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8 Spielberg Films Comprise 4K Spotlight Collection in June

Universal City, California, April 14, 2026 – Enter the world of cinematic mastery with this all-new STEVEN SPIELBERG: THE SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION, available on 4K Ultra UHD, which includes Blu-ray™ and Digital for preorder beginning April 14, 2026, and arriving in homes on June 9, 2026, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. This extraordinary limited-edition set, with only 5,700 units manufactured across the USA and Canada, brings together eight of Spielberg’s defining works in one spectacular package, exclusively available on Amazon in the USA and on Amazon and GRUV in Canada.

Steven Spielberg is Hollywood’s most visionary director, whose career has defined modern cinema. STEVEN SPIELBERG: THE SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION includes eight of his most iconic films – Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and War of the Worlds. This limited edition collection captures Spielberg’s unmatched vision and celebrates the unforgettable masterpieces of a director whose work continues to inspire generations and set the standard for filmmaking.

In partnership with Paramount Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STEVEN SPIELBERG: THE SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION is the only way for fans to own all these titles together. The set arrives in a stunning 8-Slot SteelBook Library Case, each film housed in its own individual 4K SteelBook. The collection includes over 25 hours of bonus content across select titles, offering fans an in-depth look at the artistry and precision behind some of the most iconic films ever made.

Jaws, starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, depicts a small beach town being stalked by a deadly great white shark. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Francois Truffaut, courtesy of Sony Pictures, depicts an ordinary man who hears an extraordinary calling. Starring Harrison Ford as the legendary Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, courtesy of Paramount Pictures, follows Jones as he competes with the Nazis to retrieve the biblical Ark of the Covenant. One of the most beloved stories in the history of film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial stars Henry Thomas as a young boy who befriends an alien stranded on Earth. With its groundbreaking special effects, Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum in one of the most thrilling adventures ever put on film as dinosaurs come to life. Schindler’s List, starring Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley, is one of Spielberg’s most devastating works of art as he depicts the true story of a German industrialist who saves over a thousand lives during the Holocaust. Saving Private Ryan, courtesy of Paramount Pictures, features Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in a groundbreaking portrayal of the D-Day invasion. Finally, Spielberg’s chilling adaptation of a classic story, War of the Worlds, courtesy of Paramount Pictures, features Tom Cruise as he longs to save his family from a disastrous alien invasion. 

STEVEN SPIELBERG FILMS INCLUDE:

  • Jaws
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
  • Jurassic Park
  • Schindler’s List
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • War of the Worlds

JAWS (1975) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Screenplay By: Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb
Based on the Novel By: Peter Benchley
Music By: John Williams
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Produced By: Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Francois Truffaut
Music By: John Williams
Visual Effects By: Douglas Trumbull
Director of Photography: Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC
Produced By: Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips
Written and Directed By: Steven Spielberg

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas
Music By: John Williams
Production Designer: James D. Bissell
Director of Photography: Allen Daviau
Edited By: Carol Littleton
Produced By: Steven Spielberg & Kathleen Kennedy
Written By: Melissa Mathison
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott
Music By: John Williams
Executive Producers: George Lucas and Howard Kazanjian
Screenplay By: Lawrence Kasdan
Story By: George Lucas and Philip Kaufman
Produced By: Frank Marshall
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

JURASSIC PARK (1993) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B.D. Wong, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards
Live Action Dinosaurs: Stan Winston
Full Motion Dinosaurs By: Dennis Muren, ASC
Dinosaur Supervisor: Phil Tippett
Special Dinosaur Effects: Michael Lantieri
Music By: John Williams
Film Edited By: Michael Kahn, AC
Production Designer: Rick Carter
Director of Photography: Dean Cundey, ASC
Based on the Novel By: Michael Crichton
Screenplay By:Michael Crichton and David Koepp
Special Visual Effects: Industrial Light & Magic
Produced By: Kathleen Kennedy & Gerald R. Molen
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, Embeth Davidtz
Music By: John Williams
Co-Producer: Lew Rywin
Production Designer: Allan Starski
Film Edited By: Michael Kahn, ACE
Director of Photography: Janusz Kaminski
Executive Producer: Kathleen Kennedy
Based on the novel by: Thomas Keneally
Screenplay By: Steven Zaillian
Produced By: Steven Spielberg, Gerard R. Molen, Branko Lustig
Directed by: Steven Spielberg

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
Co-Producers: Bonnie Curtis and Allison Lyon Segan
Music By: John Williams
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston
Film Editor: Michael Kahn, ACE
Production Designer: Tom Sanders
Director of Photography: Janusz Kaminski, ASC
Produced By: Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn
Written By: Robert Rodat
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005) FILMMAKERS:

Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins
Casting By: Debra Zane and Terri Taylor
Special Visual Effects and Animation By: Industrial Light & Magic
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Dennis Muren
Music By: John Williams
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston
Edited By: Michael Kahn, ACE
Production Designer: Rick Carter
Director of Photography: Janusz Kaminski, ASC
Executive Producer: Paula Wagner
Produced By: Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson
Based on the Novel By: H.G. Wells
Screenplay By: Josh Friedman and David Koepp
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:

  • Jaws
    • JAWS @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, The
    Making of JAWS, The
    • Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of JAWS
    • JAWS: The Restoration
    • Deleted Scenes and OuttakesFrom The Set
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Galleries
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    • Includes all 3 versions of the film (Theatrical Version, Special Edition, Director’s Cut)
    • Three Kinds of Close EncountersSteven’s Home Videos & Outtakes
    • Steven Spielberg: 30 Years of Close Encounters
    • Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Making of Documentary
    • Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Watch the Skies
    • Deleted ScenesStoryboard Comparisons
    • Extensive Photo Gallery
    • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Original Theatrical Trailer
    • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Special Edition Trailer
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark
    • Teaser Trailer
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Re-Issue Trailer
  • E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
    • 40 Years of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIALTCM
    • Classic Film Festival: An Evening with Steven Spielberg
    • The E.T. Journals
    • Deleted Scenes
    • Steven Spielberg & E.T.
    • A Look Back
    • The Evolution and Creation of E.T.
    • The E.T. Reunion
    • The Music of E.T.: A Discussion with John Williams
    • The 20th Anniversary Premiere
    • Designs, Photographs, and Marketing
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Special Olympics TV Spot
  • Jurassic Park
    • Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era
    • Return to Jurassic Park: Making Prehistory
    • Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution
    • Archival Featurettes
      • The Making of Jurassic Park
      • Original Featurette on the Making of the Film
      • Steven Spielberg Directs Jurassic Park
      • Hurricane in Kauai Featurette
      Behind the Scenes
      • Early Pre-Production Meetings
      • Location Scouting
      • Phil Tippett Animatics: Raptors in the Kitchen, Animatics
    : T-Rex Attack
  • ILM and Jurassic Park: Before and After the Visual Effects, Foley Artists, Storyboards, Production
      • Archives
    • Theatrical Trailer
  • Schindler’s List
    • Schindler’s List: 25 Years Later
    • Voices from the ListUSC Shoah Foundation Story with Steven Spielberg (2018)Let Their Testimonies Speak – Stronger Than Hate
    • About iWitness (2018)
  • Saving Private Ryan
    • An Introduction
    • Looking Into the Past
    • Miller and His PlatoonBoot Camp
    • Making Saving Private Ryan
    • Re-Creating Omaha Beach
    • Music and Sound
    • Parting Thoughts
    • Into the Breach: Saving Private Ryan
    • Theatrical Trailer
    • Re-Release Trailer
    • Shooting War
  • War of the Worlds
    • Revisiting the Invasion
    • The H.G. Wells Legacy
    • Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds
    • Characters: The Family Unit
    • Previsualization
    • Production Diaries
    • Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens
    • Scoring War of the Worlds
    • We Are Not Alone
    • Galleries
    • Theatrical Teaser Trailer
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REVIEW: Soviet Land

Soviet Land
By Pierre-Henry Gomont
320 pages/Abrams ComicArts/$34.99

Those of us of a certain age recall when the Berlin Wall was breached and the USSR, the evil empire that was our Cold War enemy, was shattered. We knew of détente, perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the other big players of the time.

But, as I recall, the Western press didn’t spend a lot of time talking about what this meant to the citizens of the former organization who were now merely Russians. We heard about the rush of capitalism and the arrival of America’s biggest brands, but also about supply shortages and long lines for meager offerings. But the full picture of daily life remained elusive.

French creator Pierre-Henry Gomont invites us along for a glimpse into what that world must have been like for people living there. We open a few years into the new era and follow the efforts of the young, disillusioned artist Slava and the con man Dmitiri Lavrin as they scavenge and sell remnants of the old regime amid the country’s collapse. We watch as they, like so many others, loot abandoned Soviet sites for valuables to sell to collectors and to put food on the table. They’re an odd couple, but their friendship is genuine as they look after one another throughout the story.

At one stop along their nomadic path, they encounter Volodya and his daughter Nina, who are squatters in their latest target. The older man physically is the old Russian bear, menacing to those who threaten him or his daughter, who, of course, has caught Salva’s eye.

We follow their travails as Lavrin breaks away to use his skills to parlay his way out of poverty and become a major wheeler-dealer. Volodya and Nina get involved in an abandoned mining operation, trying to repair its equipment and put people to work, but find themselves embroiled in a new form of corruption, embodied by Morkhov, one of the oligarchs who cares about money rather than Communist ideals.

Gomont, a former sociologist, has been producing acclaimed graphic novels since 2011, and this appeared as a three-album series between 2022 and 2024, making its English-language debut in this collection. His energetic art is expressive, with kinetic, layered pages and loose, flowing linework. It’s an appealing style and makes the complicated interrelations between characters and story arcs easy to follow.

He explores the erosion of ideals, the struggle for survival, profiteering, and the search for purpose in a disorienting new world. Being Russian, it has its share of humorous moments and keen tragedy. 

