The Mix : What are people talking about today?

John Ostrander: You/Not You

you-not-you-550x330-8699001

One of the interesting facets of talking about writing is the contradictions you find in the craft. For example: All your characters are you. All your characters are not you.

All of your characters are you.

Every character you write must have some of you in it. All of them. Not just the ones you like to identify with. All of them. The large and the small, the good and the bad, male and female, no matter what age, race, or nationality. If you’re going to write honestly about the character, you must be in the mix.

This can get uncomfortable. Once, when I was writing a white supremacist  in an early issue of Suicide Squad, I had to look into myself and ask, “What in me is like this man?” Look, I’m an aging white guy; there’s going to be something there. No matter how much I’ve worked at freeing myself from that, and I have, there’s going to be something there.

I found it. It’s not enough to understand such a character’s point of view; it’s necessary to find what is in you that is like that. However much I dislike that aspect of myself, it is there to some degree and it can be used. It was.

We all have multitudes within us. We are slightly different people depending on who we are with; with our parents we’re slightly different than we are with our siblings than we are with our friends than we are with our lovers and partners. Each of them know a slightly different aspect of us. That’s one of the purposes of supporting characters; they bring out different aspects of the protagonist.

We play so many different parts in our own lives on a daily basis, we should be able to find some aspect of ourselves – good or bad, laudable or disreputable – that will allow us to identify, to be, the character that we are writing.

I’ve often said that writing dialogue between several characters is the writer having conversations with his/herself. We are all our characters.

All of your characters are not you.

You have to have some perspective on the characters that you write and that requires some distance. The differences are important.

There is, mostly in fandom, a form of criticism pertaining to a “Mary Sue” (among female characters) or a “Larry Stu” (among male). Generally, it means a character is an idealized and unrealistic version of the author. For the most part I dislike the term; it’s too easy, too lazy, and too pat a critique. The person using it generally only has to accuse the author of either having a Mary Sue or Larry Stu and that’s it; no further discussion is needed or, often, allowed. The accusation is made. End of story.

However, as with most stereotypes and clichés, there is a germ of truth. A good character can be very seductive. Few people believe themselves to be evil; even Shakespeare’s Richard III, who describes himself as a villain, believes he has a right to do what he is doing. I met someone once who believed that if he could take something that you thought was yours, he was within his rights to do so. “You only have a right to what you can hold onto,” he would claim. Not someone I wanted to spend any time with, but an interesting idea for a character.

I saw a TV interview with a guy who was doing time because he was a hired killer for the Mob. Coldest son of a bitch I’ve ever seen. Literally would just as soon kill you as look at you. “My life doesn’t matter to me, so why should yours?” was what he said. Again, not a person I would ever want to meet, but it became part of my core concept for my version of Deadshot in the Squad. Lawton doesn’t have a death wish; he just doesn’t care if he dies – or if you do.

The whole “You are your character/you are not your character” thing is a dichotomy and that’s fine by me. I think that most often you find the truth in contradictions. It’s what Del Close taught in his Second City and iO improv classes. Del held this contradiction as a rule: it’s not either/or; it’s and/both.

Finally, don’t try to reconcile or explain the contradictions. State them and trust to your reader to dope it out. Do your job right and the reader will think that the character is them… and not them.

Marc Alan Fishman: Civil War Rocks!

black-panther-captain-america-civil-war-550x275-6087891

Good morning, ComicMixers. I believe we’re a good week and a day past the debut of Captain America: Civil War. I saw it with my wife on a much deserved date-night/Mother’s Day celebration. Suffice to say I loved the flick. And given that more than a handful of people at Free Comic Book Day were compelled to tell me they laughed at my anger over BvS: Dawn of Go Eff Yourself, it’s really nice to declare I loved this movie. I honestly have very little – if any – nits to pick. And rather than pick a single element and wax poetic on it for ya’ll, this week all my rattled brain will allow is a random smattering of thoughts revolving around the Russo’s amazing piece of six-one-six-cinema.

