In Stores: Wed., May 6, 2015: The Fox #1 (Dark Circle Comics)

THE FOX #2

NEW ONGOING SERIES FROM DARK CIRCLE!  “Fox Hunt, Part 2 – The Other Shoe”: The fox-hunt has begun, and Impact City's most dangerous criminals are out for BLOOD. When Paul Patton Jr. decides to take his son, Shinji, on a trip to the Museum of the Moving Image, he’s hoping to make an effort to finally be a present father and not the superhero freak magnet known as The Fox. But when a violent bank robbery derails their plans, and Paul is unwilling to don his superhero suit and save the day, a new kind of superhero will need to step in and save the day. So why is this new hero The Fox's WORST NIGHTMARE? Emmy award-winning artist Dean Haspiel and Eisner Award-winning writer Mark Waid bring you the next chapter in Dark Circle's most twisted tale yet! Featuring variant cover art from Howard Chaykin and Robert Hack!

Plot: Dean Haspiel
Art: Dean Haspiel, John Workman and Alan Passalaqua
Script: Mark Waid
Cover: Dean Haspiel
Father and Son Variant Cover: Howard Chaykin
Dark Circle Movie Throwback Variant Cover: Robert Hack
On Sale Date: 5/6
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.

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Family Releases Statement About the Passing of Ben E. King

Music Legend Ben E. King – in Memoriam

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fans and fellow artists the world over are mourning the death of music legend Ben E. King, who passed away on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at age 76, after a brief illness. A singer, songwriter, mentor and philanthropist, he personified artistic excellence, humility and warmth. In the words of the late Ahmet Ertegun, “Ben E. King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. His style and the tempo of his voice have a magic all their own.”

    “Ben E. King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. His style and the tempo of his voice have a magic all their own.”

As a solo artist and as lead singer for The Drifters, Ben E. King created some of the most memorable recordings in popular music: “There Goes My Baby”, “Dance With Me,” “This Magic Moment”, “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “Spanish Harlem,” “I Who Have Nothing,” and the iconic, international anthem “Stand By Me” (which King co-wrote). “Stand By Me” has been covered by countless artists; in March 2015, King’s recording was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

He was a member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and winner of a Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award and The Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Towering Performance Award. He continued writing, recording, and performing to sold-out crowds, until shortly before his death.

Offstage, Ben E. King was a devoted family man who donated his time and energy to numerous charitable causes. He was universally known as a true gentleman; respected and beloved by all who knew or worked with him. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and fans worldwide.

Services will be held at:
Community Baptist Church
224 1st Street
Englewood, New Jersey 07631
(201) 568-6369

Memorial / Wake - Wednesday, May 6, 6 – 9 PM
Funeral Service / Burial - Thursday, May 7, 10 AM

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Stand By Me Foundation, or a charity of the donor’s choosing. The Stand By Me Foundation (PO Box 462, Teaneck, NJ 07666) is a 501(c)(3) organization established by Mr. King in 1998, providing scholarships to deserving students and support to civic associations engaged in improving their communities.

Tributes and condolences can also be sent to benekingtributes@gmail.com

from -Judy Tint (Ben E. King’s attorney), on behalf of the King family

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VIZ Media Announces "Sailor Moon R Mini-Moonlight Party" for Friday, May 8th

VIZ MEDIA MARKS THE SAILOR MOON SEASON 2 PART 1 DUB DEBUT WITH A SPECIAL MINI-MOONLIGHT PARTY EVENT THIS FRIDAY

Join VIZ Media’s Anime Team In A Virtual Live Stream Event Of SAILOR MOON R With Added Live Commentary, Real Time Q&A And Prizes

VIZ Media invites SAILOR MOON fans across North America to join the company’s anime team as it hosts a special SAILOR MOON R Mini-Moonlight Party to mark the series’ English dub episode debut of the final episodes of SAILOR MOON R Part 1 on its streaming platform, Neon Alley.

The SAILOR MOON R Mini-Moonlight Party takes place this Friday, May 8th, beginning at 6:00pm PST on VIZ Media’s YouTube channel at: http://bit.ly/MnMlPMAY. The interactive live-stream event will complement the Neon Alley/Hulu streams of SAILOR MOON R Episodes 61 and also Episode 67, which has never been released in English in North America.

