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The Punisher & Punisher War Journal get 4K Treatment in Sept.

Frank Castle vows vengeance when The Punisher arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) September 25 from Lionsgate. Based on Marvel’s iconic anti-hero, the film tells the tale of FBI agent Frank Castle’s unrelenting need for vengeance after his family is killed. Experience four times the resolution of full HD with 4K along with Dolby Vision HDR, which brings entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. The release also features Dolby Atmos® audio mixed specifically for the home to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. The Punisher 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack is loaded with special features and will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99.

Frank Castle is back when Punisher: War Zone arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) September 25 from Lionsgate. The film tells the tale of an ex Special Forces instructor arriving in New York to take on a scarred villain. Experience four times the resolution of full HD with 4K along with Dolby Vision HDR, which brings entertainment to life through ultra-vivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker.  The release also features Dolby Atmos® audio mixed specifically for the home to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. Punisher: War Zone 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack is loaded with special features and will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99.

The Punisher Details

CAST

Thomas Jane Boogie Nights, Deep Blue Sea, The Thin Red Line
John Travolta Pulp Fiction, Broken Arrow
Will Patton Armageddon, The Postman
Roy Scheider Jaws, The French Connection, All That Jazz
Laura Harring Mulholland Drive, Love in the Time of Cholera
Ben Foster 3:10 to Yuma, Hell or High Water, The Messenger
Rebecca Romijn X-Men, Femme Fatale, X-Men: Last Stand

SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentary with director Jonathan Hensleigh
  • Deleted Scene with optional director Commentary
    • “Introduction of Saints and Sinners Club”
    • “Livia Saint Insults Mickey Duka”
  • “Keepin’ It Real: The Punisher Stunts” Featurette
  • “Army of One: The Punisher Origins” Featurette
  • “War Journal: On the Set of The Punisher” Featurette
  • Music Video “Step Up” Performed by Drowning Pool
  • “Drawing Blood: Bradstreet Style” Featurette

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production:  2003
Title Copyright: MARVEL, THE PUNISHER and all MARVEL character names and distinctive likenesses thereof: TM & © 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Punisher © 2004 Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds 2 GmbH & Co. KG, Film & Entertainment VIP Medienfonds 3 GmbH & Co. KG., and Artisan GmbH. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2018 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: R for pervasive brutal violence, language and brief nudity
Genre: Action, Thriller
Closed Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Feature Running Time: 125 minutes
4K Ultra HD™ Format: Dolby Vision, 2160p Ultra High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.35:1 Presentation
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.35:1 Presentation
4K Audio Status: English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Audio™
Blu-ray Audio Status: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Audio Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio

Punisher War Zone Details

CAST

Ray Stevenson Thor, Allegiant, Black Sails
Dominic West Chicago, The Forgotten, John Carter
Julie Benz Rambo, Angel, Hawaii Five-O, Dexter
Colin Salmon Resident Evil, AVP: Alien vs. Predator
Doug Hutchinson The Green Mile, I Am Sam, The Salton Sea
Dash Mihok The Day After Tomorrow, Silver Linings Playbook
Wayne Knight Jurassic Park, Dirty Dancing, Seinfeld

4K UHD COMBO PACK SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentary with Director Lexi Alexander and Director of Photography Steve Gainer
  • “The Making of Punisher: War Zone” Featurette
  • “Meet Jigsaw” Featurette
  • “Weapons of The Punisher” Featurette
  • “Training to Become The Punisher” Featurette
  • “Creating the Look of the Film” Featurette

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production:  2007
Title Copyright: MARVEL KNIGHTS, THE PUNISHER and all MARVEL character names and distinctive likenesses thereof: TM & © 2018 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Punisher: War Zone © 2008 MHF Zweite Academy Film GmbH & Co. KG. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2018 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: R for pervasive strong brutal violence, language and some drug use.
Genre: Action, Thriller
Closed Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Feature Running Time: 123 Minutes
4K Ultra HD™ Format: Dolby Vision, 2160p Ultra High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.35:1 Presentation
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.35:1 Presentation
4K Audio Status: English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Audio™
Blu-ray Audio Status: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Audio Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio

Underappreciated Solo hits Home Video in September

BURBANK, Calif. (July 18, 2018) — Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, directed by Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Ron Howard—the creator of unforgettable films, such as A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Parenthood and Splash—took moviegoers on this summer’s wildest ride with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy, Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich). The action-packed journey explores Han’s first encounters with future friend and copilot Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and notorious gambler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), as well as his adventure-filled past alongside fellow street thief Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) and career criminal Beckett (Woody Harrelson). Watch instantly on Sept. 14th as the Millennium Falcon sets course digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD™ and on Movies Anywhere, and bring the adventure home on Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD and On-Demand on Sept. 25.

Solo: A Star Wars Story bonus content takes fans behind the scenes to experience compelling discussions with the star-studded cast and screenwriters Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan (writer of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi); a revealing feature on Chewie and his enduring friendship with Han; a close-up look at the original version of the Millennium Falcon and Han’s first time piloting the infamous ship; the creation of the film’s otherworldly settings and pulse-pounding action sequences; and eight never-before-seen deleted and extended scenes.