Oh, and clearly… SPOILERS ABOUND. You’ve been warned!

Earned Angst – Look, I hate to start my random thoughts with another cheap shot at SupEMOman, but I sort of need to. You see, the fulcrum of Civil War doesn’t rest on the now half-dozen or so world-ruining disasters from the MCU since Iron Man… no. It rests on the lost (and highly plausible) history between the Winter Soldier, Captain America, and Iron Man. The final fight sequence had the first bit of angst I’d seen that I honestly felt. Tony Stark – PTSD-riddled and alone again – finally needed to hit something. And what better target then the perfectly teethed super soldier who was just trying to protect his friend? Gravitas, thy name is Rogers.

A Continued Sense of Humor and Humanity – “Can you please move your seat back?” “No.”

“I’m shaking your hand too much, aren’t I?” “If anyone else has some amazing ability they’ve been keeping secret, now might be the time to show it!” Throughout the entirety of the two-and-a-half-plus hours of Civil War we were never far from a smirk or light chuckle. And always in service to the characters themselves. When we as an audience believe the performances as we do here, it’s OK to realize that even amidst a massive super-powered scuffle, these are still human beings (and, yeah, Vision). Even mumbled under their breath, they were allowed to crack wise now and again. And it never once felt dishonest.

Vision In Today’s Menswear™ – I don’t have much else to comment on other than I think it’s hilarious that Vision dresses marvelously when he’s not in combat.

Spider-Man Finally Done Right – Look, Tobey Maguire had the awkward look thing down (and he looked as believable as a high schooler as I do right now). Andrew Garfield had the quips mastered. But Tom Holland? Well, he has the youth, the nerdiness, and the quips. It was a perfect presentation, perfectly integrated into the MCU. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise; this Peter Parker stole the show.

Black Panther Finally Done – Simply put: could T’Challa be handled any better than that? Hell if I know, cause I thought he was top-to-bottom perfect. Regal, yet passionate. Reclusive, but fiercely loyal to an external cause. The outfit looked great. His confidence looked even better. Blade is now long in the tooth. Luke Cage is still only Netflix fodder (for the time being). If I’m a young black kid looking for a hero I can cheer on, one who could go toe-to-toe with any Avenger… Well, I need not look any longer.

No Need For Dessert – Civil War may have nearly burst trying to fit in so many characters, minor plots, and major moves… But ultimately everything presented felt part of a larger whole. I left the theater feeling like “the end” of the Captain America franchise allowed us to see Steve Roger’s true journey: From a scrawny kid to psuedo hero. From pseudo hero to real hero. From real hero to a lost hero. From a fish out of water to a leader in the modern world. And, lastly, we leave with Captain America up-to-speed, fully formed, and working towards his own ends. While Cap may not have felt entirely like the star of his own film here, the Russo bros prove it’s because he’s finally reserved to lead when he needs to. America in 2016 is no longer in need of a Nationalist Super Hero. Someone please let Donald Doom know that. But I digress.

GiAnt-Man – Seriously fun. Game changing. Funny, but perfectly placed in the scene. And it sets us up for some more hijinks in the pending sequel(s). More than all of that though, the debut of Scott Lang’s big trick reminded that this was still a comic book movie. Toss in Peter’s quip about the old movie being inspiration for taking Lang down and you have a capsule of everything right about Marvel’s movies.

A Realistic Approach to the Fantastic – Beyond every other point made here… what strikes me the most about Civil War was how very plausible the Sokovia Accords would be. Whereas the other movie just sorta chunked the whole “world is weary of what’s happening” into a little session of congress, here we have a truly global retort to all the catastrophe. Tony Stark’s resolve in the face of tragedy (not unlike Dr. Greg House reacted when being put in his place by a civilian) makes complete sense. The need for supervision, or at very least sanction to operate makes plenty of sense to me (#TeamIronMan). And Captain America’s rigid response, in light of all that fell during Winter Soldier with Nick Fury and the whole “pro-active vs. reactive super heroics” makes even more sense.

