Wonder Con - Saturday 2024!

Saturday was a busy day at Wonder Con, exhausting, filled with authors, a panel, and incredible cosplayers! The traffic getting into the con filled the streets with the morning rain. Inside the con, I returned to Tony Isabella and Ron Lim with comics that I found, it was the same with Gail Simone. Still, I would stay in line just to have a chat, her husband Scott is equally fun to see at a con! I also went to bring some Hero Initative books to Todd Nauck. His X-Men `97 #1 cover was sold out at the con!  I saw some cosplayers recreating Haunted Mansion ghosts including Hatbox Ghost! At the end of Hall A there was a gathering of Star Wars cosplayers. I saw a Doctor Aphra, Cara Dune, and just thought a couple playing Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were perfect! 

Tarzan and The Land That Time Forgot panel, author’s photo. 

I attended the Tarzan and The Land That Time Forgot panel that featured Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. The moderator, Christopher Paul Carey, brought up the latest novel, Korak At the Earth’s Core by Win Scott Eckert. The son of Tarzan hasn’t appeared in novel form since 1916! A young Dejah Thoris appears in her first solo novel, A Princess of Mars: Shadow of the Assassins by Ann Tonsor Zeddies. The latest Kickstarter campaign has two volumes of Victory Harben! Carey then mentioned the “Missing Captain John Carter” flyer tied to johncarteriscoming.com. The website has a countdown with 31 days! Enter your e-mail to be notified! Next, Kevin Connor, was introduced, the director of The Land That Time Forgot (1974). It is the 50th anniversary of the film! 

The movie is based on the 1918 Burroughs novel and starred Doug McClure as Bowen Tyler. Connor described the actor as a “big school boy.” Susan Penhaligon played his love interest, Lisa Clayton, changed from Lys La Rue in the novel. Carey noted that her last name, Clayton, has ties to Tarzan, John Clayton. Connor also said that he didn’t meet Michael Moorcock, the screenwriter also known for creating Elric of Melniboné. Wolf Larson, who played Tarzan in the 1991-1994 series, has been made Vice President of ERB Entertainment. He related memories of the show including showing dominance to the chimpanzee who played Cheetah. There were many funny moments. 

Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen cosplayers!, photo by the author. 

I went down to the show floor and some cosplayers who recreated The Fifth Element (1997) playing Ruby Rhod, a stewardess, Leeloo, Korbin Dallas, and Zorg. Next, I headed over to the 7BAP Signature Series booth that had many voice actors, and I went to see Irene Bedard. She is the voice of Pocahontas in the 1995 Disney film. Bedard starred as Yagoda in the current live action Avatar: The Last Airbender. I will say the people at the booth are some of the best I’ve seen at a signing. If you can’t make it to a con, check out their site: https://7bucksapop.com. 

What stunned me was seeing George O’Connor at the Mysterious Galaxy author signing area. The Wonder Con site had his signing on Sunday. His Olympans series is twelve graphic novels focusing on the Greek gods. The stories are a fresh telling of the Greek gods with many lesser known tales and incredible visions of their stories. Plus, detailed notes, and bibliography. Highly recommended for young readers and anyone who would like stories of mythology. Also, readers of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first of his new series, Asgardians, is about Odin. 

I was kinda stunned to see author, Troy Denning, at The Cove booth. I mentioned Denning in the article on aliens in The Acolyte. He said that his novel, Star Wars: Crucible (2013) was the last SW novel when Disney purchased Lucasfilm. It was meant to be the first book in a trilogy. It was interesting to talk to him about creating canon with the West End roleplaying game supplements. 

Also at the booth was Kevin J. Anderson. One of his latest books is Princess of Dune along with co-author, Brian Herbert. 

Characters from The Last Lumenian, author’s photo. 

If Chani and Irulan were interesting in Dune Part 2, then this is their stories two years before the movie! At his table was Paul of Dune (2008) covering the years after the novel, Dune (1965), and before Dune Messiah (1969). Afterwards, I saw Gene Luen Yang, who wrote and drew the graphic novel, American Born Chinese (2006) which was adapted into the 2023 Disney+ series. Yang also wrote the comic book series, Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Rift (2014). This was  nice since he saw a baby dressed as Aang in a stroller that looked like Appa! 

I also went to The Last Lumenian booth. This had cosplayers, a mini-set, and even a show that introduced some of the story and characters that drew a crowd! A promotion for the novels by SG Blaise. I finished the day going to the Stranger Comics booth which had the creator, Sebastian A. Jones. The latest Kickstarter campaign is Tales of Asunda: Niobe: She-Tribe #1 which is co-written by actress, Thuso Mbendu! There is so much excitement at Wonder Con this year and this only covers a fraction of what was going on at the con!  

