X-Men `97, “Bright Eyes” Part II, Review!

 Re:cap - “Bright Eyes” Part I; Nightcrawler was the priest at Gambit’s funeral, but Rogue was missing. The X-Men head to Genosha to help in rebuilding after the destruction by the Wild Sentinel. Rogue encounters Thunderbolt and then Captain America on her quest to find Henry Gyrich. The clues lead her to a compound in Mexico. 

She finds Gyrich, uses her power of absorbtion on him, and they both scream! Jean Grey and Cyclops are searching for survivors at the Citadel. She finds a telepath and they discover that it is Emma Frost in a new diamond form. Trask contacts the X-Men and asks them to meet him at a UN building in Madripoor. Part II continues with Jubilee and Roberto entering his family’s building. A butler takes Roberto’s jacket saying his mother is waiting for them. 

Roberto stares at the door of the parlor and Jubilee encourages him. He finally admits that he is a mutant. His mother, Nina (Christine Uhebe) pours herself some wine to take a drink. She says it is a relief with his excuses of four houses burning down and pirates kidnapping him. His family waited for Roberto to tell them. He hugs her. A nice family moment. 

Then, she thanks Jubilee for helping Roberto. Then, there is the turn when Nina says it shoudl be kept private. She says the shaerholderrs would want the controversy of a mutant in the da Costa family! Rogue suddenly wakens to find Nightcrawler in front of her. Confetti falls as we see that it is Dia de Los Muertos, honoring ancestors, family scenes almost out of Coco (2017). 

Rogue sees this and finally the death of Remy leBeau hits her. Kurt says Anna Marie helped Gambit and Magneto to live. She breaks down crying and finds the X-Men are there for her. Powerful acting by Lenore Zann! At the Mexican compound with a monitor beeps while Gyrich is in a hospital bed. Someone enters and the radio switches to “The Purple People Eater.” 

He puts on Gyrich’s glasses and says he almost ruined the man’s surprise. Hands cover Gyrich’s mouth and his killer leaves the room. A rainy night as the Blackbird reaches Madripoor. Wolverine’s sniffs sleeping gas that knocked out everyone in the building. Morph runs over to the vending machine and gets a can of Diet Pingo. It lifts aside to an elevator that the X-Men take up while Morph sips the Diet Pingo! 

The elevator opens to show rows of advanced model Sentinels in glass displays. Rogue sees a fallen guard with OZT on his uniform. Wolverine doesn’t recognize the organization. Traks is at the edge of the building in the storm ready to jump. He says OZT came from the Sentinel program. Morph realizes that Mister Sinister is building a new type of Sentinel! 

Trask leaps and then Rogue grabs his jacket. She asks for more information, but he has nothing. So Rogue releases his jacket! Trask falls and we see him screaming. Rogue looks down at his body. She didn’t save him, but he already wanted to die. Nightcrawler is shocked, Wolverine says she did what had to be done, and Morph can’t believe this is the X-Men. Rogue blames Trask for Genosha and killing Gambit. 

Then, there is an explosion. Cyclops recovers and then runs to check on the others. Trask is zombiefied into a techno-organic creature. He swings around his head horror movie-style floating in the sky with glowing eyes. Cyclops says he is a human Sentinel. So technically, Rogue didn’t kill Trask, he was already transformed. Trask is the Prime Sentinel. 

They were introduced in X-Men #65 (1997). The Prime Sentinel starts its attack. Rogue’s unconscious body rolls and Nightcrawler bamfs her away, great sound effect! Cyclops and Jean Grey leap off the building so he can optic blast the rubble. Jean catches the shattered building with her telekinesis and tosses it into Buccaneer Bay! The Prime Sentinel is there on the street. Jean senses Trask’s mind in it. Quicksilver rains hundreds of punches on it. 

Prime Sentinel blasts Quicksilver and Morph! Wolverine slashes the Prime Sentinel and Beast punches him, but they are blasted. Prime Sentinel is bashed by telekinetic rubble. Then, the two duel in the sky like Neo and Agent Smith in Matrix Revolutions (2023), a swirl of bluish telekinetic energy and the orange power of the Prime Sentinel. It is behind Jean and punches her falling to the ground! 

Then, the Prime Sentinel is struck by Cyclops’ full optic blast. The possessed Trask brings up what he said in the Sahara desert in the season premiere. A canister is dropped by Cyclops pinned by the Prime Sentinel. It explodes and the Prime Sentinel screams! Out of the shadows, Cable appears, he says it was an electromagnetic cluster grenade. This is exactly the weapon I thought could be used to stop the battle droids! He should give a few to the X-Men. 

Jean has scanned Cable’s mind and knows his identity! Cyclops knows he is his boy, Nathan. We see Cable’s face reflected in Cyclops’ visor. Cable tells him that Trask works for someone more dangerous! In front of several screens is that man who had killed Gyrich, Bastion (Theo James)! He is the head of OZT and introducd in X-Men #52 (1996). Mister Sinister walks up to him and thinks he acted too early. He wants his prize. Bastion with an ordinary voice says that Trask’s attack gave them data. He says the villains have failed since `92! The beginning of X-Men: The Animated Series! 

