I think every reviewer has a high-spirited streak inside, where they want something to fail just because there’s a great headline for it. I remember when the Green Lantern movie was coming out, and there was a negative buzz preceding it, we came up with a list of reviewer headlines like “Oa No! Lights out for Green Lantern!” Looking back, it was pretty mean-spirited.
But thankfully, AHOY Comics’ High Heaven is so good there’s no need for a cheesy headline. If you really want one or need one, just cut and “OMG! High Heaven’s Divine!” or “TGIHH: Thank God its High Heaven” and put it at the top of this review. This comic, the second venture from Ahoy Comics, is subversively, wicked fun. High Heaven is fresh, witty and couldn’t be more different from the first AHOY title, The Wrong Earth.
Writer Tom Peyer and artist Greg Scott introduce us to a jerk named Weathers who suddenly dies and finds himself in the afterlife. Navigating it isn’t easy, and is especially difficult for a whiner like Weathers. The concept of Heaven is a well-traveled fictional road, but somehow Peyer creates a new take on it that leaves you eager to learn more.
Greg Scott keeps his foot on the gas with his gritty edged renderings. I liked his style in Archie’s recent Black Hood series, and it works surprisingly well here too.
And just like The Wrong Earth, AHOY has stuffed this issue with a plethora of diverse extra material. The back-up adventure is called Hashtag: Danger and is a humorous romp in that classic Challengers of the Unknown style. I’m not sure if the reason it works so well is because of the dinosaurs, the sly digs at social media, the unglamorizing of start-ups, or the wry commentary on reality show celebrities. A prose story by Grant Morrison, a Shannon Wheeler gag panel, a hilarious letters page and a clever editorial leave the reader with that “Wow! What a bargain!” feeling.
Heaven Can’t Wait! I’m impatient for issue #2. Ooops- that pun just slipped out. Sorry!
It’s exciting to be at the start of something. It’s especially exciting to be at the start of a new line of comics. Somehow comics, more than other forms of entertainment, have that feel of immediacy combined with a substantial tapestry of creative team-work. There’s always lots of dedicated people involved, and when they work together and make something new and exciting happen, it’s pretty special.
Ahoy Comic’s first new series, The Wrong Earth, is pretty special. And you can be at the start of it when issue #1 drops in stores tomorrow.
The new series offers readers a double-fish out-of-water story, as a classic Silver Age crime fighter changes places with a gritty “modern” hero. For superhero fans, there’s a lot to compare and contrast. And it’s done without any judgement on what type of storytelling is better. Writer Tom Peyer serves up clever new versions of old favorites, gently acknowledging the collective comic’s history that rattles around in collectors’ and/or fanboys’ heads. But he’s such an out-of-the box thinker that he will keep even the most jaded fans on their toes.
On the other hand, folks who aren’t overly well-versed in the nuances of fifty years of comic book heroes can enjoy this too. Anyone who’s seen one Marvel movie or one episode of a WB Superhero show is good to go.
Jamal Igle and inker Juan Castro provide solid art, often so smooth and skillful that you don’t even realize how good it is. Igle, as always, takes complicated scenes and makes them readable and engaging. He resists the urge to overdo it as he toggles between worlds, and what could have been jarring or tiresome is engaging.
One of the mantra’s for Ahoy is to provide a lot of material in each issue, and to ensure that it’s all diverse. The Wrong Earth #1 is overstuffed with creativity – including a prose story by Grant Morrison, a Too Much Coffee Man gag panel, a Q & A with Jamal Igle and a wonderful “lost” solo adventure of Stinger, the super hero sidekick.
Paul Constant teams with SU professor and artist Frank Cammuso on the Stinger short story called “The Fairgrounds Horror”. It has all the charm and fun of finding an old comic in your grandma’s attic. There’s an astounding level of detail, and the yellowed pages really look like they are from a 1940s comic.
Ahoy Comics’ first comic, The Wrong Earth, is a promising start to new publishing enterprise. I’m hopeful retailers will support this book, and if your retailer doesn’t carry it, ask him to snag you a copy. You will both be happier for it.
Here’s our take on the movie trailers released at San Diego Comic Con last month.
Justice League
Anya: Eh. It doesn’t look that good and there’s nothing that sets it apart from other superhero movies. I’ve noticed lately when watching the trailer that it’s the same thing for every movie. Some dramatic music plays and then one of the main characters gives an inspirational speech. Then, while he’s still talking, the trailer cuts to clips of people fighting, training, and making out. Then, the music cuts out for the comic relief to make one or two jokes. Finally, the music intensifies and a bunch of clips are cut together an play really fast. Then, the character finishes his face and the movie info appears on the screen.