As the episodes stream via Neon Alley/Hulu, viewers can take part in a live Q&A with VIZ Media SAILOR MOON team that will run in real-time throughout the evening. Fans are also encouraged to send “Sailor Selfies” showing their love of SAILOR MOON via the official VIZ Media Facebook page, and via Twitter using the special hashtag, #MoonlightParty. The team will also be running special SAILOR MOON trivia.

“We invite fans and viewers to join us for a special Mini-Moonlight Party to celebrate the premiere of these new dubbed episodes with a fun evening of SAILOR MOON revelry,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Marketing Manager, Animation. “Don’t miss the never before seen dubbed episode 67 featuring fun in the sun for our favorite Guardians. Join in the fun this Friday evening!”

Viewers can complement their episode streams with interactive commentary from the VIZ Media staff, who will answer questions and offer little known facts about SAILOR MOON R and the evening’s streamed episodes. Viewers also may submit questions throughout the event via YouTube, in the comments sections of the actual live stream (as available). A trivia contest will award knowledgeable fans a variety of SAILOR MOON prizes including posters, art cards, t-shirts and more! Viewers will be able to submit their answers via Facebook and Twitter.

In SAILOR MOON R, Usagi and her friends return to their normal lives after their epic battle, but the Sailor Guardians are called back into action when powerful new enemies appear. By the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal, Sailor Moon gains strength with a dazzling new attach and transformation. The coming battle won't be easy, but things get even more complicated when a mysterious pink-haired girl falls form the sky and goes after Mamoru!

Home media pre-orders are available now from all major online retailers for the classic SAILOR MOON R anime series which will be released on July 14th as a Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and also as a Standard DVD edition. The new SAILOR MOON R Set 1 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and Standard DVD Set are rated “TV-PG” and contain Episodes 47-68 along with special premium packaging and notable bonus features. The new sets notably include the previously unaired Episode 67: “The Beach, the Island and a Vacation: The Guardian’s Break,” which was never broadcast or released during the SAILOR MOON’s original North American run.

The smash hit SAILOR MOON anime series is inspired by the bestselling manga (graphic novel) series created by Naoko Takeuchi (published in North America by Kodansha). In the series, Usagi Tsukino is a clumsy but kindhearted teenage girl who transforms into the powerful guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon. Meeting allies along the way who share similar fates, Usagi and her team of planetary Sailor Guardians fight to protect the universe from forces of evil and total annihilation! 

SAILOR MOON Season 1 also is available from VIZ Media on home video as Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs and Standard Edition DVD sets. Fans can also catch the brand new SAILOR MOON reboot – SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL – with brand new episodes (subtitled) available to stream on the first and third Saturdays each month on Hulu and Neon Alley.

For more information on SAILOR MOON, or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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Neon Alley Has New Anime Content for May 2015

VIZ MEDIA OPENS MAY WITH A BRAND NEW ANIME CONTENT UPDATE FOR NEON ALLEY

Don’t Miss New SAILOR MOON And SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Episodes Along With The Latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Simulcasts And Just-Added Episodes Of BLEACH, RANMA ½, And More

VIZ Media begins the month of May with a brand new content update for its Neon Alley free anime streaming platform.

The action of SAILOR MOON S and SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL continues with exciting new episodes from both series throughout the month. Catch two newly subtitled SAILOR MOON episodes from Season 3 added every Monday throughout May 2015, beginning today with Episode 102, “The Stolen Pure Heart: Usagi’s Crisis,” and Episode 103, “The Arrival of a Small Pretty Guardian.”  The SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL simulcasts also continue with brand new subtitled episodes. Catch Act 21 “Complication – Nemesis” on May 2nd 2015, followed by Act 22: “Hidden Agenda – Nemesis” on May 16th, 2015.

Other notable new additions include new dub episodes for BLEACH Season 22, NARUTO Season 3, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS and RANMA ½. Fans can also catch simulcasts of the latest NARUTO SHIPPUDEN installments (subtitled) straight from Japan. The latest May 2015 update is further highlighted by scores of new episodes from a variety of top-rated VIZ Media anime properties including:

BLEACH
·         Neon Alley adds English dubbed BLEACH Season 22 Episodes 304-316, available to stream now!