Bastion says he has repaired an alien satellite and sees the transmission  Empress Lilandra’s marriage annoncement! Mister Sinister is suprised that Xavier is alive and Bastion says that it was a lie told by the X-Men. At a darkened barber shop, Bastion activates a juke box to play “Purple People Eater” as Magneto watches him. He takes out a towel and then razor to Magneto. He has his arms strapped down, his mouth covered with tape, an inhibitor collar on his neck. Bastion calmly shaves him saying that Magneto only has to “listen and obey.” A new villain who is the mastermind behind the Sentinels, working with Mister Sinister, "Bright Eyes" 

Four Sentinel Blasters out of Five! 

#XMen97, #BrightEyes, #EmiEmmettYonemura, #CharrleyFeldman, JBBallard, #LenoreZann, #HollyChou, #GuiAgustini, #RayChase, #JenniferHale, #CadDodd, #JPKarliak, #AdrianHough, #ChrisPotter, #ChristineUhebe, #GavinHammon, #TheoJames 

X-Men `97, “Bright Eyes” Part I, Review!

X-Men `97's seventh episode deals with the sobering aftermath of Genosha with the X-Men rebuilding and Rogue on a mission of revenge! Re:cap - Lifedeath - Part 2; We have found Professor Xavier has recovered in the Sh’iar Empire and is about to marry Empress Lilandra! Her sister, Deathbird, wants him to give up all memories of Earth and the X-Men to marry Lilandra! Forge has been poisoned by The Adversary, Storm has to find the antidote in a cave, and she fights off her claustrophobia. Plus, The Adversary feeds off her fears, until Storm masters them, and comes into her full powers! She returns with Forge to his cabin and then hears the news of the attack on Genosha! Storm’s greatest moment followed by the most tragic X-Men time! Xavier schools Deathbird and the other Shi’ar leaders on the astral plane. 

Then, he is struck by a psychic attack!, a vision of the death of mutants, the skeletal figure of Gambit towers over him. Gambit breathes fire that rips Xavier into a skeleton and he collapses in the Shi’ar palace! Lilandra rushes to him and Xavier says he has to return to Earth. He doesn’t care that he almost convinced the Shi’ar and says he will give up his affair with her. Xavier says, “It is time that I return to my X-Men”! A night street, we see the scientist, Bolivar Trask, running and saying that he gave his DNA to access Master Mold. He is blasted and falls. Trask wants to die after Genosha. This is interesting that the architect of mutant destruction has regret. These are parts that we never got in the comics. We see the nightmarish green glow as Trask is faced with the metallic voice and devilishly red eyes of Mr. Sinister! 

“Bright Eyes” begins with a solemn opening with just a drum. It is directed by Emi-Emmett Yonemura who also directed episodes 3 and 5. The writing is by Charley Feldman and JB Ballard. Feldman co-wrote eps 3 and 4 and wrote ep. 6. Rain falls at dusk at a cemetary and we see the flowers and memorial for Gambit, Remy LeBeau, gasp!, what a crushing moment. His casket is brought in by Beast and Cyclops. It is quiet, but there is sniffing as the casket is set down by Kurt Wagner who is dressed as a priest. Kurt talks about how Gambit lived by the cards and luck. This is a powerful funeral that we don’t get in superhero live action television or films. Well done Adrian Hough. Nightcrawler has always been the heart of the team. Kurt says the sins of life of crime made him a hero. The casket is lowered. 

The team is devasted especially Jubilee who kneels in tears angry at Rogue for not being there. Wolverine comforts her and says that Rogue has to deal with the loss on her own. Nightcrawler says he was there and Rogue is not just dealing with grief. Rogue flies, streaking across a desert, and smashes into a prison. Armed soldiers face her. Rogue smash! knocking down the soldiers. She tears apart two laser units, this is Rogue unleashed, unstoppable. At the control room is Thunderbolt Ross (Michael Patrick McGill), yup, he is used to taking on the Hulk, but this is a different story. Rogue tears though the roof saying her daddy told her it was easier breaking into prison! She slams Ross and wants to know where is Trask and Henry Gyrich. Rogue is pure vengeance. 

At a control room, President Kelly (Ron Rubin) tries to tell Scott Summers to call off searches in Genosha, Scott angrily shuts down the hologram. Senator Robert Kelly was key to the Days of Future Past storyline, he became an ally to the X-Men in the premiere episode of X-Men: The Animated Series. Jean is there and says the team is ready. He says they are on their own and that Magneto and Madelyne warned them of such a danger to mutants. I really like that the consequences of such a massacre lasts more than a few episodes and that it is an arc that has been building with this season. The Blackbird lands at a medical camp. The ramp lowers and the X-Men take in the destruction, Blob carries a girder, there is the head of the Magneto statue. It is all washed with rusty, orangish color. Beast quotes Mister Rogers telling them to find helpers. Angel Salvadore brings a box of fruits to kids. 