Maddy: It looks okay but I’m probably not gonna go see it. Also, when Bruce Wayne is Batman he grows more stubble and his voice gets deeper? What’s up with that? Also, I like how Wonder Woman was in it twice. Just twice.
Wonder Woman
Anya: This one looks better, but I’m not super excited for it. I might go see it but it’s not getting me hyped as a 13 year old girl. Really the only thing intriguing to me about it is that it’s Wonder Woman because honestly it looks like the other 20 superhero movies that have come out in the past ten years.
Maddy: I am super excited for this actually. This is I think the first major movie starring a female superhero and it’s really groundbreaking. The costumes look fantastic and Gal Gadot looks like she will be phenomenal.
Suicide Squad
Anya: First of all, TWENTY ONE PILOTS!!!!!!! I think theSuicide Squad soundtrack is probably one of the best summer albums. Second, this is the movie I’m looking forward too the most. It just looks better than the other movies we’ve seen so far because it just seems so different.
Maddy:ASDJEFHUWHUIHJYEGW!I’M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! I’ve been hyped about this movie since it was first announced and I’ve pre-ordered the soundtrack and I know all the words to everything except “Purple Lamborghini” because that just came out. I’m genuinely OBSESSED. I’ll be wearing a Daddy’s Little Monster shirt when I see it opening day!
The Lego Batman Movie
Anya: So, this movie just looks like it’s the story of Robin told by Legos, I guess? It looks good and it looks like something I’ll probably see while babysitting but not something I’d rush to the theater to see.
Maddy: I agree, it looks pretty good, maybe not for your teenage girl demographic.Also, these type of movies are super impressive because they’re so hard to make. Good job, technical team!
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Anya: It looks so good! I cannot wait to see this one. I think that the costumes are really good. I like the 1920’s. They had great clothes back then.
Maddy: I’m gonna be walking into the theatre chanting NEWT SCAMANDER! NEWT SCAMANDER! NEWT SCAMANDER! and some people will be like “Oh yeah, me too!” but others will be like, “Who is she and what is her damage?”I’m so excited to see a J.K. Rowling movie in theaters!
Doctor Strange
Anya: I might be more hyped for this than Suicide Squad, but I don’t know. The whole thing is so trippy, it looks so cool!Also, Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing and I’m so excited for everything except the beard. It makes him look so scraggly.
Maddy: WHOOOOOHOOO! IT’S BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH!!!! This movie looks trip, like Anya said. I’m really excited. I love optical illusions and stuff so this’ll be cool. AND THE CAPE THING WAS SO COOL. It just snapped on like “whoa.”
San Diego Comic Con is practically right around the corner now; and with it comes one of my other favorite events, Nerd HQ. The brainchild of actor Zachary Levi and his friend Dave Coleman, Nerd HQ has only gotten better each year I’ve attended. Nerd HQ, which raises funds for the worthy charity Operation Smile, provides a smorgasbord of cool experiences in a chill setting (currently The New Children’s Museum)– a nice place to get away from the madness of the con for awhile while still getting your nerd on. Nerd HQ generally offers a selection of smaller-sized “Conversations for a Cause” panels with celebrities; “Smiles for Smiles” and “Signings for Smiles,” where you can get your photo with celebrities, or get celebrity autographs; places to play video games and see some really cool new or upcoming games; other cool exhibits from sponsors, some of which may be interactive; and two rockin’ parties for nerdy fans.
I’m looking forward to this year’s Nerd HQ, and in preparation for attending, I got to chat with co-founder Dave Coleman about his involvement and what we’ll be seeing. Read on for details!
Dave, what is your background with Nerd HQ and Zac Levi?
Well, I started the company with Zac in 2010. We’ve been partners in The Nerd Machine, and I have been producing every HQ since they started. Zac and I have been very, very close friends for the last 10 years or so. We’ve had The Nerd Machine for the last 6 years, almost 7. So I’ve been a part of this since the beginning.
Are you also an actor, or do you work in television? How did you end up meeting Zac?
I was on the crew side. I used to be a prop master for television; but Zac and I actually met playing basketball back in 2004, in the neighborhood that we all lived in. It’s funny, we met a lot of our friends that way. That’s where I met Joel David Moore, who was a really good friend of Zac’s at the time, and who’s now one of my other best friends. So it’s really interesting how we all met playing basketball, and then relationships grew out of that.