#WonderCon, #TonyIsabella, #RonLim, #GailSimone, #ToddNauck, #TarzanAndTheLandThatTimeForgot, #EdgarRiceBurroughsInc, #ChristopherPaulCarey, #KorakAtTheEarthsCore, #WinScottEckert, #AprincessOfMarsShadowOfTheAssassins 

#AnnTonsorZeddies, #VictoryHarben, #JophnCarterIsComing, #TheLandThatTimeForgot, #KevinConnor, #DougMcClure, #SusanPenhaligon, #MichaelMoorcock, #WolfLarson, #7BAPSignatureSeries, #IreneBedard, #MyteriousGalaxy, #GeorgeOConnor, #TroyDenning

#StarWarsCrucible, #KevinJAnderson, #PrincessOfDune, #GeneLuenYang, #AmericanBornChinese, #AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheRift, #TheLastLumenian, #SGBlaise, #StrangerComics, #SebastianAJones, #TalesOfAsundaNiobeSheTribe  

WonderCon - Friday 2024!

 It was a long, fun day at WonderCon today, Saturday, starting with the entry queue that finally opened at 11 a.m.! It led to Artist’s Alley where I spent the first two hours. One of the first persons I saw was Tony Isabella who created Misty Knight. He had a special edition Marvel’s Greatest Creators of Iron Fist: Misty Knight #1 (2019) which reprints Marvel Premiere #21 (1974). Check out Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing at: http://tonyisabella.blogspot.com. Inquire there if you are interested in a copy plus some clever witing about his life and comics! He also co-created Black Lightning and discussed being on set for that show! Isabella noted that the character inspired many teachers! 

Wonder Con, today, author’s photo. 

He also co-created Tigra who is one of my favorite characters and noted that he didn’t want her costume to change in a live action adaptation! Next, I saw the convention’s special guest, Colleen Doran, who had copies of Chivalry which won the Eisner Award, Troll Bridge, and Snow, Glass, Apples with Neil Gaiman. Plus she had copies of her own work, A Distant Soil, also see the work of her site: https://www.colleendoran.com. Then, I went to the table of Jody Houser. Her work on Thrawn: Alliances is imperssive as well as her many title from the current Yoda to Doctor Who and many others! Right by her table was Sam Maggs, the writer of Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars (2023) which tells the story of Cal Kestis between the games Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023)!  

Enterprise-D bridge, Sci Fi Museum, photo by the author.

Another convention special guest, Gail Simone, had a table at a special autograph area. She had a line that wrapped around four times! The many fans patiently waited and Simone is one of the best persons to meet at a con! I brought along her book, You’ll All Be Sorry!, which has a new edition. The book collects her very funny columns about comics. Recommended! She said this is where it all started! I also passed the display from Sci Fi Museum which had a Star Trek: The Next Generation Enterprise-D photo op. Afterwards, I headed to the second floor for the A Conversation with Ashley Eckstein panel! She was there with her husband, David Eckstein!, Major League Baseball infielder for ten seasons, and winner of the 2006 World Series Most Valuable Player Award! 

A Conversation with Ashley Eckstein, author’s photo.  

Not too many comic cons with such a sports legend. Once she got the part of Ahsoka Tano, Eckstein kept the part a secret until seeing the Clone Wars movie at Skywalker Ranch screening, her husband fell asleep! The last part of the panel was choosing audience members as hype friends, supporting them in what makes them special, a fun panel! I met Grey Delisle-Griffin who voiced Asaaj Ventress in the 2003 Clone Wars series. There almost countless voices including the current Martin Prince in The Simpsons, Azula in the animated, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Monster Girl in Invincible. In another part of the con was Lenore Zann who voices Rogue in X-Men `97 and X-Men: The Animated Series. Tomorrow, A.J. LoCasscio, the voice of Gambit in X-Men `97 will be at booth #DL -21! Check out Unknown Comic Books, https://unknowncomicbooks.com, they had some exclusive covers of the X-Men`97 #1 comic book! 

Cylon cosplayers!, photo by the author. 

On the other side was Mark Rolston who had photos of Captain Hayle from Ahsoka. Also, fan favorite roles, Private Drake in Aliens (1986) and Bogs in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Next to him was Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez) and Ricco Ross (Private Frost) from Aliens! Going to the food trucks outside of the convention center, gave the chance to see some great cosplayers, I thought I was hearing things when Cylon Centurions walked past! There was also stormtrooper in a white suit and hat! This all led to the last panel of the day for me, The Spectacular World of The Spiderwick Chronicles. The first episode was screened before its debut for free on The Roku Channel, April 19th! This follows the Grace family, as they move to the Spiderwick Estate in Henson, Michigan. 

The Spectacular World of The Spiderwick Chronicles panel, photo by the author. 

This includes twins, Jared (Lyon Daniels) and Simon (Noah Cottrell), as well as their fencing sister Mallory (Mycahala Lee), along with their mother, Helen (Joy Bryant). The family’s legacy brings in the fantastical world. Also, Thimbletack (Jack Dylan Grazer), the Fetch, Calliope (Alyvia Alyn Lind), and the sinist Mulgarath (Christian Slater). The creators of the book series, Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, are also executive producers of the show. They were at the panel along with most of the cast; Lind, Grazer, Daniels, Lee, Cottrell, and Slater. DiTerlizzi spoke about Dungeons & Dragons, he is an illustrator for several of the game books. The young cast is very close like a family, Calliope is a new character to the series, and had fun making the show. DiTerlizzi surprised Slater with a drawing that he did 39 years ago! Friday at Wonder Con was filled with some of the friendliest guests, workers, and creators. A great experience to attend a convention that was easy to access and filled with talented people, beautiful artwork, fun panels and tables! 