All that and they eventually solved the whole thing without killing each other.

Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood go Into the Forest

Into the ForestDirecTV and A24 will release the near-future drama Into the Forest, starring Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie, Michael Eklund and Wendy Crewson this summer. DirectTv will have an exclusive window starting June 23 while the theatrical run begins July 29. Into the Forest follows the story of two sisters (Page and Wood) who struggle to survive in a remote country house after a continent-wide power outage. 
—————-
INTO THE FOREST
—————-
Release: Available exclusively on DirecTV June 23, opens in theaters July 29
Director: Patricia Rozema
Written by: Patricia Rozema (screenplay), Jean Hegland (novel)
Cast: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie, Michael Eklund, and Wendy Crewson
Produced by: Niv Fichman, Aaron L. Gilbert, and Ellen Page
Runtime: 101 minutes
Rating: R
Synopsis:
Set in the near future, this riveting and suspenseful apocalyptic drama follows two sisters, Nell (Ellen Page) and Eva (Evan Rachel Wood) who live in the Pacific Northwest with their kindly father, Robert. Nell is focused on her studies and Eva is training to be a dancer, but their peaceful lives are disrupted one day by what turns out to be a continent-wide blackout. Whereas at first the family bond together and try to make the most of their difficult circumstances, as time gone on, the challenges become more serious.   In the wake of a shocking and violent confrontation that Robert has with a menacing passerby, the sisters must work together in order to survive in their increasingly treacherous new world. 

REVIEW: Deadpool

deadpool-4922832Regardless of whether or not you liked the film, Deadpool and 20th Century Fox delivered the best marketing campaign in years, from initial teasers right up to the Cialis spoof for the Blu-ray release, which came out this week.

Let me say up front that I was never a fan of the Merc with a Mouth from his introduction in 1991 through his overexposure in the comics the last few years. He’s the answer to DC’s Ambush Bug and breaks the fourth wall so often that you just can’t take or his adventures seriously. Seeing him operating an Avenger today is staggering since it forces him to be a grounder player which operates against where he works best.

The film recognizes this and treats him as a live action Wile E. Coyote so there’s a manic feel from the first frame to the last. Everything is there short of the Acme anvil. Was Ryan Reynolds born to play this role? Probably not but he took a supporting role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and made us pay attention. After a detour to space sector 2814, he’s back in costume and wreaking havoc.

The film takes nothing seriously or for granted and has a great time deconstructing the tropes of the super-hero film and summer blockbuster formula. That it opened in February seems to be part of the joke except the joke was turned on competitors as it owned the box office for weeks. For an R-rated film featuring a relatively obscure character for the non-comic reading masses, this was pretty audacious.

Deadpool also features Colossus (voiced by Stefan Kapičić) so we’re grounded in 20th’s corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even there they make fun so at one point, Deadpool is being taken for counseling by Charles Xavier, he asks “Stewart or McAvoy?” It even comes with a silly villain, Ajax, a.k.a. Francis Freeman (Ed Skrein) who was birthed at the same Weapon X program that turned Wade Williams into Deadpool.

Director Tim Miller and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick make us feel for Williams as he is horribly disfigured and has his life turned upside down. He takes on Blind Al (Leslie Uggams) as an unconventional roommate and continues to pine for Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), the hooker who got away.

The high definition transfer is deadly serious, seriously good and captures the film’s images just swell using an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1.  The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track may be even better so this will stand up to constant rewatching at home.