·         Viewers can now enjoy a total of 316 English dubbed episodes, as well as the complete subtitled BLEACH anime series (366 episodes).

NARUTO
·         Neon Alley adds Season 3, dubbed Episodes 131-143, of the original NARUTO anime series, available to stream now.

·         With the newest episode update, viewers can check out a total of 143 English dubbed episodes as well enjoy as the complete subtitled NARUTO anime (all 220 episodes) series!

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
·         Ninja action continues throughout May with not-to-be-missed Neon Alley simulcasts of the latest English subtitled NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes. Catch Episode 410 on Thursday, May 7th. Simulcasts of the next three NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes will take place every subsequent Thursday for the remainder of the month.

·         Also don’t miss premiere English dubbed episodes of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN every Saturday in May starting with Episode 292 on May 2nd.

THE PRINCE OF TENNIS
·         Catch the exciting conclusion of the on- and off-the court action of the acclaimed tennis drama with the last 10 episodes of THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, available in English dubbed and subtitled formats!

·         Fans can now watch the entire 50-episode series from the beginning!

RANMA ½
·         Neon Alley viewers can catch the thrilling series finale to the classic RANMA ½ series with the premiere of the final installment – Episode 161 “Boy Meets Mom Part 2 Someday, Somehow…” – which is available to stream now!!

·         Ranma Saotome never thought a martial arts training mission to China would turn out like this! An accidental dunk in a cursed spring changes boy Ranma into a young girl, every time he is splashed with cold water. Hot water reverses the effect - but only until next time!

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s consolidated online destination for FREE streaming anime content in the U.S. with over 3,600 subtitled and English dubbed episodes and movies from more than 32 series! Neon Alley also reaches an expansive on-demand U.S.-based audience on Hulu, which enables viewers to watch shows anytime, anywhere across devices including Xbox One, PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and mobile devices. A full list of Hulu -enabled devices can be found at http://www.hulu.com/plus/devices.

Additional information on Neon Alley is available at: www.NeonAlley.com and http://blog.neonalley.com.

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2015 Harvey Award Nomination Ballots Due in One Week - May 11th

2015 HARVEY NOMINATION BALLOTS DEADLINE IN 2 WEEKS NOMINATION BALLOTS DUE MAY 11, 2015

BALTIMORE, MD - The Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con wish to remind eligible voters that the deadline for the official Nomination Ballot for this year's Harvey Awards, honoring work published in the 2014 calendar year, is now one week away. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The 28th Annual Harvey Awards will be presented Saturday, September 26th, 2015 as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Harvey Awards nomination ballots may now be submitted using an online form. If you are a comics professional, you can vote online at harveyawards.org/2015-nomination-ballot/.  Ballots are due for submission by Monday, May 11th, 2015.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators - those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit, or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. The Harvey Awards are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. 

We look forward to your participation and input in this process, and we look forward to seeing you at the Baltimore Comic-Con and the Harvey Awards.

The Harveys would not be possible without the generous sponsors of the Awards. Sponsors for the last year's 2014 Harvey Awards included Presenting Sponsors Cards, Comics & Collectibles and the Baltimore Comic-Con; Gold Sponsors BOOM! Studios and Comic WOW!; Silver Sponsors Akuna Entertainment, ComicMix, Geppi's Entertainment Museum, Insight Studios Group, Painted Visions Comics, Top Shelf Productions, and Valiant; and Gift Bag Sponsors Abrams ComicArts, Archie Comic Publications, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DC Entertainment, Del Rey Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, First Second, Popfun Collectibles, and Valiant Entertainment.

Companies and individuals interested in sponsoring the 2015 Harvey Awards may do so by contacting us at harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 25-27, 2015. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 26th. Additional details about the Harvey Awards and the awards ceremony will be released over the next few months.
About The Harvey Awards

The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 28 years, the last 8 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in 22 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.  For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org

About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 16th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 25-27, 2015. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

Rick Veitch, Denis Kitchen Added to Baltimore Comic-Con 2015

Baltimore Comic-Con 2015 Welcomes Kitchen, Moore, Root, and Veitch

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - The Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2015 for its 16th annual show! We are proud to announce our returning guests, Denis Kitchen, Terry Moore, Budd Root, and Rick Veitch.