#WonderCon, #TonyIsabella, #ColleenDoran, #JodyHouser, #SamMaggs, #GailSimone, #SciFiMuseum, #AshleyEckstein, #DavidEckstein, #GreyDelisleGriffin, #LenoreZann 

#UnknownComicBooks, #MarkRolston, #JenetteGoldstein, #RiccoRoss, #TheSpiderwickChronicles, #TonyDiTerlizzi, #HollyBlack, #LyonDaniels, #NoahCottrell, #MycahalaLee, #JoyBryant, #JackDylanGrazer, #AlyviaAlynLind, #ChistianSlater

Lorcana Game Play!

 I was finally able to go to a game store, ask game questions, and play my first game of Lorcana! The Disney Lorcana card game is created by Ryan Miller and Steve Warner. Ravensbuger released the game in 2023 with the first set, The First Chapter. We are introduced to the world of Lorcana with the video, “The Story Begins”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74nOdRwf92c. We see the poet, Shanzay, a young woman with purple hair, purple skirt (the color of Amethyst), and a half-moon necklace. The two patrons of the nearly empty poetry club are uninterested. Shanzay closes her poetry book and walks out into the night street. 

There is a glow in front of her, the Lorcana symbol in white! She steps forward and opens her eyes to find that she is in the Hall of Lorcana with golden pillars. This is found in The Great Illuminary, a palace structure like a globe ending in a point, floating amongst the stars. We return to the story in “The Power of an Illumineer’; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI_HDlbgaak. Shanzay is suprised that one of the grooves in the floor glows and then trails into a dark room. She enters the atrium to find two men and the steampunk-like structure, Starcatcher, that descends fom the ceiling. One of the persons wears a green vest (Emerald) and guitar, Martin, and the other with his blue jacket (Sapphire), Venturo, and a knapnack around his shoulder. They greet her, their fellow new Illumineer. 

This was created by The Curator, along with the first Illumineers, so he called these New Illumineers along with you. Venturo points out the Starcatcher which opens and brings in the light from a Story Star. It is focused and runs across the ceiling as another path is lit for Shanzay. She walks the path to another room where the light glows on a Lorebook. Shanzay takes hold of a staff, an Inkcaster, with a pointed edge. She strikes the end of the Inkcaster and the glowing Ink flows around the sigils of the Lorebook. An image of Hercules, a Glimmer, is formed and Shanzay touches Inkcaster to the Lorebook. Out of it leaps Hercules: True Hero! A Steel Dreamborn version that has Herc wearing the Nemean Lion, charged gauntlet, and golden shield! Shanzay has summoned her first Glimmer and is joined by the other Illumineers! An elaborate world building to set up the game.  

There were three Starter Decks with the first set, The First Chapter; $16.99; Amber/Amethyst (Moana/Mickey), Emerald/Ruby (Cruella/Aladdin), and Sapphire/Steel (Aurora/Simba). The collectible card game has a starter deck of 60 cards that includes a rule book, 11 game tokens, and a booster pack with 12 random cards. The 60 cards includes 2 foil versions of the cards on the front. In the case of Sapphire/Steel it is Aurora, Dreaming Guardian and Simba, Rightful Heir. The booster packs are $5.99. The Lorcana TCG app gives updates, a Catalog to keep track of your cards,  which ones owned, Standard and Foil, a Lore Counter to keep track of your games, and a Learn feature that has the game rules. Handy to keep track of your collection and decks. There is a gift set, $29.99, with oversized Hades and Mulan cards. It also contains four booster packs. 

The Illumineer’s Trove, $49.99, has a storage box, two deck boxes, and eight booster packs. Plus a player’s guide with all of the cards shown and some strategies. Game accessories include sleeve packs, $9.99, a box of 65 card sleeves to protect your cards for game play. Deck boxes, $5.99, which features the card art and great to bring for games. Playmats, $19.99, which is another accessory for serious Players to play the game on a Lorcana surface. Players put together a deck of cards, at least 60 of one color up to two colors. These are Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Steel (the gem connection works except the last one, a metal). There is a paper playmat that comes with the starter deck. The cards have several types; Characters, Items, and Actions. Characters from the animated films like Mickey Mouse: True Friend who is an Amber Storyborn Hero. 

You can have four copies of each version of cards so there are other Mickeys like Mickey Mouse: Wayward Sorcerer, but there can only be four Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Pilots in a deck. The Glimmers allow for many of the same Heroes, Allies, and Villains to be in play. The First Chapter and other sets have cards from many films; Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Frozen, Hercules, Lilo & Stitch, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Moana, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled, and a few others! The collectability is the diversity of cards with the many films. The different sets have an endless number of versions of cards with characters that are Storyborn, the classic depiction of the character such as Lilo: Making a Wish, Dreamborn, Scar: Fiery Usurper is a variant character, and Floodborn, strange and powerful variants like Hades: King of Olympus! They have shields next to their names which has Strength and Willpower value used in Challenges.   