The special features don’t quite live up to the film’s expectations but they do not disappoint. As one would expect, you have Deleted/Extended Scenes (19:14) complete with optional commentary from Miller. And there’s a Gag Reel (6:12); along with the appropriate From Comics to Screen…to Screen (1:20:00), five highly entertaining featurettes;, a Gallery with Freeway (1080p; 00:20), X-Mansion Hangar (00:20), Workshop (00:55), Shipyard (00:35), Costumes — Deadpool (00:50) Ajax (00:15), Colossus (00:25), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (00:15), Angel Dust (00:15); Storyboards — Freeway (16:56) En Route to Shipyard (3:50) Shipyard – Mercenary Fight (22:11) Shipyard – Aftermath (11:00) Pre-Vis (7:08) Stunt-Vis Shipyard (2:03). Deadpool’s Fun Sack (23:54) features Mario Lopez interviewing Ryan Reynolds and among silliness.

There are multiple commentaries that offer amusing insights in the production process and are worth a listen. You can try “Wade”/”Deadpool”/Producer Ryan Reynolds and Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick or Director Miller with Deadpool Co-Creator Rob Liefeld.

Martha Thomases: Katie, Emily & Sana

marvel-women-1-550x235-6585156

When the phone rings on a Sunday and it’s not even 9 AM, I leap up and brace for news that someone has died.

Luckily, when the phone rang this past Sunday that wasn’t the case. “Turn on the Today show right now!!” said my friend, Pennie.

Right there on a network news show (one that was on at the crack of dawn on a weekend) was a long segment about women and comics.

It was great, but I have issues.

Really, go watch the clip, and then we’ll talk.

First of all, huge props to the Marvel/Disney PR department for not only getting the story placed, but for making it all about Marvel. In my experience, many general-interest journalists conflate Marvel and all super-hero comics, and it seems that Marvel is just fine with that.

Erica Hill, the reporter, claims that one third of the Marvel editorial department is female, and that may be true but I’d like to see a breakdown. I loved seeing Sana Amanat, Katie Kubert and Emily Shaw talking about their jobs. Those are three smart women who know a lot about the business, and it was fun to see their chops and enthusiasm.

However, Sana is the only one who is an executive, and Emily is an assistant editor. How do women in Marvel editorial rank in comparison to the men, especially among staff with the same amount of tenure?

I really don’t know the answer to that. I hope it’s one I like.

The story also says that between 30-50% of the comic book market is female. How do they define this market? Does it include manga? Does it include graphic novel sales in bookstores? Do they mean Marvel sales (as they seem to conflate Marvel with all comics)? If a third of Marvel’s sales are to women, why haven’t I seen that news before? Am I just oblivious?

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m aware that a morning-news piece isn’t going to go digging too far because their audience is just getting coffee, getting over a hangover or getting ready for church. Still, I wanted to know more.

Is it too meta for a column about comics on a comic-book site to critique a television news piece about comics? Maybe. As a publicist I would have been thrilled to get the placement, but I would have buried the producers with information, not just about my company but about the entire field. I would have especially directed them to Image Comics, where women don’t just work on different titles but get to own the rights to their work. I would have urged them to interview female writers and artists and retailers, to get their perspectives on the changes in the market.

Most of all, damn it, I would have urged them to highlight Dakota North. We have to find a way to get her on Netflix.

Supergirl Flies To Archie’s House

supergirl

If you are one of the confused masses who have been wondering why Supergirl was on CBS and not on the CW, stop wondering. Everybody decided the CBS thing was a mistake, and Supergirl will be joining Arrow, The Flash and probably Legends of Tomorrow on the mini-network next season. Which is this fall. Still confused? Hey, Jake, it’s Chinatown.

Aside from her DC comrades, Supergirl won’t be alone.  She will be joining Archie, Veronica, Jughead, Kevin and Betty in a new series, Riverdale, which is based upon the current crop of rebooted Archie titles. Yep, the CW is the official comics network.

In addition to their four-color roots, Supergirl and Riverdale have something in common with Arrow and the rest. All are produced by Greg Berlanti, a man so successful he could get a show based upon a can of singing worms on the CW. It should be noted that CBS owns a piece of the CW, and Warner Bros. – owner of Supergirl, Green Arrow, The Flash, and the sundry Legends of Tomorrow – owns the rest, outside of a sliver owned by WGN. Unless WGN sold off to finance their own new superstation shows.