The Harvey Award-winning Denis Kitchen began his comics career as a self-published underground cartoonist (Mom's Homemade Comics, 1969), but quickly became primarily a publisher. His Kitchen Sink Press for three decades published such legendary and diverse artists as Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, R. Crumb, Mark Schultz, Charles Burns, Al Capp, Scott McCloud, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, Dave McKean, Howard Cruse, and countless others. Kitchen also founded the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and chaired it for eighteen years. A monograph of his cartoons, The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen, was recently published. Kitchen curates exhibitions, is an art agent, a literary agent, a comics historian and author (The Art of Harvey Kurtzman and a biography, Al Capp), and has recently brought back Kitchen Sink Books as an imprint of Dark Horse Comics with partner John Lind. This is Denis's 6th appearance at Baltimore Comic-Con where he has a special connection: as the representative of the Kurtzman estate, he was responsible for bringing the annual Harvey Awards to us.

Having decided to publish his initial work, Strangers in Paradise, via his Houston-based Abstract Studios, Terry Moore won an Eisner award for his work. Since then, he has gone on to write several titles for Marvel, including the hit series Runaways. Through Abstract Studios, he created the Harvey award-winning Echo, which ran for 30 issues and has since been collected, and his current title, the Harvey-nominated Rachel Rising, for which Moore both writes and provides the art.

Budd Root initially broke into the mainstream comics industry with his first published work at London Night Studios. Ultimately, Root decided he would publish his own comics, forming Basement Comics in 1993 and issuing the now-synonymous Cavewoman. The title has since gone on to see publication with Caliber Press and Avatar Press. It has also garnered an Ignatz Award nomination in 1999.

A member of The Kubert School's first graduating class, Rick Veitch made a name early in his career as a fantasy artist and writer for Marvel's Epic line of titles, where he worked on Epic Illustrated, Heartburst, and The One. He went on to work on the critically acclaimed Swamp Thing from DC Comics, as well as Miracleman from Eclipse Comics, for which he both wrote and provided art. Veitch then moved into the indie comics scene, working initially on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage Studios and then launching his own King Hell publishing house, with titles like Bratpack and The Maximortal. Returning to larger publishers, Veitch has worked on Image's 1963 and Supreme, and DC's Tomorrow Stories, America's Best Comics, The Question, and Aquaman. More recently, he wrote the Vertigo title Army@Love and The Big Lie from Image. You can find his Miracleman work reprinted these days from Marvel Comics.

"Each one of these creators have left an indelible mark on the comics industry, both with larger publishing houses as well as through their own publishing efforts," said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "It is a great privilege for us to welcome them all back to Baltimore, and we're excited to present them to their fans, old and new!"

This year's confirmed guests for the show include: Neal Adams (All-New Captain America); Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl); Christy Blanch (The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood); Mark Buckingham (Fables); Sean Chen (Secret Origins); Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman); Frank Cho (Jungle Girl); Steve Conley (Bloop); Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn); Katie Cook (Gronk); Darwyn Cooke (Richard Stark's Parker); Ramona Fradon (Spongebob Annual-Size Super-Giant Swimtacular); John Gallagher (Buzzboy); Cully Hamner (Convergence: The Question); Dean Haspiel (The Fox); Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets); Klaus Janson (Superman); Dave Johnson (Inhumans: Attilan Rising); JG Jones (Strange Fruit); Denis Kitchen (The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Went Underground); Barry Kitson (Empire: Uprising); Seth Kushner (Schmuck); Paul Levitz (Convergence: World's Finest Comics); Mark Mariano (The Other Side of Hugless Hill); Ron Marz (Convergence: Batman and Robin); Terry Moore (Rachel Rising); Tom Palmer (The Avengers); Jimmy Palmiotti (The Con Job); Dan Parent (Archie); David Peterson (Mouse Guard); Ron Randall (Convergence: Catwoman); Budd Root (Cavewoman); Don Rosa (Donald Duck); Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo); Matteo Scalera (Black Science); Bart Sears (Bloodshot); Louise Simonson (Convergence: Superman - The Man of Steel); Walter Simonson (Convergence: Superman - The Man of Steel); Andy Smith (Earth 2); Charles Soule (Uncanny Inhumans); Ben Templesmith (Gotham by Midnight); Frank Tieri (Suicide Squad); Peter Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps); John Totleben (Swamp Thing); Rick Veitch (Saga of the Swamp Thing); Charles Vess (Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream); Mark Waid (Daredevil); John Watson (Red Sonja); Kelly Yates (Doctor Who); and Thom Zahler (My Little Pony: Friends Forever).