The Items are played like Dinglehopper which removes damage from a Character. Actions are played like Dragon Fire which Banishes a Character. This sends the Character to the Discard Pile. A Challenge that eliminates a Character’s Willpower also Banishes the card to the Discard Pile. The other special Action card is Song like A Whole New World that has every Player discarding their hand and drawing seven new cards! Some Characters like Cindrella: Gentle and Kind have the Ability, Singer, to easily play most Songs. On the side of the Character cards is their Lore Value ranging from one to three or more! A Player with 20 Lore wins the game! Cards are played by paying their Ink Cost. This is on the circle at the top of the character. The first hand has seven cards and a Player can put a card with an Ink value, it has a gold circle around the Ink Cost, into their Inkwell pile. One Ink per card. The trick in playing is to Ink a card that will take too long to play, expensive, or you may not need at the time!   

When a Character is played, their Ink is considered drying so you can use them next turn. Once played, a card is Ready, placed straight on the game surface. A card is used by Exerting it, turning to the side, and then the Ability can be used or a Character is used in a Challenge. In a Challenge, Character use their Strength against a defending Character’s Willpower, this may Banish them if the Strength value is higher. The defender also damages an attacker. Also, a damaged Character will have a damage counter if the Character withstands the attack. This makes more sense than other trading card games where the cards just reset their attack and defense values every combat. Characters can be healed by Abilities, Items, or Actions on your turn. I’ve seen online play where it is just Challenges, but the objective is to gain Lore. The Character can also Quest by Exerting the card and gains the Lore Value, but of course makes the card vulnerable to a Challenge. Lorcana is very fun to play, collect, and build decks.  

#DisneyLorcana, #Ravensburger, #RyanMiller, SteveWarner, #TheFirstChapter, #TheStoryBegins, #Shanzay, #Martin, #Venturo, #HallOfLorcana, #TheGreatIlluminary, #ThePowerOfAnIllumineer, #TheCurator, #Illumineer, #Starcatcher, #StoryStar, #Lorebook, #Inkcaster, #Glimmer, #HerculesTrueHero, #AuroraDreamingGuardian, #SimbaRightfulHeir, #IllumineersTrove, #MickeyMouseTrueFriend, #MickeyMouseWaywardSorcerer, #MickeyMouseSteamboatPilot

#Aladdin, #BeautyAndTheBeast, #Cinderella, #Frozen, #Hercules, #LiloAndStitch, #LionKing, #LittleMermaid, #Moana, #PeterPan, #SleepingBeauty, #Tangled, #Storyborn, #Dreamborn, #Floodborn, #LiloMakingAWish, #ScarFieryUsurper, #HadesKingOfOlympus, #Character, #Strength, #Willpower, #Item, #Action, #DragonFire, #Song, #AWholeNewWorld, #Singer, #CinderellaGentleAndKind, #Ink, #LoreValue, #Inkwell, #Ready, #Exerting, #Challenge, #Quest

 

Thrawn Alliances #3 Review!

Thrawn Alliances #3 takes Thrawn, Anakin and Darth Vader into detective mode to uncover the mysteries of Padme’s disappearance and the distrubance in the Force! Re:cap - Thrawn Alliances #2; in the time of the Clone Wars, Anakin has flown his Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor and discovered the engines were sabotaged. He leaps from his ship letting Artoo to fly it. He deflects blasterfire from a droid who was shooting on Thrawn by his landspeeder. They find a gray freighter that is Separatist. Thrawn detects that crates have the same markings that they saw on the smuggler’s ship. Anakin slices open the crate with his lightsaber, it has quadranium used for armor, then he slices it vertically finding scrap metal filling most of the crate! They have found that the ship was intnded to head to Cermau. It is a planet on the hyperspace route to Endor in the Outer Rim. 

Thrawn suspects that Padme is not at Cermac and Artoo finds eleven systems on the route to Cermac! The bartender who led the ambush on them is taken away, bugged by Thrawn, and they head to find who took him away. Vader shatters the permacrete that had sealed him in trapped by the Darshi. He activates his lightsaber and strikes them down! Then, Vader cuts Thrawn free from his permacrete, he knows that there were other Darshi. Thrawn takes the time to take out a Darshi’s dagger, then they walk out of the cantina. The planet, Mokivj, Padme is about to land her ship. Then, she finds a vulture droid peched behind the cockpit. Padme can eject into an escape pod, but will be seen by the vulture droid! A great cliffhanger! Thrawn Alliances #3 has a cover by Rod Reis of Thrawn steepling his fingers in the darkness with his red eyes!   

The comic book is by the writing team of Timothy Zhan and Jody Houser. The art team is Pat Oliffe and Andrea Di Vito. Now, Darth Vader says that the disturbance of the Force that they were looking for is gone. He sees along with Thrawn that a ship leaving planetside. Vader wants the Chimaera to take the freighter, but Thrawn says that they are too far. Thrawn says Comander Kimmund of the First Legion will take the freighter. They will investigate evidence left behind. TIE Defenders with multiple wings stop the freighter. Kimmund's Darkhawk freighter moves towards the fleeing ship. Kimmund orders sizzlers, paste used to breach starships, and an opening drops. The Darshi defend like Rebels in Star Wars (1977) and the stormtroopers come out blasting! I love the call backs to the films and new SW concepts! Then, the landspeeder with Anakin and Thrawn reach the bartender with other mercenaries. 