It should also be noted that Supergirl was CBS’s #1 rated new series for the last season, although its audience share has dropped off noticeably. However, it’s big on DVRs, where people zip through the commercials. The show had one of the highest license fees for a new program, so, in addition to moving to the CW, Supergirl is also moving production from Los Angeles to Vancouver, a less expensive venue and the home to the other DC teevee shows. So I guess everybody is happy.

The episode where The Flash visited Supergirl and friends did quite well, and the move (both to the CW and to Vancouver) should make future ratings-boosting crossovers more available,

No word yet on when the new season starts.

 

 

Warner Animation Unveils Batman: The Killing Joke Details

killing-joke-e1463086199742-2625111BURBANK, CA (May 12, 2016) – Delve into the demented history of the Dark Knight’s arch nemesis – The Joker – as he sets out to prove insanity is only a horrifying moment away for anyone in the latest DC Universe Original Movie, Batman: The Killing Joke. Based on one of the best-selling graphic novels of all time, this R-rated, feature-length animated film brings together some of the key creative team behind Batman: The Animated Series with executive producer Bruce Timm at the helm and Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returning to their seminal roles as Batman and The Joker, respectively. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, Batman: The Killing Joke arrives August 2, 2016 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-Ray™ Deluxe Edition, Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD.

Batman: The Killing Joke will be available on Blu-rayTM Deluxe Edition for $29.96 SRP, Blu-rayTM Combo Pack for $24.98 SRP, and DVD for $19.98 SRP.  The Blu-rayTM Combo Pack includes a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet. The Blu-ray™ Deluxe Edition will include all components of the Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack, along with an exclusive figurine of The Joker in a numbered, limited edition gift set.

Fans can also own Batman: The Killing Joke on Digital HD on July 26, 2016 via purchase from digital retailers.

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Batman: The Killing Joke takes a journey into the dark psyche of the Clown Prince of Crime – from his humble beginnings as a struggling comedian to his fateful encounter with Batman that changes both of their lives forever. Years later, and now escaped from Arkham Asylum, The Joker devises a plan to prove that one bad day can make anyone as insane as he is – setting his sights on Commissioner Gordon. It’s up to the Dark Knight to put a stop to The Joker’s latest scheme and save one of Gotham City’s finest. Following a gripping prologue introducing Barbara Gordon’s heroic adventures alongside Batman as Batgirl, Batman: The Killing Joke stays true to the authentic tale that has held fans’ imaginations for nearly three decades – spotlighting the birth of a Super-Villain, the fortitude of a Super Hero and the punchline that will leave you speechless.

Published by DC Comics in 1988, the two-time Eisner Award winning Batman: The Killing Joke graphic novel has maintained an unparalleled popularity throughout its 28 years of existence – as evidenced by its recent ranking as the best-selling graphic novel of 2015.

“Batman: The Killing Joke presents one of the most compelling stories in the annals of Batman’s adventures: the evolution of The Joker from normalcy to criminal insanity. This was a very challenging story to tell because of the intense, often disturbing storyline, but we are extremely pleased with how true to the graphic novel we have been in this original film.” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing. “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is proud to release Batman: The Killing Joke as an authentic representation of its revered story for both longtime fans and new fans alike.”

The celebrity-laden cast is led by Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise) as they reprise their seminal roles as the voices of Batman/Bruce Wayne and The Joker, respectively. The cast also features Tara Strong (Teen Titans; Batman: Arkham games), as Barbara Gordon and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop) as Commissioner Gordon.

Batman: The Killing Joke is directed by Sam Liu (Justice League vs. Teen Titans) from a script by Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Azzarello. Bruce Timm and Sam Register are executive producers, and Alan Burnett is co-producer. Benjamin Melniker & Michael Uslan are executive producers.

Batman: The Killing Joke – Enhanced Content

DVD

  • An exclusive sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie.

