, reacting to Kate Smith’s recording of Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, which was played everywhere and constantly during during the Great Depression; he thought it purposely complacent about the terrible injustices being suffered by most of the American public which he had witnessed first-hand after leaving his native Oklahoma to travel the rails across America, eventually ending up in California, where the Dust Bowl refugees – “Okies” – who had migrated hoping to find a better life, and instead finding only more suffering and cruelty – see John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath, or, even better, read the book by John Steinbeck – while the government did nothing

Why do I bring up this up? Because, when Guthrie recorded it in 1944 for Moe Asch at Folkways Records in New York City, Asch left out one particular lyric:

Was a high wall there that tried to stop me

A sign was painted said: Private Property,

But on the back side it didn’t say nothing –

This land was made for you and me.

Which, of course, made me think of our President-Elect.

And then, while doing a bit of research for this column, I found this from the New York Times, written on January 25 of this year by reporter Thomas Kaplan:

“More than a half-century ago, the folk singer Woody Guthrie signed a lease in an apartment complex in Brooklyn. He soon had bitter words for his landlord: Donald J. Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump.

“Mr. Guthrie, in writings uncovered by a scholar working on a book, invoked ‘Old Man Trump’ while suggesting that blacks were unwelcome as tenants in the Trump apartment complex, near Coney Island.

 “‘He thought that Fred Trump was one who stirs up racial hate, and implicitly profits from it,’ the scholar, Will Kaufman, a professor of American literature and culture at the University of Central Lancashire in Britain, said in an interview…[who] about his findings … for The Conversation, a news website.

“In December 1950, Mr. Guthrie signed a lease at the Beach Haven apartment complex, Mr. Kaufman wrote in his piece. Soon, Mr. Guthrie was ‘lamenting the bigotry that pervaded his new, lily-white neighborhood,’ [Mr. Kaufman] wrote, with words like these:

‘I suppose / Old Man Trump knows / Just how much / Racial Hate / he stirred up / In the bloodpot of human hearts / When he drawed / That color line / Here at his / Eighteen hundred family project’

“Mr. Guthrie even reworked his song ‘I Ain’t Got No Home’ into a critique of Fred Trump, according to Mr. Kaufman:

‘Beach Haven ain’t my home! / I just can’t pay this rent! / My money’s down the drain! / And my soul is badly bent! / Beach Haven looks like heaven / Where no black ones come to roam! / No, no, no! Old Man Trump! / Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!’

“Mr. Guthrie died in 1967, and in the 1970s, the Justice Department sued the Trumps, accusing them of discriminating against blacks. (A settlement was eventually reached; at the time, Trump Management noted the agreement did not constitute an admission of guilt)…

“Mr. Kaufman, the author of ‘Woody Guthrie, American Radical,’ said Mr. Guthrie would be repulsed by the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. He pointed to Mr. Trump’s comments about Mexicans and Muslims, and contrasted the candidate’s sentiments to those of Mr. Guthrie in his song ‘Deportee,’ written about a plane crash that killed Mexican farm workers…

“‘Woody was always championing those who didn’t have a voice, who didn’t have any money, who didn’t have any power,’ Mr. Kaufman said. ‘There’s no doubt that he would have had maximum contempt for Donald Trump, even without the issue of race.’”

So…

What now?

As someone posted on Facebook, maybe Superman can start fighting the Klu Klux Klan again.

This land was made for you and me.

 

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