Thrawn suggests to Anakin about the Reek. The beast he rode in Attack of the Clones (2002). Anakin is on the hood of the racing landspeeder he swings his lightsaber as the speeder swerves! He tosses the spinning lightsaber that slices a thermal detonator before it returns to his hand! Anakin and Thrawn are an invincible team! The only survivor is a bearded man with an eyepatch, Oenti. Thrawn says he is the leader and Anakin holds his lightsaber before Oenti’s face before they take him inside the cantina. Kimmund has organized his troopers and sends Aksind's squad to secure the engines. He heads to the hold and find several E-web blasters, the heavy guns set up by the snowtroopers in Empire Strikes Back, they are outgunned! Kimmund holds back his troopers from the heavy fire! A stormtrooper who thinks strategically! 

Kimmund leads the counter attack which destroys the E-web blasters in an explosion! He sees two buttons and clicks one. The hold opens and two troopers and blasted! Kimmund closes th door and his second-in-command, Drav, has identified the situation. Kimmund sees the rows of cylinders and the aliens are setting explosives! Next, they hear an explosion! Then, a lightsaber carves a breach into the cantina door with a blue Twi’ek and a Quarren. They take Anakin, Oenti, and Thrawn to meet with the Gamoran bartender, Janott. Oenti mentions that Janott’s gang is on the list of the Duke. Thrawn explains the plot as Anakin holds his lightsaber to Janott. He says Janott and his gang are Separtists. The duke has a base and bringing supplies using Batuu. The smugglers disrupted that plan and Janott had told them which cargo was valuable and which was fake.

There was a person who found out about the cargo and traveled to Galaxy’s Edge, Padme’s handmaiden, Duja! This was an interesting mystery uncovered by Sherlock Thrawn and Mr. Skywalker! More elaborate than Obi-Wan in Attack of the Clones (2002)! Thrawn's mind applied to something outside of a battle or pursuit of enemies really develops his character. The gang thought Duja was a thief, but she managed to contact Padme. When they were about to leave, Thrawn tells them, they found Padme’s ship, Anakin wants to know what happened to her. Now, Kimmund reports that the cargo was destroyed and the freighter escaped into lightspeed. Thrawn and Vader into a facility that the grand admiral says are cloning cylinders. This is a nod to the Spaarti cloning cylinders that was mentioned in Heir to the Empire (1991). Vader says they are hibernation tanks and says that two of them will be sent to the Chimaera while they return to see the bartender again!

Thrawn Alliances #3 gets closer to the mysteries revealing the characters of Thrawn, Anakin, and Vader! 

Five Lightsabers out of Five! 

    

#ThrawnAlliances, #TimothyZahn, #JodyHouser, #PatOliffe, #AndreaDiVito, #Thrawn, #DarthVader, #AnakinSkywalker, #PadmeAmidala,  #CommanderKimmund, #Oenti, #Janott

André Øvredal signing at Dark Delicacies!

Today, Sunday, was the latest signing at Dark Delicacies! This was writer/dirctor, André Øvredal, who had flown in from Norway! There were DVDs and Blu Rays of his films, Troll Hunter (2010), which he wrote and directed, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019), and The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023). At the store, they offered the choice of posters or t-shirts for the signing! There was a long line of eager fans that went half way down the store.  Øvredal was a perfect guest signing the items and answering questions. 

André Øvredal speaking to fans at the Dark Delicacies signing, author’s photo.

Troll Hunter is a tense found footage journey of three college students who follow a poacher tracking a troll! This was a fascinating movie project of a director who brings a folklore into something real, a Kaiju that walks among us, like the tv mockumentary Mermaids: The Body Found (2012), but with fun characters and a horror angle! This made me think of Øvredal as a filmmaker to watch. Last year, Øvredal’s film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, went to theaters, but made a disappointing box office. It is surprising that audiences, especially horror fans, didn’t embrace the film. Speaking with other fans, Dark Delicacies is the best venue for signings in terms of organization, availability of product, and of course great guests!  

#DarkDelicacies, #AndreOvredal, #TrollHunter, #ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark, #TheLastVoyageOfTheDemeter  

Re:tro Re:view - Captain America #5!

 Re:cap - Captain America #4; The first battle has started between Captain America and The Emissary possessed by the demonic Asmoday! In 1939, Cap’s greatest villains, Baron Zemo and Baron Strucker have set a bomb at the American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden. Steve Rogers has seen the bomb and later passes out from working. He wakes up at his apartment and checked up on by Emily Kostner who will help him with his many medical conditions! Misty Knight has discovered the victim of The Emissary was attending a peace conference. The past and future is coming together for Steve! 

He makes a call to ask for a favor to the doll which we see is Doctor Strange! The Captain America #5 cover by Taurin Clarke has Cap reaching out and in the past, Steve Rogers at a phone booth facing several bullets! “Sigils, Moxie and Chopped Demon Liver” is by J. Michael Straczynski and Lan Medina. An intro has Cap thinking of his rogue’s gallery, but he is still stunned by Doctor Strange’s doll. The shading of Cap’s mask has some of Steve Epting’s Cap in Medina’s artwork. Misty is impatient at her office with Sharon Carter by Cap’s side. Captain America wonders about the demon that had attacked the Master of Mystic Arts. Dr. Strange starts forming sigils that may identify Asmoday. They run past Cap’s eyes and he starts to feel pain. It is Sigil 953 and Dr. Strange knows that it is Asmoday, Demon of Wrath. 

Doctor Strange says that Asmoday has been around since the start of humans and can’t be defeated. He is however busy in another dimension fighting off hordes of demons with Clea. Dr. Strange says he will think of way to stop Asmoday, but needs a way to contact Captain America. He suggests Cap use his doll and for him to snap off the head to put in his pouch. Funny moment where Strange discovers that Cap has in his pouch a granola bar! Misty mentions that she is going to meet with the peace conference organizers and hopes to convince them to postpone it with the danger. 1939, Steve Rogers is walking in an alley and finds that Mr. Mueller is injured. He takes Mr. Mueller back to the apartment. Mr. Muelle attended a formal party thrown by the Nazis to investigate. 

He spied Stucker and Zemo discussing their plans. Mueller tries to take a a photo, but is discovered by a guard and beaten in an alley.  He kicks the guard into the street and he is hit by a car. Mueller tells Steve to go to the rally even though he spoke out against them. Steve says he promised Meyer Lansky, the gangster, that he would report to him first. The face of Steve looks very much like skinny Steve from Captain America: The First Avenger. At the current peace conference, Misty tries to urge the leader of the conference to postpone, but she does not give into the hate. Unnoticed, a technician has set up a device, his eyes glow as well as the sigils on his palm, The Emissary! There are scenes of the Nazi rally protests in 1939, fighting, and closeups of Steve’s eyes. 

At a park, Captain America tries to tell Sharon when the doll is heard telling him to ask for her help. The doll dialogue is funny every time. He says he needs her help to evacuate the people at the peace convention. They get close for a kiss. Character moments and humor is the best parts of a comic book more than any action scene or super powers. We shift back to Zemo and Strucker going over the plan to seal doors so there will be no escape from th bomb. This will turn sympathy to the Nazis. Zemo says the loss of thousands of supporters at the rally will be replaced like the mythical hydra. Strucker likes the idea which we know will turn into Hydra! 

Steve is found by Fritz Kuhn who was one of his bullies and a member of the American Bund. He tells Steve he can warn people. A part of the speech will be a signal to activate the bomb in five minutes! Fritz mentions the trigger man who will set off the bomb, but then is shot! Steve is shocked and then sees Baron Strucker with his Luger pistol. He starts to run with bullets hitting around him! Strucker tells one of his men to continue with the plan. Steve runs through a crowd. Strucker, his eyepiece revealed in the darkness, shoots a police officer trying to hit Steve. He runs as bullets ping against a wall and car headlight! 

Steve runs to a phone booth, but has no coin to make call. He asks for a nickel, Steve is lost in a crowd as we see Baron Strucker, but a man gives him a nickel. I sense he is the same person who told him about the ham sandwich at the first rally. A figure that is working at edges to help guide the change agents like Steve Rogers. I suspect he might be The Adversary called the Great Trickster mentioned in the first issue. He may be pushing things to counter Asmoday for his own reasons. Then, we get the scene hinted at with the cover, and Steve senses Baron Strucker! Bullets shatter the glass of the phone booth, but Strucker finds that it is empty. Steve crawls into a sewer and finally reaches Meyer Lansky! Still, they have to find a way to stop the bomb with the past and present colliding! Captain America #5 ramps up the tension of the two time periods, the character moments and the artwork are great!, and we get peeks into Cap and Hydra!  

Five Shields out of Five! 

#CaptainAmerica, #SigilsMoxieAndChoppedDemonLiver, #JMichaelStraczynski, #LanMedina, #TaurinClarke, #MistyKnight, #SharonCarter, #DoctorStrange, #Clea, #MeyerLansky, #MrMueller, #Asmoday 

Star Wars: Visions #1 Review!

Star Wars: Visions #1 recounts an early tale of The Ronin in a manga style with touches of Star Wars! There were nine episodes of the animated anthology, Star Wars: Visions (2021), and a popular story was “The Duel” was written by Takashi Okazaki. It introduced The Ronin and his droid, B5-56. The character also appeared in the novel, Ronin: A Visions Novel (2021) by Emma Mieko Candon. Okazaki is the writer and artist of the comic book. His cover has The Ronin walking with B5-56 in a black and white world except a red lightsaber that divides a looming face of a man in a Kabuki-style mask. The title page explains that The Ronin, “slaying Sith”, first encounters his astro droid companion. Two droids walk a desert with the sun overhead. 

There is a R5 astomech with a cyclops eye next to a humanoid-like droid with a cane. The astromech has a chest-like armor and bands of cloth. The other droid is a CZ-secretary droid, the same that was in the Jawa sandcrawler with a pointed nose, bulging “eyes”, and strips of shoulder armor. He also has a wild, straw on his head. This is a nice reflection of C-3PO and R2-D2 walking Tatooine. Two warriors face each other, one in robes with a monk-like hat, Okinaa. The Ronin stands with his cane. They are both on a flat plateau. He is about to draw his lightsaber, but the monk says it is a holy place. B5-56 heads down a rocky path and Okinaa says that the droid will be the witness of the duel. 

They plunge over a cliff, slices of panels show them leaping down on platforms. The Ronin ignites his Sith lightsaber blade, but the other man says it is not time for him to draw his blade. Okinaa has reached the rocky floor. The Ronin brings down his lightsaber. His rival takes out his lightsaber to block. The story and artwork look like samurai manga with things of the Star Wars world. Okinaa sends The Ronin back with the Force. B5-56 rolls down a path as the monk brings his lightsaber in a blur of swings. The Ronin hurtles back and crashes into a beach! Okinaa stands on a tree above him. It shifts to “Then” when the monk fishes off a rock. He finds B5-56 wrapped in straw, pulls it from the water, and then drags it along a beach strewn with ships. 

There are scavengers at the beach including an Ewok. The group cheers with drinks along with the droid. Similar to The Ronin, B5-56 is called boy, and the others like his honesty. The monk and droid go fishing and spend time with the others. There is a vision of The Ronin and B5-56 seen by the Sullustan. The former battlefield is empty which is said that Okinaa has been there with the droid for ten years alone. They walk up to an offering table filled with pieces including flowers and beads, tributes to the others, and they pray. Okinaa says to B5-56 that he won’t live long with the pollution and wants the droid to give him a “send-off” like the others, B5-56 beeps to Okinaa to give him a new leg before he dies. 

Okinaa tells the droid that he had a dream that he saw B5-56 with a young ronin and he had a new leg! This shifts back to “Now” with Okinaa leaping down with his red lightsaber as The Ronin brings up his lightsaber. He brings it down to send up steam. The fight continues in the mist. The two pass each other slicing with their lightsabers. A samurai move. Okinaa congradulates The Ronin says that Sith die by lightsaber before he falls! The Ronin drags Okinaa’s body back, B5-56 tries to wave his grasper arm, but Okinaa is gone. At night, a firre is made at the edge of a cliff, this is similar to Luke burning Darth Vader’s body and Qui-Gonn’s funeral pyre with the Jedi. The Ronin prays as B5-56 watches. 

It moves to”Then” as B5-56 says he doesn’t understand dreams to Okinaa’s laugh. They ae found by The Ronin in a cone hat covering his face. He says Master Okinaa is “one of the four sword saints.”  Miyamoto Musashi was given the title of Kensei, sword saint. The Ronin wants to duel, but Okinaa says on of them will die. He reveals his face and Okinaa sees that it is the man who was traveling with the droid. This is an interesting shifting back and forth to tell the story of The Ronin and his droid. B5-56 wears the straw hat of Okinaa as a tribute to his friend. Okazaki fills in the world of The Ronin and we hints at his quest to defeat Sith masters. Star Wars: Visions #1 has the first meeting of two companions, The Ronin, Sith hunter, and his droid companion like a samurai epic!

Five Lightsabers out of Five! 

#StarWarsVisions, #TakashiOkazaki, #TheRoninAndTheDroid, #TheDuel, #TheRonin, #B556, #MasterOkinaa

X-Men `97, “To Me, My X-Men”, Review!

X-Men `97 is a return to greatness with the series filled with favorite characters (voiced by some returning voice actors) and given a smooth animation! The X-Men: Animated Series ran for five seasons (1992-1997) and adapted many of the storylines from across the run of the comic books. It used the stories from writer, Chris Claremont, and the Jim Lee designs from X-Men #1 (1991). Re:cap - “Graduation Day”;  Henry Gyrich warns the world about mutants and wants the Mutant Containment Bill passed. Charles Xavier argues with him while coughing and Gyrich blasts him with an energy disrupter that makes his telepathic powers go out of control! 

He is taken prisoner by guards. Cyclops, Beast, and Wolverine find Xavier has collapsed and later they need Lilandra from the Shi’ar to save him. At Genosha, mutants are rallying to have Magneto lead them against humans, and uprisings occur around the world. Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine travel to Genosha to stop Magneto. The Blackbird jet is destroyed by Magneto and the trio make it to the island and infiltrate the mutant camp. Magneto announces that he will lead the mutant revolution. The three X-Men find the secret entrance to reach Magneto and Cyclops tells him that Xavier is dying.

Jean Grey says that Magneto can boost Xavier electromagnetic brain waves to reach Lilandra. Magneto goes to the X-Mansion and sends the message across space. Xavier revives and says farewell to each X-Man. He says “I am proud of you all my X-Men” and his eyes close. Lilandra appears and takes him away. He will never return, but telepathically says that his spirit will always be with the X-Men. The X-Men `97 show is created by Beau DeMayo who wrote the screenplay for the animated special, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021). A prelude comic was published by Marvel Comics with the creative team of Steve Foxe and Salva Espin. 

Two episodes have begun streaming on Disney+. The opening animation captures the original style of the show, but sleek and more consistent, with touches of anime. The animation is by Studio Mir who also worked on The Witcher special. The episode was written by DeMayo. It is night in New York, a news report comes in on the death of Professor Charles Xavier, reports of his death may be exaggerated. This has caused sympathy towards mutants. A young mutant, Roberto Da Costa (Gui Agustini) with an inhibitor collar is taken out of a car. Roberto appeared in X-Men: Evolution and made his debut in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982). 

He is taken to the warehouse of FOH (Friends of Humanity) who are capturing mutants for what one member says is target practice! The group was introduced in Uncanny X-Men #291 (1992). Roberto says his family is wealthy, but the leader, Denti (Lawrence Bayne), takes out his Sentinel blaster which attaches on an arm. Then, there is a storm overhead. They arm themselves with Sentinel blasters and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) announces herself bursting through the glass ceiling with her lightning! Sealy-Smith returns to voice Ororo Munroe. She is surrounded by winds and asks for them to tun over the boy. Denti turns his Sentinel blaster on her. 

She strikes him with lightning and then the others open fire. This brings Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith) sliding down stairs with his XSE guns. The FOH members blast him, but this just charges up his mutant power and he sends the blasts back! An explosion knocks out the X-Men! Roberto is able to slip away from Denti and his men and then the wall is shattered. This is from the optic blast of Cyclops (Ray Chase). Etrigan in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) was voiced by Chase. He takes hold of Roberto and uses his blast to move them away. Then, he engages the FOH members in hand to hand to optic blast combat. Great action. The FOH go to uncover the hand of a Sentinel! 

Cyclops pulls Roberto away as the Sentinel hand controlled by an FOH member sends out a blast! The Sentinel hand then sends out bolos that bring Cyclops down. Denti orders another to take Scott Summer’s visor. He opens his eyes that sends out an optic blast that fills the warehouse! I like the Easter eggs of a Daily Bugle page including one announcing the Hellfire Gala. At the X-Mansion, Scott chastizes Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) for staying behind, then brings up the FOH using Sentinel tech. He was busy making beignets. Rogue (Lenore Zann) enters the kitchen and speaks up for Gambit. Zann is also back as Rogue. She helps set out plates of beignets. Cyclops says they have to be on guard with Xavier gone. Rogue says it has been months. 

Xavier (Ross Marquand) walks in and then after his then Morph (JP Karliak) shifts back to usual form after his joke. Another X-Men: The Animated Series actor returns with Karliak voicing Morph. Gambit charges up a beignet with energy and tosses it to Cyclops, it is captured in a telekinetic globe, and taken outside to explode! A pregnant Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) has used her mental powers to send out the charged dessert. In the comics, her son is Nathan, who becomes Cable.  She reminds them that it is a school. Scott says their guest is the only connection to the Sentinel tech. Roberto walks up in a bed listening to the opera played by Beast (George Buza). Hank McCoy has his voice back with the return of Buza. 

He is hanging upside down in his lab coat and then goes to greet Roberto. Beast also introduces Jubliee (Holly Chou) who is familiar with an awkward introduction to the X-Men. Storm and Cyclops join them in the lab to check on Roberto. They want to know about the Sentinel tech. Cyclops says Roberto can stay a day before he leaves. Jubliee pops her bubble gum. This moves to a ruined city where Roberto faces Magneto (Matthew Waterson) floating above him. Magneto declares a new age of mutantkind. 

Jubliee explains about the danger room simulation. She wonders about his mutant power and Magneto sends a girder that Roberto just manages to dodge. He is knocked down by Wolverine (Cal Dodd) and pops his adamantium claws pinning Roberto’s head! Dodd is another returning actor from the original show. Wolverine ends the program and then pops his claws to scare Roberto. Val Cooper (Catherine Disher) reports via a giant screen about anti-mutant groups using Sentinel weaponry. Disher voiced Jean Grey in X-Men: The Animated Series. 

Cyclops has Val confirm that the UN destroyed the Sentinels. She also notes that Bolivar Trask is missing and would need a Master Mold factory to create Sentinels, but the last one was leveled by the X-Men. Cyclops shuts off the screen and looks out the window to see X-Men playing basketball. Jean sees Xavier’s death certificate on a desk. They see a photo of the original X-Men including themselves including Professor X. This is the team from X-Men #1 (1963) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! They reflect back on their early days at the mansion. A very dramatic moment for an animated show. X-Men `97 brings in some familiar characters, the style of the original series, and some excellent animation! 

Five Sentinel Blasters out of Five! 

#XMen97, #BeauDeMayo, #XMenTheAnimatedSeries, #StanLee, #JackKirby, #ChrisClaremont, #JimLee, #RayChase, #JenniferHale, #CalDodd, #GuiAgustini, #HollyChou, #AJLoCascio, #GeorgeBuza, #LenoreZann, #RossMarquand, #JPKarliak, #AlisonSealySmith, #IsaacRobinsonSmith, #CatherineDisher, #MatthewWaterson