Blu-ray™ Combo Pack

  • An exclusive sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie..
  • Featurette – “Batman: The Killing Joke – Madness Set To Music” – Jim Gordon must bear witness to the most disturbing images any father could imagine while a maniac entices his break from sanity in song. This documentary looks at the step-by-process of one of the most crucial scenes in Batman: The Killing Joke, including the methodology James Tucker used as he storyboarded Brian Bolland’s stunning work for the screen; Dynamic Music Partners composers/lyricists’ creative merging of original music with the poetic words from the graphic novel to provoke the desired feelings and emotions for this critical scene; and actor Mark Hamill’s physical, devoted performance to capturing the world¹s most notorious Super-Villain in song.
  • Featurette – “Many Shades of Joker: The Tale of The Killing Joke” – Brian Bolland’s artwork is instantly recognizable to comic book enthusiasts all over the world. Known for his amazing cover art, it was a rare inclusion into the body of a graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke, that helped the perennial story of Batman and The Joker remain a fan favorite for decades to come.  Combined with the graphic novel’s original script – which is more than just the telling of a story, but an intricate map explaining every stop along the way to the end of a fantastic journey – this documentary reveals the artistic process behind The Killing Joke’s distinct style.  We’ll learn how artists and writers excelled at conveying story and human emotion one panel at a time, mesmerizing readers with unforgettable stories and humanized depictions of heroes and villains. And why after nearly 30 years in print, Batman: The Killing Joke is more thought provoking than ever, as its socio-economic themes are relatable to generation after generation.
  • From the DC Comics Vault– Two 22-minute episodes:
  1. The New Batman Adventures – “Old Wounds”
  2. Batman: The Animated Series – “Christmas with The Joker”

Blu-ray™ Deluxe Edition

  • Exclusive Limited Edition The Joker Figurine
  • An exclusive sneak peek at the next DC Universe Original Movie..
  • Featurette – “Batman: The Killing Joke – Madness Set To Music” – Jim Gordon must bear witness to the most disturbing images any father could imagine while a maniac entices his break from sanity in song. This documentary looks at the step-by-process of one of the most crucial scenes in Batman: The Killing Joke, including the methodology James Tucker used as he storyboarded Brian Bolland’s stunning work for the screen; Dynamic Music Partners composers/lyricists’ creative merging of original music with the poetic words from the graphic novel to provoke the desired feelings and emotions for this critical scene; and actor Mark Hamill’s physical, devoted performance to capturing the world¹s most notorious Super-Villain in song.
  • Featurette – “Many Shades of Joker: The Tale of The Killing Joke” – Brian Bolland’s artwork is instantly recognizable to comic book enthusiasts all over the world. Known for his amazing cover art, it was a rare inclusion into the body of a graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke, that helped the perennial story of Batman and The Joker remain a fan favorite for decades to come.  Combined with the graphic novel’s original script – which is more than just the telling of a story, but an intricate map explaining every stop along the way to the end of a fantastic journey – this documentary reveals the artistic process behind The Killing Joke’s distinct style.  We’ll learn how artists and writers excelled at conveying story and human emotion one panel at a time, mesmerizing readers with unforgettable stories and humanized depictions of heroes and villains. And why after nearly 30 years in print, Batman: The Killing Joke is more thought provoking than ever, as its socio-economic themes are relatable to generation after generation.
  • From the DC Comics Vault– Two 22-minute episodes:
  1. The New Batman Adventures – “Old Wounds”
  2. Batman: The Animated Series – “Christmas with The Joker”

Tweets Discuss Captain America Civil War

This week we talk all about Captain America: Civil War. And Anya gets mad about what she calls the 45 minute fight she says is in all Marvel movies…except this one.  We also determine that a Sharon – Steve match up is wrong  because Captain Carter is the OTP of all OTPs, so move over Lizzie & Darcy.  Anya also learns that she can’t talk if she’s sitting on her hands.  We also talk about the Black Widow movie (finally) and critique the pictures in the latest Rolling Stone article about Chris Evans. Yeah, there’s a lot of episode in here!