Cyclops says the Citadel has not been checked on because it is unstable so assigns it to Jean and himself. He tells the others to show Genosha that they are “here to stay.” In a puff of smoke, Amelia Voght (Donna Jay Fulks) appears, she was last seen in X-Men: The Animated Series, “The Phalanx Covenant - Part II” (1996). Amelia first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #300 (1993). She tells Beast of the injured that came to be treated at the camp. We see the Savage Land mutates, Brainchild helping a patient take a drink, Amphibius bringing in a stretcher with the wolf-like Lupo, and winged mutant Mimic coordinating the camp. She cries at all of the wounded and Trish Tilby is there with her cameraman. 

Beast tells her that it is right that she is there to witness the death of the dream. Trish sends away the cameraman and talks a walk with Beast. A snowy cabin, Rogue lands, and then a familiar shield is thrown next to her! Rogue kicks it to her arm. On a mound is Captain America (Josh Keaton)! Cap was in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode, “Old Soldiers” (1997). She wants to know where is Henry Gyrich. He says Genosha is a sad time for everyone and shows her into the cabin. Cap activates a radio switch that lowers the floor down. He says that a secret UN division moved Gyrich. This cloak and dagger action just asks for mutants to go on all out war. Rogue notices OZT on some screens. Cap has found Gyrich is moved to Mexico and wants to bring in his team. Rogue says they should go immediately before Gyrich is moved again. 

She says he stands with mutants and hands back Cap his shield. He says his hands are tied. This is not really in line with Captain America who will do what’s right no matter the consequences. Rogue throws his shield into the mountains, but it will fly back right? At the camp, Strong Guy (Adrian Hough) is hauling a platform of crates and gives one to Roberto saying there will be a war. Roberto asks Jubilee about it and she has her foster parents also worried about it. He is avoiding talking to his mom. She brings up what a call would be with the current situation. Roberto points out the aftermath when they don’t hide. A candle is lit for Callisto and Leech. The young mutant is before the memorial as Beast and Trish watch. She brings up fear and Beast questions Xavier saying asking for tolerence may have been a mistake. 

The Morlock girl shapeshifts into a parrot and flies away. Beast stomps away. It is night when Rogue flies to a compound with armed guards that she says is a luxury resort. There are framed butterflies and beetles and Gyrich is studying a specimen. There are flashes of gunfire, laserfire?, outside. Gyrich is smug saying that he doesn’t know where is Trask. Rogue holds him against the wall, Gyrich mentions him, and she takes off her glove to grab his face! She tells him to stop fighting, her power glows, and Gyrich screams! A wall is thrown back by Jean’s telekinetic power. She says there is psychic echoes of the final thoughts of the mutants. She sees piles of rats and visions of Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw before a roof falls. Cyclops apologizes to her for their relationship. 

Jean gets a flash of contact, a possible telepath. Cyclops thinks it’s Madelyne. The news travels to the camp and Jubilee is excited about a possible survivor. The person is levitated out by Jean and it is Emma Frost in diamond form which amazes Beast. This is her Secondary Mutation that manifested during E is for Extinction in New X-Men #116 (2001). A tear falls from Cyclops’ visor. Then, they get a call from the Blackbird, it's Trask, he says he didn’t realize working with Mister Sinister would lead to a mutant massacre. The name refers to a cross title event that involved the Morlocks. He tells Cyclops that they should meet at the UN Peace Legion in Madripoor. A trap? Trask gives a code that the vending machine is “never out of diet.” Morph says they can’t trust Trask because he created Master Mold. "Bright Eyes" brings the dramatic aftermath in Genosha with Rogue relentlessly searching for Gyrich! 

Five Sentinel Blasters out of Five!  

#XMen97, #BrightEyes, #EmiEmmettYonemura, #CharleyFeldman, #JBBallard, #LenoreZann, #RayChase, #JenniferHale, #AdrianHough, #HollyChou, #GuiAugustini, #CalDodd, #JPKarliak, #DonnaJayFulks, #RonRubin, #JoshKeaton, #MichaelPatrickMcGill, #GavinHammon, #ToddHaberkorn 

Happy Birthday George Lucas!

Happy Birthday George Lucas! You might know his landmark student film, Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) and turned into a full film, THX 1138 (1971).  He also defined teen films with American Graffiti (1973) insisting on a soundtrack of songs by the original artists that is the standard today.  He created his own world using his Akira Kurosawa, John Ford, sci fi movie serials, and Alex Raymond influences to form something new with Star Wars (1977).  Then, there was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and finally Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983).  There were two tv movies with stories by George Lucas; The Ewok Adventure (1984), also called the Caravan of Courage, and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985).  

Lucas contributed the story and was executive producer Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), collaborating with his friend and director, Steven Spielberg, to craft a modern cliffhanger serial classic. There was also Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and later Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). His first collaboration with Disney was Star Tours which first opened in 1987. Lucas was the writer for the fantasy film Willow (1988). Later, he worked again with Disney for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye which opened at Disneyland in 1995. Lucas created the television show The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1993). 

George Lucas returned to Star Wars with the prequels, directing and writing, starting with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He continued the prequels with Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) and the conclusion was in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005). Lucas also was executive producer on Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2014) animated series. He returned to write the story for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Lucas accomplished the film he wanted to make for some time executive producing Red Tails (2012). On October 2012, Lucasfilm was sold to Disney. Lucas is focusing his energies on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. It is set to open soon. Happy Birthday George Lucas!

#GeorgeLucas, #THX1138, #AmericanGraffiti, #StarWars, #EmpireStrikesBack, #ReturnOfTheJedi, #TheEwokAdveture, #EwoksTheBattleForEndor,  #RaidersoftheLostArk, #IndianaJoneesAndTheTempleOfDoom, #IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade, #StarTours, #Willow, #IndianaJonesAdventurere, #TempleOftheForbiddenEye, #TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles, #ThePhantomMenace, #AttackOfTheClones, #RevengeOfTheSith, #StarWarsTheCloneWars, #IndianaJonsAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystallSkull, #RedTails #LucaMuseumofNarrativeArt

The Ren Faire Has Returned!

The Renaissance Faire in Irwindale is winding down, but still it was one of the best outings I’ve been to this year! There is much walking on dirt, the sun coming down, still I would say there has been more fun than going to a Disney park! Plus a better value with entertainment, learning, and being surrounded by lively attendants. The cons I’ve attended have been fun, but the faire had almost every guest cosplaying, not one out of fifty, it was one out of four! I did not cosplay, I was exhausted as it was, but there were costumes to rent and buy. It started with the Front of Faire Show, excitement builds with a band, and some comedy. The crowd started the chant, "Open wide the gates!" You are ready to enter the faire with a hearty huzzah! The best way to spend Mother's Day! 

The Jousters at the Joust Arena, Renaissance Pleasure Faire, author’s photo. 

At the entrance, there was a greeting by the Accidental Acrobats, it is fantastic that there so many live performers. I saw a few shows and found out that like cons, one day is not enough, I have to plan for next time. The previous year I had to walk several miles to get to the faire, but the parking has improved as has the shade. There were plenty of tents, hay bales, other seating and resting areas around the faire. I have to catch the musical stylings of Tenacious DnD and Willy Nilly’s Dungeons & Shakespeare. Of course I caught The Jousters at the end of the faire. I decided to get seating at the end instead of two sides. This enabled me to get photos of the jousters headed towards each other. Great, but the sun was in my eyes so I didn’t realize what I was photographing until later! The blue knight led a crowd taunt from his side of "Tiny head!" Funny! 

The beautiful clothes at the Opal Moon tent, photo by the author.

At 5 p.m. was the Joust to the Death! Before the joust, I got an explanation of weapons at St. Michaels, the Persian shamshir and the pikes. I was also impressed by the Falcons’ Court seeing a red-tailed hawk. I think there was a chance to hold one or an owl!, but I passed it up thinking I could return. I love the petting zoo with the donkey named Diablo and the Tilly the llama. I overheard one guest rave about the chocolate covered bacon. The food booth areas carried incredible smells. I did have the chance to sample the chimney cake, cinnamon roll dipped in sugar with almonds! I was impressed by the elegant costumes of Opal Moon. The crafts were beautiful like the decorated eggs of Pysanka by Adriana. The highlight for me was fencing at Saint Jude’s School of Fencing. I have learned fencing there, but my form has turned weak, something I noticed with the lightsabers at L.A. Comic Con. It was great to get back into practice. The Renaissance Pleasure Faire is a must attend experience and a So Cal tradition! 

#TheOriginalRenaissancePleasureFaire, #FrontOfFaireShow, #AccidentalAcrobats, #TenaciousDnD, #WillyNillysDungeonsAndShakespeare, #TheJousters, #StMichaels, #FalconsCourt, #OpalMoon, #PysankaByAdriana, #SaintJudesSchoolOfFencing 

The Savage Sword of Conan #2 Review!

The second issue of the black and white magazine has a painted cover by Dave Dorman. It has Conan raising his war axe about to cleave some demonic spider thing shambling over a pile of skulls! The first of the pin-up artwork by Rafael Kayanan has a grey, brooding Conan. “Leaving the Garden” is written by Jim Zub, who provided a short story last issue, and Richard Pace, the artist for Dark Horse Comics’ Robert E. Howard’s anthology series, Savage Sword #5-7. There ae sketchy panels of Conan struggling in darkness and trying to breathe. We see him about to be pulled into the gaping mouth of a skull ready to be taken by the Cimmerian god, Crom. He becomes angry, raging against his fate, and clawing through earth. A negative space hand reaches out. Surreal artwork. 

A powerful splash page has Conan pulling himself from his grave during a storm! Conan starts to drag himself since he has a spike in his leg, past a dozen mounds of his brothers in ams, and vows to avenge them before there is darkness! Next, we see Conan riding a horse next to a guard in front of a caravan of wagons. They are a company for Pesach the Plenty headed to Argos, the country nestled in the corner of Hyperborea. The artwork is much lighter except some shadows. This is in contrast to the dark beginning. The young son of Pesach asks Conan if his adventures are true. Conan says he will tell him more of his adventures. He rides off, but watches over the caravan. Pesach rides up to him and Conan says he is headed to Argos to pay off debts. Pesach mentions that his pay is generous. 

The Cimmerian doesn’t want to cause trouble, but his fellow guard, Maro, says he should stay the night. A very happy, welcoming guard and merchant for a Conan story. We know that this will drive Conan for his revenge! The sun sets at the merchant camp, Pesch points out the barrels he is selling, pitch from the jungles to the south, Kush. The artwork is loose sketches. Conan is goaded into arm wrestling Maro, “The Crush from Kush.” At the edge of the camp, a spear runs through a guard! Conan and Maro tell Pesch to get his family to the wagons. A two page spread has human-shaped horrors with fanged mouths that split open and white splotches pulling down the horses! Conan slashes through the first of this horde with his axe, the image from the cover.  A series of panels has the attack, the relentless horrors, Pesch tries to protect his family, but we see the headband of the son falling! 

Maro and Conan continue to fight, they struggle against the endless horde of creatures, Conan’s arm is battered by one of the creatures. The dark mass of bodies ovewhelm Conan and fists bash him senseless! Two of the creatures drag him to be buried. He hears their chittering, insect-like, as they wrap him up and bury him! We pick up with the heavy sketchiness of Conan dragging himself hand over hand until he falls into a ravine. Conan rests at the bottom of the ravine as the rain ends and morning begins. He passes out and then revives to hear something. Conan looks up to see a child in the dark woods. The boy runs off and walks from the forest to a river. He reaches a tree stump filled with axes, swords, and spears. He is friendly towards one of the creatures slumped down and moaning with a wooden spike in its head. 

The boy walks to a village, Tarif is greeted by a woman, who is wasting away with the splotchy disease of the creatures! Tarif says he wanted to see the “New Soil” and she says he is ignoring his chores. An insult to De’ahm. She sends him to ask for absolution at a larg building. He lies down in front of an insect-like thing in the shadows! Conan is in the dark he checks the spike in his leg and then rips it out before falling unconscious again! He wakens with a cup of water given by Tarif. The boy says it is clean and not from the swamp. Tarif offers some of his prayer meal to Conan. A boy caught up in a cult, kind, but the situation is still sinister. Tarif says he has never seen anyone climb out of the Great Garden of De’ahm. He explains that they are his Steadfast Swarm that gather food for De’ahm; souls of the dead. 

Tarif happily says Conan be like a warrior like hopes to be and leaves him. Alone at night, Conan prepares in his shelter starting a fire, and readying a spear and lashing spikes to his left arm. He waits as a pack of wolves approach catching the scent of his blood! Conan has set his spear to strike the Alpha wolf and tosses it into the fire. The other wolves close in. Another wolf attacks, but Conan runs his spiked gauntlet into it and bashes its head with a rock, he lets out a howl, and then stands. The wolves retreat. Over the days, Tarif helps Conan recover, and he has the coats of the wolves hanging on racks. He hides from the swarm until he is ready and summer ends. Over two pages we see glimpses of Conan’s adventures that he tells to Tarif; giants, othe monsters, riding with a cavaly, and a woman set against a pillar like Frank Frazetta’s painting, Egyptian Queen. Conan stands, now bearded and wearing the wolf coats. At night, he sees the spirits of the caravan rise from the Garden. Conan must ultimately face the thing called De’ahm with an incredible cost! 

A pin up by Gerardo Zaffino has Conan in armor wielding swords next to the coils of a giant serpent! “Master of the Hunt Part 2” continues with story and art by Patrick Zircher. Solomon Kane leads the way in a dark forest with a lantern. The blind storyteller, Gruffudd, is on Solomon’s horse. He tells of Cad Goddeau known as the Battle of the Trees, the Welsh poem from Taliesin. This was made into the “Duel of Fates” song in Phantom Menace (1999). He tells of the druid Gwydion searching the Otherworld, but the Lord of the Underworld, Arawn, sent knights to stop him. A closeup of the lantern. Gwydion gave life to trees and plants to fight the knights. A knight was invincible until Gwydion said his name and won the battle. Solomon finds tracks of the beast, but a clawed hand knocks down horse and Gruffudd! A massive, hairy beast, the Gawr, looms over Solomon and slashes at him! Solomon fires his wheellock pistol which strikes the shoulder of the Gawr and it retreats. Gruffudd is dying and gives Solomon a horn to protect him. There are even more supernatual dangers for Solomon Kane! The Savage Sword of Conan #2 tells tales of Conan taking spectral terrors and Solomon Kane’s encounter with the fierce Gawr!

Four Savage Swords out of Five! 

#SavageSwordOfConan, #LeavingTheGarden, #JimZub, #RichardPace, #PesachThePlenty, #Maro, #Tarif, #Deahm, #MasterOfTheHuntpartTwo, #PatrickZircher, #RafaelKayanan, #GerardoZaffino, #NickMarinkovich 

Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! #1 Review!

Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! #1 takes a reporter to find a murderer and ends up in the jungles of Peru! The Univesal Monsters series continues with the Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! fom Image Comics’ Skybound Entertainment. It focuses on one of the best monster designs from the first film, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). The Gill-man was discovered at the Black Lagoon down the Amazon River. There were two sequels, Revenge of the Creature (1954) where he was captured and taken to the Oean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida. and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). In the last movie, the Gill-man was burned, losing his gills!, and operated to be made to live on the land. He then returned to the sea. 

The writers are Dan Watters, who also wrote The Six Fingers, and Ram V, writer of The One Hand. The artist is Matthew Roberts, who also provided art for Creepshow #5 (2024). The cover by Roberts has the Gill-man half submerged in water, bathed in pink sunlight. It opens to narration as a woman is choked underwater bubbles of air escaping as she is surrounded by darkness! There is the dark form of her attacker above her. His hands grip her throat. Another closeup shows her bloody fingers clawing at tile. Her face is seen as she emerges from the dream in bed, looking at the ceiling fan. She sits up looking at a cup, the artwork looks like Bret Blevins, and then dressed, the woman puts her revolver in her holster. 

Before Ms. Marsden leaves the hotel, a clerk says she has messages from her editor. We get hazy, almost Mad Magazine panels of the editor apologizing for being caught in the story. He mentions a lead in Peru. Her editor brings up that it might be him, the man who almost killed her! Marsden is about to leave when the clerk says she has a message fom the pharmacy. The title page has large panels of a Peruvian city by a river, the reporter rushing through a market, and at a stall, rows of clay figures in a familiar shape! At the pharmacy, she is told that the “American man” was there two hours ago. 

Marsden’s head slumps down on the counter as she says she waited thee weeks for him. The pharmacist, Maria, did capture him on the security camea and plays it. Marsden recognizes the bald man. Maria says he regularly buys medical supplies. Marsden brings up he ampthamine and gets her bottle. She says she takes them so she doesn’t have to sleep! Outside, Marsden pops in the pill and then at the riverfront she sees a bald man and gasps, “Collier?” It is another man who hugs his daughter. Marsden asks an old man about the crowd and told that there’s another body. The Creature took the victim’s air from the lungs and filled it with mud! 

Marsden doubts that it is a Creature, she’s on the hunt for a murderer. Flashback, the editor says that there were seven drowned victims. The authorities are ignoring the case and the editor suspects ex-Marine, Darwin Collier. I like the connection with Marsden, a survivor of violence, the killer, and the Creature. The woman tells Marsden that the Creature peacefully drowns the victims, a ceremony? Marsden brings a cup of coffee to the morgue. She says she has money to ask to see the body and has already tried to see murder victims. The middle aged pharmacist says he has ready taken bribes, but keeps the person secret. 

He takes her money saying the body will be picked up in the afternoon. She is smoking cigarettes at a dark cafe and sees a man take the body. She runs after him thinking that he knows Collier. On the outskirts of the city next to the jungle, Marsden follows two men carrying the body. She hears that they are loading the body to a boat. She sees the other sweaty, half-bald man who is not Collier. They ride away in the boat and Marsden falls to her knees screaming. A white heron sees her, pulls up a fish, but loses it trying to fly away. She rants about the fish walking through the jungle. 

Then, she hears a growling, and Marsden takes out her gun. The shadowy form growls again with pale blue eyes. We see a closeup of her shaking gun. Marsden lowers her gun and in a splash page of the jungle, we see her run from the growling. The gun must be her protection, but she is shaken not by Collier, but the Creature whose existence she doubted. Marsden enters a river to escape, but the current is too strong and pulls her under! Air bubbles leave as we see Marsden’s hand try to reach out. We see more air leave herr and then the last bubbles float away as she sinks in the darkness! Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! #1 brings a modern monster tale with a lead obsessed with tracking down a murderer! 

Four Air Bubbles out of Five! 

#CreatureFromTheBlackLagoonLives, #DanWatters, #RamV, #MatthewRoberts, #Marsden, #DarwinCollier, #Creature

Abigail Review!

Abigail is an original horror film from the directing duo, Radio Silence, with compelling characters and twists! The horror aspect of the film unfolds, spoiler upcoming, but it is really a character study of who can be trusted, and the tension of who can survive the night! The directors are Matt Bettinelli-Opin and Tyler Gillett who also directed Scream VI (2023). The movie is written by Stephen Shields, the co-writer of the horror picture, Hole in the Ground (2019), and Guy Busick who worked on the directors’ films including Scream (2022). There is a rumbling and then we get footsteps as tiny ballerina slippers are seen. This is to the gentle theme of Tachaikovsky’s Swan Lake. 

We see a dark-haired woman (Melissa Barrera), she is later called Joey, takes out a lollipop. Barrrerra starred as Sam Carpenter in Radio Silence’s Scream movies. It is at night. The young ballerina, Abigail (Alisha Weir) twirls onto an empty stage. Weir played Siobhan Callahan in the horror movie, Don’t Leave Home (2018). She turns in a brilliant performance at what seems like an innocent, 12 year old girl, but with something sinister. A driver, code named Frank, played by Dan Stevens waits in a van. Stevens is having an incredible year also starring in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Joey takes out a handheld case with two syringes. These scenes are intercut with Abigail dancing around the stage lights.  

A young woman who is given the name Sammy (Kathryn Newton) uses her keypad to deactivate house cameras. Newton is also in this year’s horror comedy, Lisa Frankenstein. A man called Don Rickles! (William Catlett) is on a rooftop taking out a sniper rifle to scan the area with the scope. Catlett is in the sci fi show, Constellation. A chauffeur opens the door for Abigail in a coat over her white ballerina tutu. Underneath the car, a device blinks. A young, bald-headed man, code named Dean (Angus Cloud), asks the hacker if she has a boyfriend. Cloud played Robert DeWitt in the drama, The Line (2023). This is his last film and the movie is dedicated to him. The van pulls up and the hacker opens the gate of a house for the trio, Joey, Frank, and an intimidating man called Peter (Kevin Durand). Upcoming, Durand plays Proximus Caesar in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 

They enter a wealthy house and Sammy says over their communication earpieces that the driver is arriving. The others enter a child’s bedroom and Joey says, “No one said it’s a kid”, her reluctance is brushed aside by Frank. The trio take cover around the room as Abigail sits on her bed answering a phone call. She talks about her performance, but hears a door. creak! Suddenly, her mouth is covered, but Frank is knocked back. Peter holds Abigail down as Joey injects Abigail with the syringe. A car arrives at the house. Abigail is stuffed in a black storage bag by Peter and she is carried away. They sneak out the front as a man calls out for Abigail. The house lights tun on as Abigail is taken into the van and they drive away.

Joey checks Abigail’s pulse and puts a blindfold on her. They reach a mansion secluded in the woods and drive up next to statue of a stag. The group is met by their boss, Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), their boss. Esposito was in the “Gray Matter” (2019) episode of the horror series, Creepshow. He tells them to find a room to hold the girl, set up a lookout, and tells them to not use names. So he dubs them after the Rat Pack; Frank (Sinatra), Sammy (Davis, Jr.), Joey (Bishop), Dean (Martin), Peter (Lawford), plus Don Rickles! It is clever and also keeps them anonymous. He collects their cellphones and Joey hesitates with a photo of herself and a boy on he phone. She pops in a pill. 

They are to hold Abigail for 24 hours so they can split the ransom money, $50 million, with $7 million for each of them! Lambert tells them not to let Abigail see their faces. At the recreation room, Peter is behind the bar, the others are seated, and Dean goes around the room telling his colleagues about their backgrounds Joey says he is wrong about all of them. She is shown a hunded dollar bill to say something about Frank. Joey says he is a cop from his stance and Glock pistol. Then, she works out that he is a detective from Queens. He is threatened by her observation and acts ready to be violent. Joey determines that Peter is from Quebec. Peter is the muscle, slower than the others, but there is a kind of Lenny from Of Mice and Men quality about him that becomes funny. 

Joey is bet twenty dollars that Sammy comes from money and is hacking just for fun. Rickles doesn’t have any money, but Joey says to him, “Semper Fi.” She tells Dean that he is not a professional criminal. Frank walks up to Joey and counters her observations saying that she is a junkie. Joey constantly eats candy and covers her arms. She is the only one appointed to check on Abigail and walks up the stairs to the room. Abigail is handcuffed and chained to the bed. Joey pinkie promises that Abigail won’t be hurt. She admits that she has a little boy. Abigail says to her, “I’m sorry what’s going to happen to you.” Ominous. 

Later, Frank walks into the room without his mask, so he lifts up his jacket to cover his face. He has his gun on Abigail to force her to reveal her father. She says he is Kristof Lazar. Frank returns to the group and explains that they kidnapped the daughter of the head of a notorious criminal empire! He says they should go and leave some food for Abigail, but they convince him to stay. In a dark hallway, Joey has a flashlight and discoves an atrium with a statue of a man in robes with a hat next to girl also in robes. Rickles finds Joey and they agree to watch each other’s backs. Sammy is in a room watching a Woody Woodpecker cartoon with a ghost. Dean surprises her with a mask and she throws him out of the room. 

#Abigail, #MattBettinlliOlpin, #TylerGillett, #StephenShields, #GuyBusick, #MelissaBarrera, #AlishaWei, #DanStevens, #WilliamCatlett, #KathynNewton, #KevinDurand, #AngusCloud, #GiancarloEsposito 

Tales of the Empire, “The Path of Fear”, Review!

 Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is the second anthology of animated shorts. Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi began streaming on Disney+ in 2022. The new series began with all six episodes streamed on May the Fourth Be With You. There was an anthology of stories in the novel, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (1997) with a similar title that is now Legends. The first episode is directed by Nathaniel Villanueva. It is written by Amanda Rose Muñoz with a story by Dave Filoni. Yoda's words about the path to the Dark Side follow the titles of the first three episodes. Reddish clouds wrap a moon and below it, an explosion, where we see the battlefields of Dathomir! This was in Clone Wars, “Massacre” (2012), GL-CW4/19. 

The fields are burning and Nightsisters loose energy bows and retreat from the droid army. One woman stands defiant loosing energy bolts against super battle droids. This is Selena voiced by Diana Lee Inosanto who played Morgan Elspeth in Ahsoka.Her daughter, Morgan (Cathy Ang) calls her name at her side. Ang, voiced the young girl lead, Fei Fei, in the Netflix animated film, Over the Moon (2020). She moves Morgan back and has several Hunters stay to hold off the droids. A Nightsister tries to get the attention of Selena when a green lightsaber blade is run through her! It is General Grievous (Matthew Wood), leader of the droid invaders! Woods recently voiced battle droids and other characters in the final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. 

The Hunters draw their energy bows. BX-series droid commandos start to cut them down. Selena starts to chant words that activate symbols on her energy sickles. Grievous attacks and she uses her energy sickles, but he strikes down disabling them. Then, Grievous closes on her with his whirling lightsaber blades! Grievous catches hold of Selena with his cyborg foot and slams her down! The battle is also turning against the Hunters and Morgan runs from the fighting. She gets up and locks her energy sickles with Grievous’ lightsabers. Morgan watches as Selena gasps as a lightsaber runs through her! She cries out, “Mother!” as Grievous brings down his lightsabers. 

Morgan escapes as Grievous laughs and tells her to run. He repeats Darth Sidious’ line from Phantom Menace. A dramatic death like Jango Fett with his son who watched it. Morgan finds cover on a large tree branch as commando droids pass. One pauses and then blaster bolts tear into the tree branch! Morgan falls and then kicks the droid! It takes out a blade and manages to grab Morgan’s neck. She runs a vibro blade into its head. The blasted Dathomir forest is burning from droid defoilator tanks and Grievous’ laughing is heard. Morgan then collapses unconscious. We see feet of three people walking past a battle droid in the ashen aftermath of the battle. They come to Morgan’s sleeping form. 

Morgan wakens and is calmed by the Mountain Clan Matron (Lydia Look). They are in a hut lit by large blue crystals. The actress voiced Julie Chang in the cartoon, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. Morgan checks her face, her Nightsister tatoos are gone, the Matron explains that the Nightsisters are gone. She takes Morgan outside to the daylight. Morgan staggers out to see the Mountain Clan and their homes cut into the mountains. She is shown the smoldering remains of the Nightsisters. The Matron invites her to stay with them. Morgan shrugs away her hand and strikes the ground looking up with vengence. Later, at a campfire, Morgan hears the echo of Grievous’ laughter. A trio of young Mountain Clan people talk about fears that the droid army might head to their mountains. 

STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE -- “The Path of Fear” -- CATHY ANG --  © 2024 LUCASFILM LTD. & ™. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Matron tells them not to give into their fears. She is wise and compassionate. The Matron calls for Morgan to join the hunt with one of the trio, Nali (Daisy Lightfoot). Shuri in the animated show, Avengers Assemble, was voiced by Lightfoot. The other Mountain Clan girl, Nali, looks at her. They walk with bows until Morgan has them take cover when droid ships, HMP droid gunships soar past them. Morgan tells Nali that the droids are still hunting them. She offers to help Nali. At her hut, the Matron talks to a worried Nali, but tells her trust their way. Nali sees Morgan with the other two Mountain Clan youths. They say Morgan is taking them to weapons. Nali gives in to the peer pressure. 

They walk to a door in a mountain, it slides back to reveal steps. Morgan picks up energy sickles and tests them. The others picks up spears and Nali takes an energy bow. At the village, The Matron discovers Nali is missing and sees droid ships scanning the former battlefield. The weapon storehouse begins to rumble and Morgan runs out with the others. She cuts though battle droids dropped from a droid gunship. Super battle droids unfold and attack! The gunship blasts the door and the explosion takes down Nali. Then, they turn to see the Matron bathed in white. Their blaster bolts are absorbed by the white field she is generating and then a blast knocks them down! This appears to be simliar to Ahsoka’s journey who lost everything leaving the Jedi Temple, but was still able to find her way. A great beginning for Tales of the Empire with Morgan Elspeth’s journey leading to where we found her in The Mandalorian!  

Five Lightsabers out of Five! 

#TalesOfTheEmpire, #ThePathOfFear, #NathanielVillaneuva, #AmandaRoseMunoz, #DaveFiloni, #CathyAng, #DianaLeeInosanto, #LydiaLook, #DaisyLightfoot, #MatthewWood