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REVIEW: Moneyball

Geeks come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Among the earliest might be Henry James, who developed the box score for baseball, which evolved under Bill James into the field of Sabermetrics. An entire generation of people scoured box scores and then followed James, who dug deeper and came up with entire categories Major League Baseball had never considered. After all, to them, the Save and the Hold were still newfangled concepts in the 1980s. 

In 2001, though, those stats and their analysis broke through to the professional ranks. After losing the World Series to the Yankees, in a true David and Goliath matchup, the Oakland Athletics were about to lose first baseman Jason Giambi, outfielder Johnny Damon, and pitcher Jason Isringhausen to free agency, and there just weren’t the financial resources to match what other Big Market teams were willing to pay. General Manager Billy Beane, a young but open-minded executive, lost out on a trade with Cleveland but met a Yale economics graduate named Peter Brand, who had theories about player value that ignored the handful of stats MLB typically used. Intrigued, Beane hired Brand, and together, they built a stronger A’s for 2002, and after convincing old-school manager Art Howe to try it, they found success.

Business writer Michael Lewis covered this transformation in the best-selling book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which became the hit film Moneyball in 2011, and has just arrived on 4K disc from Sony Home Entertainment.

Director Bennett Miller (Capote) faced the challenge of presenting statistics in a compelling way to keep audiences riveted in their seats. It helped that he had Steven Zaillian’s help, who wrote the original script for Steven Soderbergh. When he left the project in 2009, Miller was hired, and he had Aaron Sorkin revise the script so that the two had clearly delineated personalities and matching dialogue.  Miller was fortunate to assemble a stellar cast, led by Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as this triumvirate of executives. The tension comes from Brand convincing Beane, then executing the plan until they hit the stone wall of Howe, chipping away at him, until finally the plan is executed to smashing success. They are three very different personalities, each with vastly different experiences, and they find common ground thanks to the singular goal of winning.

Anyone who knows baseball knows this was a turning point in analytics, and suddenly, one team after another hired their version of Peter Brand, including Bill James himself, which lends importance to this story, since it worked outside expectations and delivered, and could be replicated.

The film comes with 4K Digital HD and a Digital Code. The 2160 transfer is very good, though not as sharp as one might hope, given the quality of the 1080 edition from 2013. The video is supported with an excellent DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, ported over from the Blu-ray, so you can enjoy the game without leaving your home.

This 15th anniversary edition eschews major new supplemental features but uses the ones from the original 2013 Blu-ray release:

Deleted Scenes (3 clips, 12:05); Brad Loses It (3:11); Billy Beane: Re-Inventing the Game (16:02); Drafting the Team (20:51); Moneyball: Playing the Game (19:28) Adapting Moneyball (16:33); Theatrical Trailer (new to the collection, 2:33)

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50th Anniversay What If…? One-Shots Coming June-August

New York, NY— April 10, 2026 — To celebrate the 50th anniversary of What If?, Marvel Comics is taking a bold leap into the multiverse to discover mythos-shattering new twists on some of its most definitive stories! Announced earlier this year, the series of one-shots kicks off in June with WHAT IF…? UNCANNY X-MEN #1 by Gerry Duggan and Jan Bazaldua and WHAT IF…? THOR #1 by Torunn Grønbekk and Sergio Dávila. Today, fans can check out covers and learn additional story information for the next three WHAT IF…? one-shots hitting stands in July: WHAT IF…? SECRET WARS #1; WHAT IF…? JESSICA JONES #1; and WHAT IF…? SPIDER-MAN #1.

In WHAT IF…? SECRET WARS, Alex Paknadel and Cafu reverse the ending of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić’s universe-breaking Secret Wars, giving the original Ultimate Universe a chance to live on! Then, Justina Ireland and David Messina introduce an all-new—not-so-friendly—Spider-Girl, A.K.A. Jessica Jones, in WHAT IF…? JESSICA JONES #1. Then, the author of one of the greatest Spider-Man tales of all time, J.M. DeMatteis, returns alongside artist Yildiray Çinar for a bold reimagining of the aftermath of his legendary “Kraven’s Last Hunt” storyline.

WHAT IF…? SECRET WARS #1

Written by ALEX PAKNADEL
Art by CAFU
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 7/1

WHAT IF…THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE SURVIVED THE SECRET WARS?

Goodbye, Marvel Universe! Starring Peter Parker, our beloved friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, as he is forced to survive in a not-so-friendly neighborhood after losing everything! What becomes of the original Ultimate Universe in a post-Secret Wars landscape? How did they defeat the Beyonder? And who does Spider-Man become after losing everything?

WHAT IF…? JESSICA JONES #1

Written by JUSTINA IRELAND
Art by DAVID MESSINA
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 7/15

WHAT IF…JESSICA JONES WAS BITTEN BY THE RADIOACTIVE SPIDER?

Teenage Super-Hero Sensation Spider-Girl is retired. Surly and eternally miffed bartender Jessica Jones wants nothing more than to leave that part of her life and the traumas that came with it firmly behind her. But when a ghost from her past comes back to haunt her, she finds herself unable to leave well enough alone. Has the Green Goblin returned? And if so, is an out-of-shape ex-superhero enough to stop him?