DIGITAL AND BLU-RAY BONUS MATERIAL (may vary by retailer):

  • Solo: The Director & Cast Roundtable – Sit down with director Ron Howard and the stars for an intimate and entertaining discussion of the film’s making.
  • Team Chewie – See what it takes to bring your favorite Wookiee to life in this lighthearted look behind the scenes.
  • Kasdan on Kasdan – Iconic Star Wars screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and son Jonathan share what it was like to write the movie’s script together.
  • Remaking the Millennium Falcon – Track the transformation of the most famous ship in the galaxy, from Lando’s swank and impeccable pride and joy to Han’s stripped-down hot-rod freighter with “special modifications.”
  • Escape from Corellia – Get behind the wheel for the making of this high-octane chase through the streets of Corellia.
  • The Train Heist – Explore the challenges and thrills of creating this action-packed sequence, including its remote location and spectacular effects.
  • Becoming a Droid: L3-37 – Meet the newest droid—and the talented actor who helps bring her to life.
  • Scoundrels, Droids, Creatures and Cards: Welcome to Fort Ypso – Take an in-depth tour of the rough-and-tumble bar where strangers mix and gamblers risk all in the legendary card game, Sabaac.
  • Into the Maelstrom: The Kessel Run – Join Han and Chewie at the controls of the Millennium Falcon to see how this legendary moment in Star Wars history unfolds.
  • Deleted Scenes
    • Proxima’s Den
    • Corellian Foot Chase
    • Han Solo: Imperial Cadet
    • The Battle of Mimban: Extended
    • Han Versus Chewie: Extended
    • Snowball Fight!
    • Meet Dryden: Extended
    • Coaxium Double-Cross
  • The Millenium Falcon: From Page to Park – An exclusive look at the history of the most famous ship in the galaxy, its origin and development, and how it will translate in one of the most anticipated expansions in Disneyland’s history.

Directed by Ron Howard, the fun-filled galactic heist movie stars Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!, Tetro), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Messenger), Emilia Clarke (Me Before You, Game of Thrones), Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Martian), Thandie Newton (Gringo, Crash), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and Paul Bettany (Captain America: Civil War, Master and Commander). Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) returns to play Chewbacca.

Written by Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan, Solo: A Star Wars Story is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel. Lawrence Kasdan, Jason McGatlin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are executive producers.

To create the unique look of the film, some of the industry’s top talent was recruited, including Academy Award® nominee Bradford Young (Arrival), director of photography; two-time Academy Award–winning editor Pietro Scalia (Alien: Covenant); Dominic Tuohy (The Mummy), special effects supervisor; Rob Bredow (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), visual effects supervisor; and John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), score composed and adapted by.

They are joined by returning Star Wars veteran crew members: Neil Lamont, production designer; Neal Scanlan, special creature effects; David Crossman and Glyn Dillon, costume designers; Jamie Wilkinson, prop master; Lisa Tomblin-Fitzpatrick, hair designer; and Amanda Knight, makeup designer.

The legendary John Williams is credited with the “Han Solo Theme” and original Star Wars music.

SPECIFICATIONS:

FEATURE RUN TIME:              Approximately 135 min.
RATING:                                  PG-13 in U.S. (Bonus Material Not Rated); PG in CE and G in CF
PRODUCT OFFERINGS: Digital 4K UHD (Select retailers include Dolby Vision), HD, SD, 4K UHD Multi Screen Edition (4K UHD + BD + Digital Code), Blu-ray (BD + Digital Code) Feature Film DVD, On Demand
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
AUDIO:

4K UHD BD = English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish and French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD = English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio
4K UHD Digital = English Dolby Atmos (for some clients), English 5.1/2.0, Latin Spanish 5.1/2.0, French 5.1/2.0 (for some clients), English 2.0 Descriptive Audio (for some clients)
HD / SD Digital = English 5.1/2.0, Latin Spanish 5.1/2.0, French 5.1/2.0 (for some clients), English 2.0 Descriptive Audio (for some clients)

SUBTITLES:

4K UHD = English SDH, Cantonese, Korean, Latin Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese for English, French-Canadian
Blu-ray = English SDH, French & Spanish
DVD = English SDH, French & Spanish
4K UHD / HD / SD Digital = English SDH, French & Spanish
CLOSED CAPTIONS: English  (DVD & Digital)

Power Rangers: Ninja & Steel Coming Home Aug. 14

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Celebrate the 25-year-old global pop-culture phenomenon and morph into action with Power Rangers Ninja Steel: The Complete Season, arriving on DVD and Digital August 14 from Lionsgate. The 3-DVD set will include a printed excerpt from Boom! Studios’ 25th-Anniversary Artist Tribute Book, and will feature all-new box art exclusive to the home entertainment release by illustrator and comic artist George Caltsoudas (Batman: The Animated Series and the graphic novel Star Trek: Boldly Go). The Power Rangers Ninja Steel: The Complete Season DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Deep in space, Galvanax is the reigning champion of the most popular intergalactic game show in the universe, “Galaxy Warriors,” in which monsters battle to prove who is the mightiest warrior.