Eventually, I also started working on Chuck. I had done a movie with another prop master, Scott Bauer, who was on Chuck from the pilot. And he had interviewed me to do Chuck when they thought some of the guys who had done the pilot weren’t going to come back. It didn’t work out because of scheduling, so I ended up doing a couple of other shows while they were doing the first 2 seasons of Chuck. During season 2 of Chuck, I started working on the show 2 to 3 days a week, and then for seasons 3, 4, and 5, I was the on-set prop master for Chuck the rest of the time.
Can you tell me your experience with starting Nerd HQ and how it came together?
My experience is probably much different than Zac’s experience – just because, when we first started doing this, we really had no idea how to do it. We had never produced an event of any size, really, before. I had a design background; I have a Master of Fine Arts degree in set design. So I’d done that kind of thing, but never produced a full-on event for 20,000 people. So there was a lot of trial and error in figuring things out. You know – what do we think would be cool, and let’s just do that. That’s kind of how it started.
The whole thing was really an accident. When we started it; we made some t-shirts to throw out during a Chuck panel in 2010. I had a design background, and I had printed some shirts in the past; so when we started talking about doing stuff, Zac said, “Hey, what if I wanted to just print some shirts and give them out to fans during our panel?” I was like, “Alright, I can make that happen.” So it just kind of all started happening. And we made some shirts, and we took them, and we passed them out; and some of the guys on stage started throwing them; which was a giant problem, because everybody freaked out. Like, lawyers were pissed off and like, “You can’t do that!” because people were jumping over each other to try to get the shirts, and they were worried about liability and that kind of thing. So it got really kind of hairy there; but everybody loved the shirts.
It was the classic Nerd shirt that we ended up calling the NES, with the original Nintendo font. And so people were asking, “How do I get one? How do I get one?” And we looked around and were like, there’s no real “nerd culture” brand. You can buy stuff at ThinkGeek and Hot Topic, and hell, even at Target now, or Walmart; but there was no brand. So we thought about how to start something that people could identify with. So we turned Zac’s fan website, zacharylevi.com, into thenerdmachine.com, and just started taking email addresses; like, “Hey guys, if we made this shirt, would you be interested in buying one?” And we had thousands of people sign up. So we’re like, “Great! Here we go!” and a company got started. And my wife, Courtney, was shipping t-shirts out of Zac’s garage when we first started; and it was crazy. It was a real home-grown family business.
So after that we started trying to figure out a way to have a party; like in 2010 when we gave out the t-shirts, Zac had a party at a bar in the Gaslamp on Friday or Saturday night of the con. And people came, and we gave out the rest of the shirts that were there, and he was like, “Hey man – what if we just did another party to promote the brand?” But we couldn’t really work out a convention space, because, you know, they had been full for years and it takes a long time to get into the convention. So we said, “Hey, we’ll just do something outside.” We’ll find a little place to have a party, and go from there.” And then it turned into, “Well, if we have a party someplace, we’re still going to have to rent it for a few extra days to get it ready. What if we brought in some games or whatever. Maybe we can get some of our friends to come and do some panels. Maybe we could sell some tickets, and give the money to charity. Let’s see what we can do.” That’s how it all started!
What’s your experience been with the chosen charity, Operation Smile?
Fantastic. They’re one of the greatest organizations that I’ve ever been a part of. We are blessed to be able to help them out each year, and to do everything we can to raise money. We’ve been able to do some really great stuff with them in the last five to six years, that has really affected all of our lives in a positive way. You know, we all worry about jobs, and money, and that kind of stuff; but at the end of the day you go, “Man, no matter what we do, when we’re all done with our lives, we’re gonna go, ‘We did something to really help a lot of kids and a lot of people.’”
So of course people will want to know what’s coming to Nerd HQ this year. What can you tell us?
It will be at The New Children’s Museum again, and here’s a quick breakdown: AMD is coming back as one of our headline sponsors, and they are bringing in Battlefield 1 with EA and DICE; so we’re going to have a 64-station multiplayer of Battlefield 1 on PC – which is all Alienware, super-cool tech, and a really fun game experience. We played it during E3, and it’s unbelievable. Xbox is bringing their whole lineup of games that they’re going to have during the con to HQ. So we’ll probably have between 150 to 200 gaming units on site, where you’ll be able to set times, and that will be with Gears of War 4, Titanfall 2, and a bunch of other really great titles, all through Xbox, which we’re really excited about.
Johnson & Johnson is a partner of ours this year, and we’re integrating the “Donate a Photo” app that they do, in support of Operation Smile, into our app and into our photo booth. So if you take a picture at our photo booth, that photo gets sent to our Nerd HQ account to Donate a Photo. We can upload that, and for every upload, Johnson & Johnson donates a dollar to Operation Smile. What we are hoping is that we can raise another 10 to 15 thousand dollars just from photos at the photo booths. Hallmark is going to be on site with some awesome specials and exclusives for HQ which we’re really excited about. Kellogg’s is doing an indie gaming area with the Square Enix Collective, with a bunch of cool indie games that most people have never seen before, that people will get to play.
We’re going to have a brand-new app that’s been completely renovated and redesigned for this year, with enhanced RFID capabilities; really cool photo filters inside; and connections to all your social media; so that’s very exciting. We’re pulling out all the stops. We’ve added extra air conditioning to the panel rooms, and we’re doing tiered seating in the panel rooms, so it will feel more like the seating at Petco Park. We’re adding a 360-degree camera to the panels, so you’ll be able to watch the panels at home on your VR system. You’ll be able to feel like you’re in the audience, which is what I think people want. And again, we’re lining up some amazing panels – new stuff, returning stuff; things people love, and some new stuff they wouldn’t expect. I don’t have the full panel list yet, but we’ll probably be releasing some of the panel schedule this week, and then we’ll have the full list out by next week.
We’ll be adding brand-new merch that we’ll be selling exclusively at Nerd HQ. We’re going to have this bad-ass 1960’s Nerd HQ-branded van driving around the city to promote HQ and for photo ops – it looks kind of like a big red version of the Mystery Machine. It’s going to be awesome. We’re doing more signings this year than before; and will hopefully bring in some really big names for the signings. And of course we’ll be doing Smiles for Smiles, which is one of our biggest ways to engage the fans with celebrities. We definitely want people to help us in our philanthropy by being a part of it themselves; so we will encourage everyone who comes or watches from home to download the Donate a Photo app from Johnson & Johnson. Because every day of the year, you can post a photo, and each one is a dollar for Operation Smile. Every person, by doing something that they already do by posting a picture, can change one kid’s life in 245 days. We’ll also have the fan parties on Thursday and Saturday, which will be super fun. We’re excited about those. We have a great time those nights.
So what are you most excited about for Nerd HQ 2016?
I think I’m most excited about the greater amount of offerings we’re going to be able to give this year. And I think we’re going to be able to raise a lot more money for charity, and to create a much more pleasurable fan experience through the upgrades to the panel rooms and the rest of the building, which I think are going to make a huge difference. Just being able to offer cool stuff that we haven’t been able to offer before is great.
And it’s HQ, it’s fun! We want people to feel like there’s a place where they belong, a place where they can feel comfortable, and like everyone there is their friend; and that it’s just a good time, and a good place to hang out.
Thank you, Dave Coleman, for your time and for this exciting Nerd HQ information! I can’t wait!
Have you ever wondered what could have been? What if Key West seceded from the mainland? If the state of Wyoming ended up in the middle of Pennsylvania? If freed slaves were given the state of Mississippi after the Civil War? Perhaps you would like a Brief Explanation as to how Budapest became the Taco Capital of the World? Or, if you prefer, there is one story that is a fight to the death between the governor of North Alaska, Sarah Palin, and the billionaire orange haired governor of South Alaska…
You can wonder all of these no longer with ‘Altered States of the Union: What America Could Be’; An American alternate history anthology (say that five times fast) that features a varied and fantastic line up of first time authors, New York Times best selling authors, and Hugo and Nebula award winning authors, coming all together with their own stories of alternate American history and describing what could have been if circumstances were just a little different. (And a little more crazy.)
It will be making its debut on July 15th/2016 at the Shore Leave Convention – aptly, the weekend before the Republican convention. For anyone that grabs it on Indiegogo, copies of the book will be mailed out shortly thereafter, if you’re not at the show to pick it up and get autographs in person.
This anthology wants to show you how we could have gone other ways, how we could have been very different than what we are– yet still be America. For anyone wondering how the Indiegogo will be spread out, they’re taking pre-orders to finance printing costs and generally passing along more money to the contributors— all proceeds after production and distribution costs go to the people whose work drew you to the book in the first place— which, after all, is how it should be.
The array of authors that are in this collection of historic proportions are:
A mixture of NY Times best sellers, Hugo and Nebula winners, WGA award winners, president of American Atheists, and an editor of the Sandman comics is a sure win. Any anthology that includes the writer of “The Trouble With Tribbles”, a writer of “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”, and the president of American Atheists is an interesting mix that shouldn’t be missed out on.
DreamWorks and Netflix have released two teaser clips for the new iteration of Voltron. The new series, Voltron: Legendary Defender, debuts on the streaming service on June 10.
HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 20, 2016) – Paramount Pictures, Skydance, Bad Robot and director Justin Lin today announced that the world premiere of Star Trek Beyond will play in the immersive IMAX® format at Comic-Con International: San Diego, in partnership with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and IMAX Corporation, on Wednesday, July 20, at the Embarcadero Marina Park South.
The red carpet event at San Diego Comic-Con, which marks the first-ever open-air IMAX world premiere, will feature special appearances by Lin and the Star Trek Beyond filmmakers and cast, as well as a live concert performance of Academy Award®-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s film score by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Lin made the announcement at the STAR TREK FAN EVENT, where all fans in attendance were invited.
“I am thrilled to celebrate the premiere of the film together with the fans at Comic-Con and excited for everyone there to experience Michael Giacchino’s incredible score played live,” said Lin.
Added David Glanzer, spokesperson for Comic-Con International: “We are both privileged and excited that Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Bad Robot have chosen to honor fans by having the world premiere of the next chapter of Star Trek at Comic-Con this summer.”
“What better way to show appreciation for the constant support of IMAX fans worldwide than by partnering with our friends at Paramount, Skydance, Bad Robot and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra on this ultimate Comic-Con world premiere,” said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment.
As a special event for this year’s Comic-Con attendees, fans will have the chance to attend the world premiere of Star Trek Beyond. Details about ticket distribution will be announced prior to the 2016 convention.
Star Trek Beyond, the highly anticipated next installment in the globally popular Star Trek franchise, created by Gene Roddenberry and reintroduced by J.J. Abrams in 2009, returns with director Justin Lin (“The Fast and the Furious” franchise) at the helm of this epic voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her intrepid crew. In “Beyond,” the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.
From Paramount Pictures and Skydance, Star Trek Beyond is a Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark, Perfect Storm Entertainment production. The film stars John Cho, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin and Idris Elba. Directed by Justin Lin, the third film in the franchise series is produced by J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Lindsey Weber, and Justin Lin; and executive produced by Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Tommy Harper. Based upon “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry, the screenplay is written by Simon Pegg & Doug Jung.
The IMAX® release of Star Trek Beyond will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.
Star Trek Beyond opens in theaters and IMAX® beginning July 22, 2016.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released its first official clip from the upcoming DC Universe Original Movie, Justice League: Gods & Monsters. This follows New Frontier as an Elseworlds take on the classic heroes and villains. Unlike the former, which was an amazing miniseries by Darwyn Cooke, this is spawning a series of comics and merchandise, lending this a legitimacy
The feature-length animated thriller will have its World Premiere on Friday, July 10 at 7:00pm in Ballroom 20 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The film will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital HD on July 14, and as a Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on July 28.
Synopsis of Justice League: Gods & Monsters: Animation legend Bruce Timm returns to the popular DC Universe Original Movies with his unique new vision of a Justice League you’ve never seen before. Justice League: Gods & Monsters features a Superman born of General Zod’s blood, a Batman with a healthy dose of bat in the man, and a Wonder Woman rising from the ranks of the New Gods. This ain’t your daddy’s Justice League. They are as likely the world’s saviors as Earth’s despotic rulers. When a group of famed scientists experience untimely “accidents,” a government task force follows the trail of clues to the Justice League — and into a high stakes game of intrigue, mystery and action that asks the question: How do you serve justice to those above the law? The star-laden voice cast includes Michael C. Hall (Dexter) as Batman, Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order, 24) as Superman, Tamara Taylor (Bones), as Wonder Woman; Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), as Lois Lane; C. Thomas Howell (E.T., Southland), as Dr. Will Magnus; Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter films, Dig) as Lex Luthor, Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare, Leverage) as Highfather, and Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) as Steve Trevor.
So when I heard Guy Ritchie got the nod to bring us a new film, I was ready to believe. But of course, this is not only the man who brought us Snatch and the Sherlock Holmes movies, but the remake of Swept Away. (more…)
Well, we didn’t like it (a lot) but maybe you will enjoy Batman: Assault on Arkham, the next entry in the popular DC Universe Original Movie series. The film is now available to own via Digital HD, and is now available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD.
To help make up your mind, check out this clip featuring Deadshot and Captain Boomerang matching skills (and wits) in a “friendly” game of darts.
Writer Tom Peyer and artist Greg Scott introduce us to a jerk named Weathers who suddenly dies and finds himself in the afterlife. Navigating it isn’t easy, and is especially difficult for a whiner like Weathers. The concept of Heaven is a well-traveled fictional road, but somehow Peyer creates a new take on it that leaves you eager to learn more.