WHAT IF…? SPIDER-MAN #1

Written by J.M. DEMATTEIS
Art by YILDIRAY ÇINAR
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 7/29

WHAT IF…KRAVEN SURVIVED HIS “LAST HUNT”?

Leaving Spider-Man broken, insane, and vulnerable to the influence of an old enemy…and who better to fill the void left by the spider than Kraven the Hunter?! One way or another, both Kraven and Peter will become something more—and finally settle the score between them!

Additional One-Shots Include:

WHAT IF…? UNCANNY X-MEN #1
Written by GERRY DUGGAN
Art by JAN BAZALDUA
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 6/3

WHAT IF…? THOR #1
Written by TORUNN GRØNBEKK
Art by SERGIO DÁVILA
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 6/17

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA #1
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Art by RON LIM
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 8/5

WHAT IF…? RUNAWAYS #1
Written by RAINBOW ROWELL
Art by ZULEMA LAVINA
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 8/19

WHAT IF…? X-MEN #1
Written by ASHLEY ALLEN
Art by SUMIT KUMAR
Cover by LUCAS WERNECK
On Sale 8/26

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Red Ultramarine by Manuele Fior

What do you get when you tell the story of Daedalus and Icarus, and combine it with a parallel story about a modern architect named Fausto? Does it matter if the architect stays resolutely a secondary character, and makes no deals with any infernal agencies? How about if the whole thing is told in slashing, imagistic hues of black and red? Or if the architect’s girlfriend Silvia is the main character?

Those are some of the elements in Manuele Fior’s graphic novel Red Ultramarine , which I think is his earliest work to be translated into English. The Italian original came out in 2006 – and is the earliest book listed on his website – and this translation, by Jamie Richards, is from 2019.

I don’t think I entirely understood what Fior was trying to do here. Why does King Minos seem to be the same person as the esteemed doctor that Silvia consults about her boyfriend’s obsession? How does that doctor’s assistant, Marta, connect the two worlds – Silvia and Fausto in the modern day, Icarus and the rest in ancient Greece? And why is Marta young and gorgeous – and, notably, naked – in Greece, but older and more settled with the modern doctor?

The story, such as it is, bounces back and forth between the two timelines. Icarus works with his father near the labyrinth, both are eventually thrown into it and have to escape, and do so in the traditional way with the traditional tragic end. Meanwhile, Silvia consults the doctor – who hectors her and rants about Faust for no obvious reason – about her boyfriend’s obsession with perfection and labyrinths, is given a cream by Marta that promises to make the large birthmark on her face “go away,” and uses that cream, which turns her entire body the color of the birthmark and sends her back to the time of Icarus. Silvia consults the doctor – who is somehow also in ancient Greece and has the same face as Minos, but is dressed differently, so maybe they’re not the same person? – and demands that he send her back to her world, and he responds in much the same confusing wordy flood as before, which makes her hysterical.

All of the dialogue in Red Ultramarine talks around things: nothing is stated clearly. No options are laid out cleanly. The connections are symbolic, imagistic, implied. And all of the talk about Faust doesn’t lead anywhere cleanly – it comes across as a red herring.

Speaking of colors, the title is also a bit perplexing. The book is steeped in red – several of the characters, especially in Greece, have dark red skin tones, and red is an element on every page. Ultramarine, though, is entirely absent from the book – that slash of blue on the cover is the only blue in the entire book. The art inside uses black to complement red – black as the base, the core element, red as the embellishment, most of the time.

The art is gorgeous and striking, almost abstract at times in its stark outlines and elegant simplicity. It’s not simple in a cartoony sense, but simple like design, like a mid-century poster. It’s visually stunning throughout, a succession of compelling pages, even as the words confuse and obfuscate.

In the end, I took this as an early work by a creator still figuring out what he wanted to say and how to say it. Possibly also a creator more comfortable with pictures than with the words that partner them – able to make the art say what he wanted but not quite as adept yet with the words.

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

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Was That Normal? by Alex Potts

Philip is about forty. He has one of those jobs you can do from anywhere, on a laptop, so he does it from his apartment, alone. He lives in a British city, probably mid-sized – not very specific, not very special. His apartment is garden-level, which means he looks out his window, while typing on that laptop, below the street. He doesn’t have any long-term friends, or any connections with colleagues that we see – the closest person in his life is his landlady/roommate, an older woman who intermittently tries to engage Philip and be friendly with him.

Philip isn’t all that good at being engaged and friendly. He’s wrapped up too much in his own head, the kind of person who obsessively thinks about what’s he’s doing, what he should be doing, and if there’s anything that he wants to be doing. (There usually isn’t..) He goes out to the pub now and then, because he thinks he should or because he thinks he’ll have a good time this time, but he inevitably ends up drinking too much to be social and pays for it later.