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

Contact Information
Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:
press@baltimorecomiccon.com - for any general press inquiries or to be added to our PR distribution
registrar@baltimorecomiccon.com- for exhibitor, publisher, and Artist Alley registrations
harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com - for the Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet
general@baltimorecomiccon.com - for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries

About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 16th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 10 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org.

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Review: "Avengers: Age of Ultron" is Bigger and Better

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 20 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux (support on Patreon)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon
WRITER: Joss Whedon (based upon the comic book created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
PRODUCER: Kevin Feige
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Davis
EDITORS: Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek
COMPOSERS: Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA/FANTASY/SCI-FI

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Linda Cardellini, Andy Serkis, Thomas Kretschman, Stan Lee, Henry Goodman, Julie Delpy, Haley Atwell, Kerry Condon (voice), and James Spader (voice), and Samuel L. Jackson

The answer to your likely first question is a resounding “Yes!”  It is good and even better than the first  movie, which was itself quite good.  I want to see this movie again.  Now, on to the formal review...

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 superhero movie written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Marvel Studios. The film, which is based upon the comic book created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is the sequel to 2012's Marvel's The Avengers.  Jon Favreau and Stan Lee are among the executive producers of this film

Avengers: Age of Ultron features the comic book superheroes, the Avengers:  Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).  In this new film, a well-meaning peacekeeping program inadvertently creates a powerful artificial intelligence, which decides to destroy the Avengers before destroying all of humanity.

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in the Eastern European country of Sokovia.  There, The Avengers are in the midst of raiding a Hydra outpost led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann).  The Baron has been experimenting on humans using the scepter of Loki, Thor's villainous brother.  The Avengers retrieve Loki's scepter, but encounter the results of von Struker's experimentation, a twin brother and sister who now both possess super powers.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) a.k.a. Iron Man and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) a.k.a. the Hulk discover an artificial intelligence (A.I.) inside the scepter's gem.  They decide to use that A.I. to complete Stark's global defense project, but they don't tell their fellow Avengers about their experimentation.  The result is a dangerous new being calling itself “Ultron” (voice of James Spader) that decides to exterminate humanity and has the power to match the Avengers.

My summary of Avengers: Age of Ultron is wimpy compared to the actual size and scale of this movie.  Avengers: Age of Ultron, in terms of action, is as massive as one of Michael Bay's Transformers movies, but Age of Ultron is more entertaining than any Transformers movie by far.  In terms of story, this movie is big, encompassing multiple settings, enough characters for three movies, and a plot surrounded by multiple sub-plots.  Age of Ultron, however, does not collapse under its own weight, and it is not hard to follow.  Because the story has so much... well, story, I find myself ruminating over it still, two and a half days after I saw it.

Writer-director Joss Whedon is beloved by fans because the story writing and storytelling he brought to his television series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”  Whedon takes fantasy seriously enough to be serious about crafting a story about vampire hunters and superheroes with all the careful consideration that other writers give to such Oscar winners as Terms of Endearment and A Beautiful Mind.  Concerning the parts of the script that deal with the personalities, motivations, and interior lives of the Avengers, Whedon makes Age of Ultron intimate, probing, and surprisingly individualized.

As I wrap up this review, Age of Ultron lingers in my mind.  I could talk about the eye-popping effects and the fantastic superhero action that are true to the comic book while simultaneously breaking free of the confines of the comic book page.  I could talk about the high-quality acting; the performers take these characters seriously, also.  However, I will say that with Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel Studios delivers again... and again... and again...  This is one of the best superhero films ever made.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, May 3, 2015


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