Galvanax is determined to become invincible by controlling the mythical Ninja Nexus Prism, which contains six supernatural Ninja Power Stars. The only thing standing in his way is a new team of heroic teenage Power Rangers who possess it. The evil Galvanax sends his warrior contestants down to Earth to steal the Ninja Power Stars, where each epic battle against the Power Rangers is broadcast throughout the universe. Together, the Power Rangers must master their arsenal of Ninja Power Stars, Zords, and Megazords — each made of legendary Ninja Steel — in order to stop this evil threat and save Earth from destruction.

CAST

William Shewfelt as Brody Romero, the Red Ninja Steel Ranger
Nico Greetham as Calvin Maxwell, the Yellow Ninja Steel Ranger
Zoe Robins as Hayley Foster, the White Ninja Steel Ranger
Peter Sudarso as Preston Tien, the Blue Ninja Steel Ranger
Chrysti Anne as Sarah Thompson, the Pink Ninja Steel Ranger
Jordi Webber as Aiden Romero/Levi Weston, the Gold Ninja Steel Ranger

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2018
Title Copyright: TM & © 2017 SCG Power Rangers LLC. Power Rangers and all related logos, characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are the exclusive property of SCG Power Rangers LLC. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization.
Type: TV-on-DVD
Rating: TV-Y7
Genre: Action/Adventure, Children’s/Series
Closed-Captioned: English
Subtitles: None
Feature Run Time: approx. 8 hours, 15 minutes
DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen 1.78:1 Presentation
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, Spanish 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio, French 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio

Michael Davis: The Truth About Harlan Ellison And The Lie He Told Us All

Note number 1: I wrote this first part in 2014. What’s below took me two weeks as I’ve been battling depression blah blah blah blah poor me etc.

Twenty minutes after I first met Harlan Ellison he handed me a signed blank check.

I’ll get back to that.

I found out what kind of friend Harlan was, and it’s essential to me people know the type of sway his friendship carries with it.

When I was very young, in the summertime my sister and I were sent to Alabama to stay with my stepfather’s parents. My stepfather would drive us from New York, and I looked forward to that two-day trip until one night I will never forget made me never want to go south again.

In thirty years of baring my soul as a writer, I have never written about that experience. I do so now to underscore the importance of Harlan’s influence in my life.

My stepfather Robert Lawrence was an alcoholic well before it was designated an illness. At six years old I would not have cared if it was an illness or a ring given to him from The Guardians of the Universe. Robert (yes I called him Robert, it’s a Black thing) could do no wrong— he was my idol. It’s astonishing we were not killed during those sometimes 100 mph trips to Dalton, Alabama.  Robert was always drinking, and driving two kids cross country was just another thing to do for him.

We had just entered North Carolina sometime after midnight. Robert had stopped to take a nap. My sister and I were in and out of sleep, and for years the following seemed like a bad dream. The taps on the windshields were loud but the voices— “WAKE UP NIGGER!” were more emphatic.

Surrounding the car were six huge white men. Robert woke up.

“GET ON OUT HERE.”

Robert opened the door and stepped out.

Although he wasn’t hit, he was none the less beaten badly. Those men said the kind of things that put Robert on his knees. The one thing I’ll repeat was this: “Boy, we the Klan.”  They had no robes or hood, but we all knew it was true. My hero was reduced to what I thought then was a coward. As I got older, I realized he wasn’t.  He did what he had to do to save my sister and I. It was years before I understand this event wasn’t a bad dream.

I didn’t know what a vow was, but I made up my mind never to go south again. However against my better judgment and fears, I went back to the south twice the second time I wrote about in the 2014 article linked above.

Both times, something terrible happened to me— both times, Harlan made it OK.

I was asked to be the auctioneer at a function to benefit battered women at Dragon Con in 1995.  Giving myself the “oh I was a child it couldn’t have bad” talk, I arrived in Atlanta early so I could go to the Civil War Museum. I am a big fan of American history, and I’m sure the Civil War Museum in Atlanta is all I heard it was.

I may never know.

My then girlfriend at the time and I got as far as the parking lot when it was made clear we should keep on getting on. I’ll spare you the details, but note to Black men who love history, here’s a tip: if you’re planning a trip to the museum leave your white girlfriend home.

To be fair, that was 1995, things may be different now that Trump is Presiden…shit. Just don’t go.

After the events in the parking lot, both my girlfriend and I were severely shaken.  I was determined to just go back to New York, but I owed the benefit organizers an in-person explanation at least.

Nothing was going to stop me from getting on a plane, or so I thought.

Harlan did.

He heard I was bowing out found me and did the second kindest thing ever done for me. He co-auctioned the event and in doing so showed me the people of Atlanta were terrific kind folk unlike those who tore into me with such hatred earlier that day.

The two hours Harlan and I spent going at each other trying to get bidders to go higher and higher is why Dragon Con is my single favorite convention experience.

Yep.

I love San Diego Comic-Con and would take a bullet for any staff member, but the single best time I’ve ever had at a convention was Dragon Con, and I’ve only been there once.

A lot has been written about Harlan’s brash in your face attitude. Many think that as a famous writer he was playing a role. His antics more ‘character’ than real.

Some even going so far as to say he believed little of what he preached.

I wish some people were smart enough to realize how stupid they are.

Harlan Ellison was a 20-year-old brand new writer in Hollywood when the biggest star in the world got in his face. Nobody and I mean nobody fucked with Frank Sinatra.  Frank got in Harlan’s face, Harlan  got right back into his.

Sinatra was the most powerful man in Hollywood at the time; Harlan was a writer and didn’t care. Give that a long hard thought. That as they say in the hood is ‘gangsta.’ Read the article “Frank Sinatra has a cold” and you’ll learn something about being true to yourself.  It’s all talk for most, not Harlan.

I mentioned what Harlan did for me at Dragon Con was the second kindest thing ever done for me, here’s the first: when I met Harlan he was leaving a party at Len Wein’s house; I had just gotten there.

We hit it off immediately.

“Give me a call, let’s grab a bite,” Harlan  said. “That would be great!” I responded and gave him my card. Harlan  looked at the card then gave it back. “You’re calling me, remember?”  For a moment I thought he was pissed, but I managed to utter, “Card?”

“Man, I don’t do cards.” He half yelled while digging around in his briefcase.

He produced a checkbook ripped out a check and gave it to me. “Whoa!” I stammered while looking at his name address and phone number printed on the front.  “Don’t you want to write void or something on this?”

He grabbed the check from me making a show of writing something on it. “Man, you’re like a little girl.” He tosses the check back to me and says in a much lower voice; “I’m sure I can trust you, but just in case you ever need help with anything…”

I didn’t get that at all, I folded the check and put it in my wallet. Something stopped me from returning my billfold to my back pocket. Instead, I unfolded the check and looked at what Harlan had written.

He signed the check.

I’d known the man for twenty minutes, and he had given me a signed blank check.

I ran after him with the intent of giving back the check. I reached him in about 30 seconds deciding at that moment to keep it realizing the message behind the gesture, this man wanted me in his life and wanted me to know he’s not fucking around. “I could be homeless and hungry; I’ll never cash it.”  Harlan  made a look like he had no idea who I was but before the front door closed, he hit me with a smile.

I had the check framed the day I heard Harlan passed.

The truth about Harlan is he was exactly who he said he always told the truth— except for this massive lie. He once wrote, “For a brief time I was here, and for a brief time, I mattered.”

Bullshit, nope, nada, bullshit again.

Harlan Ellison will always matter.

Note number 2: To my loyal fans (both of you) I’ll try and stick around this time, but the thing about depression is it’s depressing so there. Harlan’s article I hope will be the last shared by all the outlets that carries my bi-line.

To my haters, I’M BLACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.

That last one was for you, Harlan.

REVIEW: Rampage

REVIEW: Rampage

I had no idea that Rampage was based on a 1986 video game, I just knew it was a variation on the Dwayne Johnson and/or monster film to fill a spring slot (see Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island) until the good movies arrived. That it starred the always-appealing Johnson along with Naomie Harris, Malin Åkerman, Jake Lacy, Joe Manganiello, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan made it a cut above somewhat interesting. Still, I passed on it at the theater once the reviews talked about it being predictable and average at best.

With the film on disc this week from Warner Home Entertainment, in the wake of Johnson’s Skyscraper hitting theaters, it’s a good time to finally give it a whirl.

Produced and directed by Brad Peyton, it reteams him with co-screenwriter Carlton Cuse and Johnson, the three previously having worked on the more-of-the-same Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and San Andreas. The question is: do we really want to see more cities mindlessly destroy, collateral destruction of science gone awry? There’s a certain ho-hum factor built in these days and Peyton does little to try and rise above the dilemma. He’s content to just let things blow up, crumble, and go splat.

There’s a plot, derived from the eponymous game: a pathogen has come crashing to Earth, turning normal animals into lumbering, ferocious monsters in need of destroying. Among these poor victims is George, a rare albino silverback gorilla who has befriended primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), who just happens to be a former US Army Special Forces soldier and still rather buff. The connection between man and gorilla forms the emotional core of the film and is even more poignant in the wake of the recent passing of the real life Koko.

When George is exposed to the pathogen, he gets big and frightening and is, of course, captured by the government. A she learns from Dr. Kate Caldwell (Harris), the evil Energyne, run by CEO Claire Wyden (Åkerman), used her research to turn the pathogen into a biological weapon and the government wants it for their own uses, pitting Okoye against monstrous animals but also Agent Harvey Russell (Morgan).

All three animals are lured to Chicago, because it’s always a good idea to bring monsters to a major metropolitan area (as opposed to the Dakota badlands, for example) and things go haywire.

That’s pretty much all you need to know.

The film has been deemed to have broken even thanks to a worldwide gross of $24 million and much is being made of it being one of the more successful video game adaptations to the screen, but really, it’s all faint praise for a by-the-numbers production that should have had a lot more wow built in.

The film itself was shot digitally in 4K and the 2K High Definition transfer is quite good although the Dolby Atmos soundtrack is a trifle overpowering.

For a lackluster film, it has superior special features worth a look. We begin with Not A Game Anymore (6:15), tracing the game to film with Johnson trying to convince you this was the greatest gamer he ever played; Gag Reel (2:43); Deleted Scenes, seven in total; Rampage: Actors in Action (10:45), actors discuss their physical preparation for all the action and SFX sequences; Trio of Destruction (10:08), spotlighting Weta Digital’s fine contributions; Attack on Chicago (10:23), Peyton details how he destroyed the city; and the best of the lot, Bringing George to Life (11:53) as movement coordinator Terry Notary and motion capture actor Jason Liles collaborate to make George the most sympathetic character in the film.

Book-A-Day 2018 #196: Shade, the Changing Man, Vol. 1: The American Scream by Milligan, Bachalo & Pennington

I’m here because I’m looking backwards. Why else would any of us be reading the first collection of a nearly thirty-year-old comics series? [1]

I recently read the first collection of the current Shade the Changing Girl  series, which reminded me of this Peter Milligan/Chris Bachalo/Mark Pennington version, which began in 1990 and ran through 1996, ending after 70 issues. (As usual for corporate comics of that era, Milligan wrote the whole run, but the art team changed more often — Bachalo ended up drawing more than half of the series, through.)

It was a fairly typical Vertigo series of the day, one of the many that followed Alan Moore’s template from Swamp Thing: start with a minor DC character, one as close to a joke as possible. Take him seriously, but not in comic-book terms — take him seriously in world-historical terms, bring in whatever other pop-culture or serious-culture material that energizes you and you can bolt onto it somehow. Run that character through horror plots, generally one or two issues long, each one encapsulating something frightening or appalling or norm-breaking. Do it all seriously, at a high pitch of writing, narrated strongly. Set it officially in the DC Universe, but don’t focus on the usual four-color stuff — maybe show it on the TV, maybe let it wander through the edges of your story.

That produced Animal Man, and Sandman, and of course Shade. It was a great model as long as Karen Berger could find new brilliant British writers to relaunch obscure DC characters, but inevitably that well ran dry [2], and Vertigo shifted to other models. Shade was probably the last big success of that initial model — depending on if you count Sandman Mystery Theatre as this model or a Sandman brand extension — and also brought in the perennial popular “British person ponders America” genre.

The British person in this case was Peter Milligan, who’d come to attention mostly from his work with artist Brendan McCarthy, later collected as The Best of Milligan & McCarthy . And he made the obsession of Shade America’s vision of itself — every one of those early Vertigo books had an obsession, from Sandman’s storytelling to Animal Man’s animal liberation to Doom Patrol‘s dada. As usual, a British person both sees things Americans usually miss and fundamentally misunderstands some things Americans know so deeply they don’t bother to explain.

The first six issues of that 1990 series were collected at various times over the three decades since — what I have here is the first of a series of trade paperbacks from 2009, which seems to have petered out after three volumes, with most of the series left uncollected. But that’s the way of the world, isn’t it? In any case, I did find and read this book: Shade the Changing Man, Vol. 1: The American Scream .

As usual for Vertigo of the time, the Milligan Shade reconfigured the premise: instead of the original Steve Ditko crew-cut superhero punching villains with the power of his shiny sunburst vest, this Rac Shade is on an epic, ill-informed quest to save his world and our own from “madness.” His powers are larger, less well-defined, and largely out of his control. And he’s no longer bodily on Earth: the M-Vest propels him into the body of someone on Earth. In this case, convicted serial killer Troy Grenzer, on the night he’s about to be executed.

Shade/Grenzer escapes, psychedelically, from the electric chair — this is the Deep South, for maximum American death penalty frisson — and lands with Kathy George, a young woman whose parents and boyfriend were Grenzer’s last victims. He of course is able to convince her he isn’t really Grenzer, partially because of the continuing eruptions of unreality he triggers and partially because Kathy is only moderately sane to begin with.

And they set off on the road, to find the American Scream in all of its manifestations, to confront it and stop it and foil it, any way they possibly can. To save the world: this is a comic book.

Shade is episodic from that point, like the horror version of the old Incredible Hulk TV show. (Actually, there was a comic version of the Hulk that was basically a horror version of the TV show around the same time: American comics liked episodic stories then, and we were besotted with horror.) In this volume, Shade and Kathy go to Dallas to reenact JFK’s assassination, and then on to Hollywood for some silver-screen madness.

As I recall, it goes on like that: hitting the places in America that foreigners know about and relate to. Shade eventually changed bodies, gathered more of a supporting cast — did all of the things that help keep an episodic story going. But this set the tone: Shade was about Why the Hell is America So Crazy.

In this first volume, the various partial answers include racism, gun violence, and obsession with image — not a bad start. I wouldn’t cite it in a doctoral thesis, but it’s sturdy enough as an argument. And, sadly, maybe even more true almost thirty years later.

These are early Vertigo comics, meaning they’re strongly narrated, heavily written. This was an era of comic writer as the strong voice, pouring out his (and it was his, in that era) obsessions and thoughts and ideas, filtering them through fantasy and fight-scenes. Milligan was a strong writer with things to say, so he does that well.

He’s well-supported on art, though I think the technology for either the coloring or reproduction or both weren’t always up to the ambitions of the team. (Colorist Daniel Vozzo, as well as penciller Bachalo and inker Pennington.) Sometimes there are muddy moments, or too-obvious white highlights, or other artifacts of circa-1990 comics printing. I’d love to see this recolored, preferably by Vozzo, with the full panoply of modern technology — but that will never happen, since we couldn’t even manage to get this version entirely republished.

The American Scream is still relevant: it’s still recognizably about the same America we live in today. Some of the details have changed, and we have fancier gadgets now. But the madness is much like Milligan described it.

[1] I can’t think of any other possible reason someone might want to read a story about an epic journey across the USA to find out why it’s gone so crazy.

[2] The well of “new brilliant British writers,” that is. The well of obscure DC characters is endless, and refilled annually.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Deadpool 2 Super Duper $@%!#& Cut & SDCC Details Revealed

20th Century Home Entertainment has announced the August 21 release of Deadpool 2 on Digital HD and disc, including a Deadpool 2 Super Duper $@%!#& Cut,  with 15 minutes of brand-new action and jokes lovingly inserted throughout. Additionally, a series of celebratory events have been planned for next week’ds Comic-Con International in San Diego.

DEADPOOL 2 4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAYTM + DIGITAL (INCLUDES THEATRICAL VERSION AND SUPER DUPER $@%!#& CUT)

4K Bonus Features

  • Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Theatrical Version Only)

Blu-rayTM Bonus Features

  • Gag Reel
  • Deleted/Extended Scenes
  • Until Your Face Hurts: Alt Takes
  • Deadpool’s Lips are Sealed: Secrets and Easter Eggs
  • The Most Important X-Force Member
  • Deadpool Family Values: Cast of Characters
  • David Leitch Not Lynch: Directing DP2
  • Roll with the Punches: Action and Stunts
  • The Deadpool Prison Experiment
  • Chess with Omega Red
  • Swole and Sexy
  • “3-Minute Monologue”
  • Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Theatrical Version Only)
  • Deadpool’s Fun Sack 2
  • Stills (28 Images)

DEADPOOL 2 BLU-RAY™ + DIGITAL (INCLUDES THEATRICAL VERSION AND SUPER DUPER $@%!#& CUT)

Blu-rayTM Bonus Features

  • Gag Reel
  • Deleted/Extended Scenes
  • Until Your Face Hurts: Alt Takes
  • Deadpool’s Lips are Sealed: Secrets and Easter Eggs
  • The Most Important X-Force Member
  • Deadpool Family Values: Cast of Characters
  • David Leitch Not Lynch: Directing DP2
  • Roll with the Punches: Action and Stunts
  • The Deadpool Prison Experiment
  • Chess with Omega Red
  • Swole and Sexy
  • “3-Minute Monologue”
  • Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Theatrical Version Only)
  • Deadpool’s Fun Sack 2
  • Stills (28 Images)

DEADPOOL 2 DVD (THEATRICAL VERSION)

DVD Bonus Features

  • Gag Reel
  • Deadpool’s Fun Sack 2
  • Stills (28 Images)

DEADPOOL 2 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

DEADPOOL 2 4K Ultra HD Specifications/Blu-Ray™ Specifications
Street Date: August 21, 2018
Screen Format:  16:9 (2.39:1)
Audio:  English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby, Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French
Total Run Time: 119 minutes (Theatrical Version), 134 minutes (Super Duper Cut)
U.S. Rating  R (Theatrical Version), Unrated (Super Duper Cut)

DEADPOOL 2 DVD Specifications
Street Date: August 21, 2018
Screen Format:  16:9 (2.39:1)
Audio:  English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby, Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French
Total Run Time: 119 minutes (Theatrical Version), 134 minutes (Super Duper Cut)
U.S. Rating  R (Theatrical Version), Unrated (Super Duper Cut)

YOUR GUIDE TO FINDING THE “D” AT SDCC

DEADPOOL 2 IN HALL H
WHEN
Saturday, June 21
5:15pm – 6:15pm

WHERE
San Diego Convention Center, Hall H

WHAT
Prepare for the ultimate superhero landing as Deadpool and pals drop into Hall H for an hour of maximum effort. Expect dirty jokes, broken fourth walls, maybe some spandex and real, live unicorns! (Panel may not actually include mythical creatures.)

THE DEADPOOL 2 SUPER DUPER $@%!#& CUT WORLD PREMIERE
WHEN
Saturday, June 21
9:30pm

WHERE
Horton Grand Theatre
444 Fourth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

WHAT
Deadpool drops the ultimate deuce in the Gaslamp—now with more splash! The Horton Grand Theatre plays host to the world premiere screening of the Deadpool 2 Super Duper $@%!#& Cut, featuring 15 minutes of never-before-seen footage including deleted scenes, alternate jokes and extended takes.

Tickets to the screening are available for Saturday or weekend-long Comic-Con badge holders only. Head to the Sails Pavilion at 9am Saturday for your chance to get your hands on one. A certain time-traveling psychopath let slip that there may even be a few special guests in attendance, so get those tickets early!

DEADPOOL’S SUPER DUPER DANCE PARTY
WHEN
Wednesday, July 18 (Preview Night) – Sunday, July 22

WHERE
San Diego Convention Center, Booth 3529

WHAT
Your childhood dreams (or nightmares) come true as Deadpool and his animatronic band of X-Force rejects takes up residency at the San Diego Convention Center for a series of musical performances you’ll never forget—despite your best efforts. A different Comic-Con exclusive t-shirt will be given to the first 1200 attendees each day, Thursday through Sunday. So come early and come often!

DEADPOOL’S DREAM SUITE
WHEN
Press previews Thursday, July 19 – Friday, July 20
(by appointment only, please contact PR team with inquiries)

WHERE
The Hard Rock Hotel
207 Fifth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

WHAT
Have you ever wondered what it would look like if Deadpool and Blind Al took over the Hard Rock Hotel’s most expensive suite? Probably not, but you’re going to find out anyway!

Digital video service Vudu Movies & TV, has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to host a sweepstakes for one lucky Comic-Con attendee to win a stay in the Deadpool Dream Suite on Saturday evening. The suite is modeled after Deadpool’s apartment and comes fully-stocked with more half-finished Ikea furniture and pop-culture Easter eggs than you could shake a katana at. Not to mention all the (non-adult) movies the winner could ever watch, courtesy of Vudu.

Those planning to be at Comic-Con can enter to win at: watchvudu.com/deadpooldreamsuite. The official sweepstakes entry period is July 11 through July 19, and the winner will be announced at Comic-Con on July 20.

Although this activation is only open to members of the media and the grand prize winner, Vudu is also giving 15 lucky winners the extremely limited opportunity to tour this otherwise exclusive activation. Winners will be chosen by Vudu associates at Comic-Con, who will be on the lookout for Vudu and Deadpool super-fans.

The Deadpool hi-jinks continues after Comic-Con. Following the grand prize winner’s stay in the Dream Suite, Vudu will host a giveaway of select loot from the suite so fans can take a piece of the Deadpool Dream Suite home.  Visit watchvudu.com/deadpooldreamsuite to enter starting July 20th.

THE MERCH (WITH A MOUTH)
WHEN
Wednesday, July 18 (Preview Night) – Sunday, July 22

WHERE
San Diego Convention Center, Booths 4229 and 3529

WHAT
DEADPOOL 2 SUPER DUPER $@%!#& CUT (4K UHD $27.99 | Blu-ray $22.99)
Now with even more disc jokes! Pre-order the 4K UHD or Blu-ray at the Fox Fanfare Booth (#4229) or Deadpool’s Super Duper Dance Party (#3529) and receive a Comic-Con exclusive trucker hat, while supplies last.

DEADPOOL TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Blu-ray $17.99)
The OG, now available in collectible packaging with an assortment of limited edition party favors including stickers, car decals, temporary tattoos and a set of paper dolls that will let fans bring even their most depraved Wade Wilson fantasies to life.

WIN A SET OF DEADPOOL’S GREATEST PHOTOBOMBING MASTERPIECES
25 lucky fans will be selected each day Wednesday through Sunday to win a set of 18 Fox catalog Blu-rays with limited edition “photobombed” box art featuring Mr. Pool himself. All 18 photobombed films will be available to purchase at Walmart stores nationwide on August 7. Visit Booth 4229 and scan your badge to enter to win!

Book-A-Day 2018 #191: Mickey’s Craziest Adventures by Lewis Trondheim and Nicolas Keramidas

Let’s say there was a little-known Disney comic: Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories: Mickey’s Quest, which was published somewhere obscure for most of the 1960s and entirely forgotten since then. And let’s say there was a serial in that comic, called “Mickey’s Craziest Adventures,” a single page a month for almost that entire decade, with an ongoing story of a crazy caper involving Mickey and Donald and their supporting casts.

We can say all of that.

It’s not true, though it seems like it could be. Writer Lewis Trondheim and artist Nicolas Keramidas are telling that story here — “re-presenting” the “surviving” forty-four of the original eighty-two pages of that serial. But Mickey’s Craziest Adventures  is actually by the two of them, it was actually created new this century, and all of the “missing pages” are gaps because this is the way they wanted to tell and present the story.

Telling roughly half of a story that’s already designed to be madcap and full of random zany adventures does make it even faster-paced and more random, obviously. That would be the point. Trondheim and Keramidas want to make some moments, and vaguely sketch the larger shape of an already pretty shaggy-dog plot, and not worry about how it all fits together and whether any of it makes sense.

So Pegleg Pete and the Beagle Boys team up, first to steal a new shrink ray that Gyro Gearloose has invented, and then to use that ray to shrink and steal Uncle Scrooge’s fortune. (This all happens off the page, and is discovered afterward — even in the “full” version of the story that doesn’t exist. Trondheim is making this an story that bounces from one moment of high action or comedy to another, and then leaving out half of those moments.) Mickey and Donald set out after them, through jungles and oceans and deserts and snowy mountains and the moon, usually being chased by something large and hungry. In the end, they retrieve the fortune and capture the villains — without a lot of fuss, and mostly by happenstance.

What we have here are forty-four comics pages, full of running around crazily, with funny dialogue and cartoonish monsters, drawn lovingly by Keramidas and given a pseudo-aged Ben-Day dots look by colorist Bridgette Findakly. Every page is zany and fun.

If you’re hoping for a single coherent story, though, you will be disappointed: that’s not what Mickey’s Craziest Adventures is here to provide. If you want forty-four crazy pages of Trondheim and Keramidas, you are in luck.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Steve Ditko: 1927-2018

Stephen J. Ditko, one of the most iconoclastic comic creators of all time and creator or co-creator of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, the Question, the Creeper, Shade the Changing Man, Hawk and Dove, Starman, Stalker, the Odd Man, Squirrel Girl, and his most personal creation Mr. A, has died at his home at the age of 90.

Famously reclusive (there are less than five known photographs of him) and fiercely independent, Ditko was found unresponsive in his apartment in New York City on June 29. Police said he had died within the previous two days. He was pronounced dead at age 90, with the cause of death initially deemed as a result of a myocardial infarction, brought on by arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

There may be no better way to get a flavor of his impact on the field than the 2007 BBC documentary In Search Of Steve Ditko, hosted by Jonathan Ross:

Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

 

Book-A-Day 2018 #188: Royal City, Vol. 2: Sonic Youth by Jeff Lemire

Any self-respecting family story needs a flashback. Whether it’s a Ross Macdonald novel finally explaining just what horrible thing happened twenty years ago in Canada or a family saga that stops in the middle of Chapter Two to explain just how Sadie McGuffins first came to the Maritimes from Scotland as a teen domestic servant so many years ago, before too long the narrative needs to roll up its sleeves, dive into the past, and dramatize the things that are still casting a shadow over the present-day cast.

(It’s even required if a family story has no connection to Canada, though I’m not sure if that’s even possible.)

Jeff Lemire’s currently ongoing comic Royal City is a family story. And this second volume, Sonic Youth , is the big flashback — to 1993, when Tommy Pike was still alive.

(See my post on the first book, Next of Kin , if you’re not familiar with it.)

Lemire is either writing for the trade or his publisher (Image) is matching the books to the plotlines — either way; the first book was one “chapter” of this story, introducing everyone in the present day, and this whole second volume is set in 1993, in what the back cover calls “the last week of Tommy Pike’s life.”

This isn’t a spoiler for anyone who’s read the first book: we all know Tommy is dead, he know he died in 1993, and we basically know how he died. But now we get to see him alive, when we only saw him as a ghost or a memory in Next of Kin. The parents circle the main plot this time but are less connected to it, which is only to be expected in a story about teenagers. It’s all about the four Pike siblings: aimless recent grad Patrick, hell-raiser Richie, secretly pregnant Tara, and thoughtful, clearly doomed Tommy.

Tommy’s been having severe, debilitating headaches — more and more often, complete with hallucinations. He sees a doctor, has a scary giant machine scan his head, gets the “there’s something here that we need to explore more” speech, and is given a prescription for pills to take when his headache is bad. He’s told to absolutely avoid any drugs or alcohol wile taking those pills, but he’s only fifteen, so that shouldn’t be a problem, right?

But that weekend is the big blowout party — with most of the teenagers in town, in an abandoned factory outside this decaying industrial town. All of the Pikes will end up there, eventually. And will Tommy take other intoxicants on top of his medication?

Well, we know he dies, don’t we?

Lemire is telling a single longer, complex story here: it’s being broken up into single-issue comics and then collected into these books for cash-flow and market-need purposes, but it’s clear that Royal City has an overall shape and structure behind it. Unlike some creators, he’s not spinning out a single issue of complications at a time, or even one plotline. It’s difficult to say, at this point, how long that will be, but I’m confident that Lemire basically knows — he may have already written the last scene; he strikes me as the kind of writer who might do that.

I try to avoid predictions, mostly because I turn out to be wrong more often than not. But I don’t think we’re done with the flashbacks in Royal City. The next volume might return to the modern day (or maybe not), but I’m sure we’ll return to 1993 eventually, to see what happened after Tommy died.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

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