Was That Normal?  is a graphic novel, by British creator Alex Potts . It covers a few months in Philip’s life – how he starts from that point of being stuck, how he’s searching for connection, what happens to him, and where he ends up. There are no major epiphanies, no huge revelations, no amazing transformations – like all of us, Philip is deeply embedded in his own life, and all changes will be gradual and incremental.

But he does want more, want something different. He does try, in his fumbling, uneasy way, to open up to experience, to look for things that would make his life brighter. He gets dragged out to a concert, and is struck by the singer, Gina. He sees her around town, and strikes up a friendship.

He obviously wants more, but things are messy – Gina has a volatile not-quite-ex and doesn’t seem terribly interested in anything more serious than friendship with Alex. But she is friendly, and it looks like it’s been a long time since Philip had a friend.

He’s uncomfortable with a lot of the day-to-day of life, the kind of person who over-thinks everything and then has trouble just doing even the little bits of social interaction that more thoughtless people never waste a moment on. That might not change – or not entirely. He’s going to stay Philip. But he might be able to be a Philip a little more comfortable in his own skin, a Philip who tries more things, a Philip who spends more time with people and gets better at it. I do say “might” – Potts, again, is not going for epiphanies or transformations here; this is a realistic, grounded story about a real person in a real world, and nothing is guaranteed. 

Potts draws Was That Normal? with a slightly rumpled, indy-esque line – immediate and grounded, with his people not quite as pretty as a reader might expect. His panel borders are hand-drawn, just a bit uneven. The colors feel just a tone or two off from purely realistic – slightly more of a picture than the thing itself, usually in earthy tones, with lots of yellows/tans, browns and dull reds for backgrounds.

Was That Normal? could be a little hard to take, particularly for readers with a lot of Philip in their own makeup – but it’s well-observed and thoughtfully true, and does provide some hope for this Philip…and, by extension, for all of the rest of us.

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

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Rambo: The Complete Collection 4K discs Arrive May 26

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Since its debut nearly four decades ago, the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone has become one of the most iconic action- movie franchises of all time. An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam, the legendary fighting machine known as Rambo has battled small-town prejudice, freed POWs, rescued his commanding officer from the Soviets, and liberated missionaries in Myanmar. In his final mission, Rambo’s vengeance is unleashed after an old friend’s granddaughter is kidnapped in Mexico.

Special Features on the 4K+ Digital

Bonus Disc (New to this release)

·    Reflections on First Blood with Ted Kotcheff
·    Storyboarding First Blood
·    The Art of Rambo
·    Rambo Auction
·    Poster Gallery

First Blood

·      Audio Commentary with Sylvester Stallone
·      Audio Commentary with Writer David Morrell
·      “An American Hero’s Journey” featurette
·      “A Long Road: 40 Years of First Blood” featurette
·      “The Hunter and the Hunted: Scoring First Blood” featurette
·      “First Blood: A Look Back” featurette
·      “Drawing First Blood: 20 Years Later” featurette
·      “Rambo Takes the 80s Part 1” featurette
·      Alternative Ending
·      Outtake
·      “Saigon Bar” Deleted Scene 
·      “The Real Nam” (“The True Vietnam”) featurette
·      “Forging Heroes” (“America’s Green Berets”) featurette 
·      “How to Become Rambo Part 1” featurette 
·      “Sly vs. Rambo” interview with Sylvester Stallone 
·      5 Trailers
·    TV Edit – Deleted and Extended Scenes

Rambo: First Blood Part II

·   Audio Commentary with Director George P. Cosmatos
·   “We Get to Win This Time: The Rambo Phenomenon” featurette 
·   “Guts and Glory” 
·   “Rambo Takes the 80s Part 2″ featurette
·   Featurettes:
·   – “Preparing For Action” 
·   – “Creating The Reality Of War” 
·   – “Action In The Jungle”
·   – “Behind the Scenes/Behind the Camera”
·   – “Sean Baker: Fulfilling a Dream”
·   – “The Last American P.O.W.” featurette
·   Interview with Sylvester Stallone  
·   Interview with Richard Crenna 
·   3 Trailers
·   TV Spots

Rambo III

·   Audio Commentary with Director Peter MacDonald
·   “Rambo Takes the 80s Part 3” featurette 
·   “Rambo III: Full Circle” featurette 
·   “Afghanistan: Land in Crisis” featurette 
·   -“Suiting Up: Rambo’s Survival Hardware”
·   -“Rambo-nomics” 
·   -“Selling a Hero”
·   “How to Become Rambo Part 3” featurette 
·   “Trautman & Rambo” featurette 
·   “Scope” featurette
·   Behind the Scenes Making Of
·   8 Deleted Scenes  
·   3 Trailers
·   TV Spot
·   “Rambo 3 Film Montage”
·   Behind the Scenes Making Of
·   Trailer – 4K Trilogy   
·   Trailer – DVD Ultimate Edition Trilogy

Rambo

·   Audio Commentary with Director Sylvester Stallone (theatrical cut)
·   “Production Diary: To Hell and Back” documentary
·   – “It’s a Long Road: The Resurrection of an Icon” 
·   – “A Score to Settle: The Music of Rambo”
·  – “The Art of War: Part 1: Editing”
·   – “The Art of War: Part 2: Sound”
·   – “The Weaponry of Rambo”
·   – “A Hero’s Welcome: Release and Reaction” 
·   – “Legacy of Despair: The Real Struggle in Burma” 
·   Deleted scenes
·   2 Trailers 
·   On Set with Stallone

Rambo: Last Blood

·   Drawing Last Blood: Multi Part Production Diary” documentary
·   Theatrical Trailer 
·   Featurettes:

  • Rambo’s Greatest Hits
  • Vengeance

·   3 Trailers 
·   TV & Digital Spots

Directed by: Ted Kotcheff; George P. Cosmatos; Peter MacDonald; Sylvester Stallone; Adrian Grunberg 
Written by: David Morrell, Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, Art Monterastelli, Sheldon Lettich
Produced by: Buzz Feitshans, Mario Kassar, Avi Lerner, John Thompson, Yariv Lerner, Steven Paul
Cast: Sylvester Stallone

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 1982; 1985; 1988; 2008; 2019

Title Copyright: First Blood © 1982 STUDIOCANAL. Rambo: First Blood Part II © 1985 STUDIOCANAL. Rambo III © 1988 STUDIOCANAL. Rambo® is a Registered Trademark owned by StudioCanal S.A. Rambo © 2007 Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG IV. Package Design and Summary: © 2026 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. Rambo: Last Blood © 2019 Rambo V Productions, Inc. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ®, ™ & © 2026 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

Closed-Captioned: No

Feature Run Time:

  • First Blood: 93 mins
  • Rambo: First Blood Part II: 95 mins
  • Rambo III: 102 mins
  • Rambo: 91 mins (Theatrical cut) / 99 mins (Extended cut)
  • Rambo: Last Blood: 89 mins (Theatrical cut) / 102 mins (Extended cut) 

Subtitles: English SDH; Spanish Subtitles 
Rating: Rated R
Genre: Action

Technical Specs:

First Blood

Theatrical Cut
2160 UHD Master with Dolby Vision HDR (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby Atmos (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
PCM Theatrical Stereo (New/Exclusive to this release)

Rambo: First Blood Part II

Theatrical Cut
2160 UHD Master with Dolby Vision HDR (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby Atmos (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (from the newly discovered 70mm 6-track magnetic soundtrack) (New/Exclusive to this release)
PCM Theatrical Stereo (New/Exclusive to this release)

Rambo III

Theatrical Cut
2160 UHD Master with Dolby Vision HDR (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby Atmos (New/Exclusive to this release)
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
PCM Theatrical Stereo (New/Exclusive to this release)

Rambo 

Both the Theatrical and Extended Cuts of the film
2160 UHD Master with Dolby Vision HDR
Dolby Atmos

Rambo: Last Blood

Both the theatrical and Sylvester Stallone’s extended cut (New/Exclusive to this release), Dolby Atmos (New/Exclusive on extended cut to this release)

0

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson, Vol. 3

Credits are always a tricky thing for assembly-line comics. Projects tend to have a particular, clear breakdown of responsibilities – this guy writes, that other guy draws, a third guy inks – but those comics tended to be monthly, and monthly deadlines lead to messiness. (Ask the guy who spent sixteen years in a business that had a minimum of seventeen “months” a year.)

And creators want to work with each other – sometimes the same crew for a while, sometimes a one-off with that idol of theirs or the new guy doing interesting stuff.

When it comes to gather all of that messiness into a book, sometimes the publishers err on the side of simplicity. The first time the “Frank Miller Daredevil” was collected, it was under roughly that title, even though Klaus Janson drew the vast majority of those stories. For the second go-round, Marvel decided they needed to add Janson to the title, which makes a lot of sense.

But it meant that there was a first book with stories mostly written by or with other people, one of them inked by Frank Springer, and most of them drawn by Miller and inked by Janson. And then a second book that really was all Miller/Janson, the core of the run.

And this third, concluding volume gets messy again, with Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson, Vol.3  collecting not just the climax of their run together – Daredevil issues 186-191 – but several odder and quirkier things, several of which Janson had nothing to do with. So it’s yes Frank Miller, as before, and some embarrassed shuffling of feet about how much Janson there is.

There are three quirkier things, so I’ll take them first, in the order they appear in the book and in increasing order of importance and strength.

Miller and Janson did an issue of What If…? in 1981, with co-writer Mike W. Barr, asking the comical question “What if Matt Murdock became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” It would be a very standard late-’70s, early-’80s Marvel comic, much like the stories in the first Miller/Janson volume, is what. Talky, obvious, full of cramped panels and way too much narration from that boring bald giant on the moon. This is included, I assume, for completionists.

Miller returned to Daredevil for a one-off issue, #219, in mid-’85 (about a year before the Born Again sequence with David Mazzucchelli), apparently in large part to work with John Buscema. The credits are a bit vague – the splash page credits everything to Miller (with an asterisk), Buscema, and inker Gerry Talaoc – but I assume Miller wrote this story and did layouts that Buscema finished. This is a hardboiled “crooked town” story in twenty-ish pages, with Matt Murdock (out of costume) wandering into this Jersey hellhole and incidentally (and almost accidentally) cleaning it up on his way back out. This story has many of the weaknesses of both Marvel comics of the era and Miller in particular, but it’s a solid piece that works on its own level.

And the last eighty pages or so of this book incorporate the 1986 graphic novel Daredevil: Love & War, written by Miller and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz, in what ended up being a try-out for their Elektra: Assassin project almost immediately afterward. This is very much a one-off, but it’s glorious and energetic, with Sienkiewicz at the height of his ’80s inventiveness and Miller’s multiple-narrators captions working quite well. Daredevil himself doesn’t actually do a lot in this story, actually – he is necessary to the plot, I’ll admit, but he also sets off for a whole lot of derring-do that fizzles entertainingly.

I’ve left the meat of the book for last: issues 186-191 is the big ninja storyline, the single most important vector for their takeover of American culture (particularly comics culture) later in the ’80s. But we can’t blame Miller and Janson for that. The stories are muscular and taut, with Miller dialing down his wordiness and telling this story visually a lot more than was standard for Marvel at the time. It includes all the greatest hits of the Miller Daredevil: Matt’s mentor Stick and the small band of good-guy ninjas he leads, his dead-but-gets-better global-assassin ex-girlfriend Elektra, the super-evil ninjas of The Hand and their world-domination plots, the Kingpin, and a cameo by currently-paralyzed assassin Bullseye.

Those issues, though, in the best Marvel Manner, actually starts with some hugger-mugger about Matt’s current girlfriend, Heather Glenn, and the family company she supposedly runs that has gotten involved with…gasp! horror!…some kind of munitions work. As usual with Big Two comics of this era, both the legal and the business details are ludicrous and unbelievable to anyone who is not twelve, and all of the characters talk about it in mind-numbing detail that only proves how little any of the creative team involved understood law or business. But, eventually, the Heather subplot ends and we get to the ninjas, who are thankfully much quieter.

My takeaway from this, and the whole mass of Miller/Janson Daredevil stories, is that everything is part of its time and place. The best of this material is as good as any adventure stories in comics form anyone has made over the past century. But a lot of it is dull, cliched and obvious, rolling out wallpaper-like standard plots, themes, and concepts that are third-hand at best and threadbare if you look too closely. The three Daredevil books have nearly a thousand pages of comics: three to four hundred of that is pretty darn good. The rest you need to slog through to get to the high points.

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

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Inevitable Queen in Black Tie-Ins Announced

New York, NY— April 7, 2026 — QUEEN IN BLACK, an upcoming crossover event spinning directly out of Al Ewing and Carlos Gómez’s run of Venom, as well as the new Knull limited series by Ewing, Tom Waltz, and Juanan Ramirez, kicks off this July. The event will be told across a main five-issue series by Ewing and Iban Coello, along with key tie-in limited series and issues. Today, fans can see the cover of QUEEN IN BLACK #2, arriving on July 29, and learn about the recently announced tie-ins.

Hela has seized Knull’s throne and commands a legion of deadly symbiotes as the QUEEN IN BLACK! Meanwhile, Knull has conquered the Lightforce Dimension, claiming a new power and army as the GOD OF THE VOID! Two of the most powerful evils in the galaxy are at war, and Earth is the final prize!

In QUEEN IN BLACK #2, Tony Stark races against time, assembling powerful twin teams—Defenders of Light and Defenders of Dark—to battle Hela and Knull amidst the cosmic void. As their clash shakes the stars, Hela unleashes her devastating assault on Earth, forcing the Avengers into action for humanity’s survival. But chaos doesn’t end there: the monstrous Symbiote Intelligence descends upon New York City, igniting a fierce confrontation as Venom and the Fantastic Four leap into battle! Will heroes unite and overcome the tide of darkness threatening the universe?

“One of the joys of QUEEN IN BLACK is going big and weird with symbiotes and aliens…and they don’t come much bigger and weirder than the Symbiote Intelligence!” Ewing teased.

Essential event tie-ins include QUEEN IN BLACK: DEFENDERS OF LIGHT AND DARK, a limited series following two groups of heroes specifically assembled by Iron Man and Beta Ray Bill to take down Hela and Knull; QUEEN IN BLACK: HELA and QUEEN IN BLACK: THOR, dual one-shots centered around Asgard that reveal how Hela overthrew Knull and bring Thor into the battle; QUEEN IN BLACK: VENOM UNCHAINED, a limited series starring Eddie Brock who must escape prison before joining the fight against Hela; and upcoming issues of VENOM, packed with key insights into the developments Venom, Dylan Brock and Mary Jane will undergo in the saga and prepare them for an uncertain future…

QUEEN IN BLACK: HELA #1
Written by AL EWING
Art by CARLOS MAGNO

THE QUEEN TAKES HER THRONE!

All the secrets of the Queen in Black—revealed! Why were Hela and Tyr in Midgard when the Rainbow Bridge fell? How did she cage Knull, God of the Void? And which Thor tried to stop her? Balder the Brave seeks the answers from Karnilla of the Norns…but will he live to tell anyone else?

QUEEN IN BLACK: THOR #1
Written by AL EWING
Art by SERGIO DAVILA

A TRUE KING RISES

As Beta Ray Bill battles Hela at the edge of space, he considers his role as the heir of Thor’s story… little dreaming that the story continues with Sigurd Jarlson or that the Death-Goddess has plans for the Mortal Thor. Somewhere in the city, a man with a hammer is about to face the ultimate test.

VENOM #260
Written by AL EWING
Art by CARLOS GÓMEZ

THE LEGACY OF THE LETHAL PROTECTOR REVEALED

Months ago, Dylan Brock was killed by Carnage—and granted an audience with the Eventuality, the ultimate iteration of his father. He asked five questions and was given five answers – a hint of a dark future waiting for him. Now that future is here…

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Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Donald’s Happiest Adventures by Lewis Trondheim and Nicolas Keramidas

About a decade ago, writer Lewis Trondheim and artist Nicolas Keramidas made a bande dessinée for Éditions Glénat, the French arm of the global Disney octopus, about Mickey Mouse. It was called Mickey’s Craziest Adventures  and pretended to be rediscovered pages from an obscure (probably American) 1960s comic, telling a long, convoluted and all-adventure story on its big pages. It didn’t entirely make sense, but that was the point: it was supposedly roughly half of the pages of a decade-long story that was all cliffhangers and hairsbreadth escapes to begin with.

A few years later, they did it again, though in a slightly less breathless register: Donald’s Happiest Adventures  similarly pretends to be a serial from an incredibly obscure ’60s comic. But, this time, they happily state that they found the whole thing, and can present the full story of how Donald was tasked by his Uncle Scrooge with finding the secret of happiness. Happiest was published by Glénat in 2018, and an American edition followed in 2023, translated by David Gerstein.

The structure is the same as the Mickey story: Trondheim and Keramidas pretend that each page stood alone as a monthly installment of the story, so the story leaps forward regularly, with each page being a moment or a thought or a particular place. Trondheim’s Donald has the standard irascibility, though he doesn’t break into full-fledged tantrums here as he sometimes does in stories by other hands. He’s also more philosophical than Donald often is, a lot like other bird-coded characters in other Trondheim stories, like Ralph Azham or Herbert from Dungeon or Trondheim’s self-portrait in Little Nothings .

But if you’re going to have a story about Donald Duck searching for the meaning of happiness, you need to have a version of Donald who is capable of finding happiness and of talking about it coherently – not always a guarantee in every version of Donald.

Like the Mickey story, this one ranges widely – Donald is summoned by Scrooge to go retrieve a fabulously valuable artifact from an obscure corner of the world, but unwisely questions Scrooge’s motivations and finds himself instead sent to find the secret of happiness. In particular, the secret of making Scrooge happy, which is even more difficult than doing so for Donald. (Donald has moments of happiness throughout the book, as a careful reader will notice – but he’s not happy all the time, which is what he thinks he’s looking for.)

Donald meets and talks with a vast array of other characters – the fabulously lucky Gladstone Gander, the down-to-earth Grandma Duck, the genius Ludwig von Drake, and so on – as he asks each of them in turn what happiness is. Along the way, he gets into adventures that span the globe, including a stint in a nasty totalitarian country where, luckily, the shackles are all made of cardboard. He also runs across Mickey several times, helping capture Pegleg Pete each time and getting a reward from the police forces who pop up, always right after the hard work is done.

It’s a fairly talky story, because it’s about finding happiness, and Donald needs to talk to nearly every character about it. (He doesn’t have any conversations with Pete, which is a possible miss, since Pete has always seemed quite content with his lot in life, despite having all of his schemes fail miserably.)

As he must, Donald does eventually make it back home to Duckburg, and has an answer for Scrooge that makes the old miser happy, at least for that moment. It’s not the secret of happiness, but that of course is Trondheim’s point: there’s no such thing. Along the way, Happiest is thoughtful and adventurous in equal proportions, a good story for people who are willing to do a little thinking during their Donald Duck adventures.

As in the Mickey book, Keramidas draws it in a style that I can’t quite call off-model but doesn’t quite look right. (Though I mean that as a compliment: purely on-model is boring.) His characters are energetic in that cartoony way and his pages crisply laid out to accommodate all of Trondheim’s long speeches – and to look as if each one could have been a full entry of this serial. 

Some reviews of this book have missed the fact that the ’60s origin is…how do I put this delicately?…not actually true. But you, my dear readers, are smarter and more perspicacious than that, so I’m sure the metafiction here will be no trouble for you. If you’re looking for a combination of philosophy and Disney adventure – and why not? it’s a fun mix – Donald’s Happiest Adventures will provide a lot of enjoyment.

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

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