Dennis O’Neil: Slinging His Mighty Shield

Avengers 4 Cap Discovered

No, I haven’t seen the new Captain America entertainment, though I did walk past a theater that’s showing it a few hours ago. But I guess that doesn’t count.

I might be tempted to buy a ticket at that multiplex located at an outdoor mall in Nanuet, instead of the bigger, much closer 21-screener in West Nyack.

Allow me a digression.

The West Nyack theater has recently suffered some renovation that resulted in customers having to choose the seats they will occupy at the time they buy their tickets. They look at a numbered schematic of the theater’s interior, choose seats, buy tickets, enter the semi-darkness, look at the numbers on each aisle, count the seats until they reach the ones they rented in the lobby, and – glory hallelujah! – sink into upholstery and start staring at the screen, feeling, maybe, like Amundsen when he finally got to the South Pole. Then, our theatergoers can fiddle with controls on the arm rest and adjust the seat configuration from more or less upright – proper posture and all that – to virtually horizontal. This last might serve you well if you plan to nap, and considering how little joy I got from the last movie I saw there, that might have been a better use of my afternoon.

Anything not to like?

Well, for openers, I do not enjoy the search process. I catch a flick, I want to go in and find an empty seat with decent sightlines and, if I’m lucky, forget I exist for a couple of hours or so. There are occasions when boldly meeting challenges is proper, but moviegoing, I maintain, is not one of them. Then there is the matter of environment. Look, I bought my ticket sight unseen. I have no idea who, or what, will be sitting near me. A sweet grandmother who’s afraid that she’s being offensive by breathing, or a butt-cracker of a heavyweight thug who’s snacking on garlic while practicing for a belching contest, activities he has no intention of discontinuing, and if I complain, how’d I like to suck my dinner through a straw?

But whoa! Weren’t we discussing Captain America?

I’m kind of surprised that he’s still active, much less the hero of a movie (I didn’t see it in Nanuet, by the way) that, as I type this, is basking in box office grandeur. Check the stats, true believer: 181 million dollars worth of tickets sold, which makes Captain America: Civil War the fifth most profitable debut in film history. I’m surprised because I’ve long thought of Cap as belonging to a specific era. He was created at the outbreak of the second world war, obviously intended to embody the patriotism and determination the nation was bringing to the battlegrounds.

The war ended and we might have expected Cap to hang up his shield find some laurels to rest on. But he didn’t – not exactly. His monthly comic book adventures continued until 1949 when he just sort of disappeared.

According to a story that appeared much later, he spent the years between 1949 and 1964 frozen in an ice block. He was thawed and, though reinvented, has been a reigning good guy ever since.

Voltron Receives a New Trailer for Netflix Series

2F2DA35C-5959-401F-961D-BBC98B47C396The universe’s greatest protector will rise again in the all-new series DREAMWORKS VOLTRON LEGENDARY DEFENDER, premiering June 10, exclusively on Netflix.  Witness the rebirth of the legend with this ambitious reimagining of the fan-favorite science-fiction saga, promising galaxies worth of action, comedy, and adventure, as good battles evil in an intergalactic war ten thousand years in the making. These series will launch with an hour-long origin story called “The Rise of Voltron,” and will be followed by 10 episodes.

While this bold new series will be instantly recognizable to Voltron’s legions of dedicated fans, Executive Producer Joaquim Dos Santos and Co-Executive Producer Lauren Montgomery (The Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender) have re-engineered core elements of the original show using all of the twenty-first-century technology and storytelling innovation at their disposal. With a killer mix of old and new animation techniques, creative transformations of the characters and designs and inventive plot expansions, this fresh Voltron saga will leave kids and super fans hungry for each new episode. Like the newly designed Voltron, which bears its old battle scars with pride, DREAMWORKS VOLTRON LEGENDARY DEFENDER honors the show’s venerated history while amplifying its strengths and scope tenfold.

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks