Image Comics Lights "The Fuse" with a New Story Arc

THE FUSE CHARGES ON

Issue #19 starts a new chapter: CONSTANT ORBITAL REVOLUTIONS

Writer Antony Johnston (The Coldest City, CODENAME BABOUSHKA) and artist Justin Greenwood (Wasteland, Stringers) will launch a new story arc in their ongoing science fiction crime series this July.

Previously in THE FUSE, Ristovych and Dietrich were faced with the yearly bacchanalia that is Perihelion—a 24-hour festival celebrating The Fuse’s closest proximity to the sun. Rising to the occasion, they battled crowds, fervored citizens, escaped convicts, crazed gunmen, anarchist protesters, attempts on the Mayor’s life, and two homicide cases to boot. It was a long day.

In THE FUSE #19, Ralph’s mystery might just be solved at last, and retirement beckons for Midway’s oldest, crankiest Homicide detective. Before Klem can hang up her space boots, there’s one final case to solve—and this one will hit closer to home for her secretive young partner Ralph than he’d like…

"This is the one where we burn it all down and dance around the flaming wreckage,” said Johnston. “A seemingly simple homicide will turn into something much bigger, and the cracks in Klem and Ralph's relationship will explode. In the finest comic book tradition, nothing will ever be the same again..."

"It feels to me like this whole series has been building to this story arc,” said Greenwood. “The time has come for Klem and Ralph to put their cards on the table, and the results may not be very pretty."

THE FUSE #19 (Diamond code: MAY160600) hits stores Wednesday, July 6th, 2016. Final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, June 13th, 2016.


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

---------------------

I Reads You Review: METACOPS #1

METACOPS #1
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS/Monster Comics

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Link Yaco
ART: John Heebink
LETTERS: Bill Pearson
COLORS: Mary Woodring
DESIGN: Jim Blanchard
20pp, B&W, $1.95, $2.25 CAN (February 1991)

In late 1990 and early 1991, Fantagraphics Books launched a line of comic books that focused on science fiction and fantasy stories.  The eventual titles were not straight science fiction, but were rather a mixture of esoteric sci-fi, weird fantasy, B-movie horror, and Underground Comix-like concepts.  I don't think that the line lasted much longer than two years, if that.

I tried a few Monster Comics series, but the one that most piqued my interest was MetaCops, a three-issue miniseries created by writer Link Yaco and artist John Heebink.  The series focused on the “Metaphysical Police,” an organization colloquially referred to as the “MetaCops.”  The MetaCops kept the whole universe from falling apart by protecting the “flow of history” from humans, aliens, and other sentient beings that used time-travel to disrupt history.

MetaCops #1 focuses on four particular MetaCops, all of them based on deceased famous figures.  The first is Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), who was an actress and singer, one of the early Playboy “Playmates,” and one of the original Hollywood “blonde bombshells.”  The next is Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966), a Greenwich Village poet and a short story writer whose most famous story is “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities” (1937).

Then, there is Albert Einstein (1879-1955), the theoretical physicist and writer, who may be the most famous scientist in history.  Finally, there is Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519), the Italian painter, sculptor, inventor, and engineer, among many things, who may be the most famous artist in the history of the world.

The MetaCops have discovered that a cabal of alien B.E.M.s (bug-eyed monsters) have traveled back in time to stop the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D.  Of course, the MetaCops have a plan to stop the B.E.M.s... with the help of Roman legionnaires, AK-47 assault rifles, and werewolves.

Even before I ever read an issue, I thought that I would like MetaCops, and after reading the first issue, I really liked it.  I'm surprised that this series has basically been lost in the annals of comic book history.  Other than this three-issue miniseries, the only other time that the MetaCops appeared in print was in a one-shot special (MetaCops: Special Annual Origin Issue No. 1) that was not published by Fantagraphics.  Considering all the mediocre comic books that have yielded animated television series, MetaCops is certainly a concept that would result in at least an interesting pitch to lob at the geniuses of television decision making.

In fact, MetaCops has a freewheeling spirit and a sense of goofiness that recalls Saturday morning cartoon TV shows.  I will grant that two of the MetaCops, Jayne Mansfield and Delmore Schwartz, have a bit of an edge and are connected to lurid events.  However, there is no particular reason that any other particular historical figure or celebrity of yesteryear could not be a MetaCop.  Imagine John Wayne or Nicole Brown Simpson as a MetaCop.  A fictional version of Martha Washington would work as a MetaCop as well as a fictional Michael Jackson would work as a MetaCop.

The mixture of historical figures, actual historical events, B-movie sci-fi, monsters, and combat animals (based on both extinct and non-extinct species) is what makes MetaCops seem so delightfully inventive.  Link Yaco (a pen name?) offers humor that is crazy, silly, satirical, and edgy all at once or separately when needed.  John Heebink's art and storytelling recalls Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, and MAD Magazine.  These guys make magic.  What's not to like.  Well, I don't like that there is not too much more of this.

[This issues contains a second story, “The Man Who Missed the Hindenberg.”  It is written by Link Yaco; drawn by Charlie Parker (breakdowns) and John Heebink (finishes), and lettered by Clem Robins.]

If the main story is not enough, the back-up story features Jimmy Hendrix, Nikola Tesla, and Boadicea.  That last name may not be familiar to you if you don't remember that Mel Gibson announced plans to make a movie about her, a movie that never materialized.  Boadicea was the queen of the Iceni (a Brittonic tribe) who led the Britons against the Roman Empire in pre-Anglo-Saxon Britain.

This story involves Boadicea going into the past and causing a number of disasters in order to kill a no-name, regular dude who is the ancestor of a neighbor who is annoying her.  The MetaCops move to stop her.  The one thing that I can say about this story is that whatever doubts I had about MetaCops as a viable concept, it vanquished them.

I am not going to lie and say that this is a great work of the comics medium.  What I will say is that MetaCops is great fun to read, and some supreme works of the comics medium fail to be that.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You'


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

--------------------

Chris Nolan's "Dunkirk" Begins Filming in Dunkirk, France

Filming Has Begun on Christopher Nolan’s Epic Action Thriller “Dunkirk”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that principal photography on the epic action thriller “Dunkirk” is underway in Dunkirk, France. Christopher Nolan (“Interstellar,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy) is directing “Dunkirk” from his own original screenplay, utilizing a mixture of IMAX® and 65mm film to bring the story to the screen. The production will shoot in France, Holland, the UK and Los Angeles.

“Dunkirk” opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in.

“Dunkirk” features a prestigious cast, including Tom Hardy (“The Revenant,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Inception”), Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies,” “Wolf Hall”), Kenneth Branagh (“My Week with Marilyn,” “Hamlet,” “Henry V”) and Cillian Murphy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), as well as newcomer Fionn Whitehead. The ensemble cast also includes Aneurin Barnard, Harry Styles, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan and Tom Glynn-Carney.

The film is being produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas (“Interstellar,” “Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy). Jake Myers (“The Revenant,” “Interstellar,” “Jack Reacher”) is serving as executive producer.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema (“Interstellar,” “Spectre,” “The Fighter”), production designer Nathan Crowley (“Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), editor Lee Smith (“The Dark Knight” Trilogy, “Elysium”), costume designer Jeffrey Kurland (“Inception,” “Bullets Over Broadway”), and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson (“Mad Max: Fury Road”).

Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing “Dunkirk” worldwide and has slated the film for a July 21, 2017 release.

---------------------------

Review: "Terminator: Genisys" is the Worst of the Terminator Films

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

Terminator: Genisys (2015)
Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – PG - 13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and gun-play throughout, partial nudity and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Alan Taylor
WRITERS:  Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier (based upon characters created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd)
PRODUCERS:  David Ellison and Dana Goldberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kramer Morgenthau
EDITOR:  Roger Barton
COMPOSER:  Lorne Balfe

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Courtney B. Vance, Byung-hun Lee, and Bryant Prince

Terminator: Genisys is 2015 science fiction-action film from director Alan Taylor.  It is the fifth film in the Terminator franchise.  The film is essentially a remake, reboot, and re-imagining of the first film, The Terminator (1984).  In Genisys, a soldier travels back in time to 1984 to protect the mother of his commander, but finds that things are not the way he believed they were supposed to be.

Terminator: Genisys opens in 2019, where John Connor (Jason Clarke) leads the Human Resistance.  Conner is launching what he has told his soldiers is the final offensive against Skynet, an artificial intelligence system seeking to eliminate the human race.  After infiltrating a Skynet outpost, Connor discovers that Skynet has just activated a time machine that has sent a “Terminator” (a cyborg that hunts and kills humans), back in time to kill his mother before she gives birth to him.

Connor's right-hand man, Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), volunteers to travel back in time to protect Connor's mother.  On his way through time, Reese witnesses events that shock him.  When he arrives in 1984, Reese finds that John Connor's mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), is not the woman he expected to find.  And the Terminator that should be trying to kill Sarah is called the “Guardian” (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and he/it is also acting strangely.  Skynet still wants to kill Sarah Connor, but nothing is as Reese expected to find it.

The Terminator, the 1984 film co-written and directed by James Cameron, has aged well.  The film's pre-CGI effects still look good and are quite effective.  Other than Cameron's sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the other Terminator films are CGI-heavy, and CGI does not serve Terminator: Genisys very well.  It is as if the filmmakers have vomited their imaginations onto the screen, and there is a line of code to bring every chunk and fluid ounce of it to life.

I find that some film critics easily ignore and/or dismiss that at the heart of James Cameron's best and most famous films is a love story, and that was the heart of the first Terminator film.  Kyle Reese falls in love with Sarah Connor via the stories her son, John Connor, told him.  In the end, Reese risks everything to traverse the “oceans of time” to be with Sarah.  Whether you buy that love story or not, The Terminator 1984 was more than just a story about a two soldiers from the future shooting up Los Angeles circa 1984.

Terminator: Genisys, which is (let's be honest) a remake of the original film, tries and fails to recapture all the dynamism of the original Kyle Reese-Sarah Connor dynamic.  First Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese does not work for me because I keep thinking about the actor who first played Reese, Michael Beihn.  Emilia Clarke looks like a high school girl; she lacks the maturity and world-weary aura that Linda Hamilton had as the original Sarah Connor.  Schwarzenegger is tolerable, but Terminator: Genisys features his least charismatic version of the classic T-800 Terminator that first exploded on screen in 1984.

Terminator: Genisys is wall-to-wall action, and except for a few moments (mostly in the first half of the film), I found myself not very interested.  If you, dear readers, have seen the other Terminator films, see Terminator: Genisys for the sake of completion.

3 of 10
C-

Friday, January 15, 2016


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

Review: "Terminator Salvation" Remains a Fresh Take on the Franchise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux

Terminator Salvation (2009)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language
DIRECTOR:  McG
WRITERS:  John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris
PRODUCERS:  Derek Anderson, Moritz Borman, Victor Kubicek, and Jeffrey Silver
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Shane Hurlbut (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Conrad Buff IV
COMPOSER:  Danny Elfman

SCI-FI/ACTION/WAR/THRILLER

Starring:  Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin, Jadagrace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, and Michael Ironside

Terminator Salvation is a 2009 post-apocalyptic science fiction film from director McG.  It is the fourth film in the Terminator film franchise.  The film is set in the year 2018, and focuses on a mysterious man who joins the resistance on the eve of an attack on Skynet, but whose side is he really on?

Seven years after the debut of The Terminator (1984), its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day arrived in 1991.  It was another 12 years before the third film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) debuted, but only six years later, the fourth film, Terminator Salvation arrives.  This shorter gestation period likely isn’t why Terminator Salvation is good enough to be considered the second best film in The Terminator franchise.

Terminator Salvation finally takes us into the world only hinted at in the other Terminator films – the post-apocalyptic future that finds the remnants of the human race fighting the all-powerful artificial intelligence, Skynet, and its army of man-killing Terminators.  John Connor (Christian Bale) is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and the Terminators.  It was his mother that Skynet marked for termination before she could give birth to John, so they sent a Terminator back in time to kill her (as seen in The Terminator).  In Judgment Day, Skynet sent a Terminator back in time to kill a 12-year-old John Connor.

This new film opens in 2018, and John Connor is not in charge of the Resistance.  Connor continues, however, to study his past, through his memories and through the tape recordings his late mother left, as he tries to determine what Skynet’s next move might be.  Then, Connor learns that Skynet has made a human civilian named Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), their top priority for termination.  Reese is a man who is of utmost importance to Connor’s existence, so Connor prepares to launch a rescue mission even if General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) and the Resistance leadership are against it.

Then, Connor meets Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row in 2003.  It seems that Wright’s appearance has altered what John knew the future to be.  Connor and Marcus embark on an odyssey into Skynet central operations in the ruins of Los Angeles, where they discover the truth of Skynet’s diabolical plans.

Any moviegoers that are familiar with the internal mythology of The Terminator films can follow all the twists and turns of this time-bending film franchise… for the most part.  Are there inconsistencies between Terminator Salvation and the original film (let alone the others)?  Yes, there are, but director McG (the Charlie’s Angels films) takes the script for this film (which apparently had at least six writers, if not more) and makes one of those great summer movies that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and just keeps you awestruck with the awesomeness of its action and special effects.  It’s fanboy eye candy.

It’s easy for critics and snobby fans to dismiss McG (whose name is Joseph McGinty Nichol), but in the case of Terminator Salvation, he makes the best use of his actors, getting superb performances out of Bale, Worthington, Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, and Jadagrace.  Plus, McG squeezes the best from the visual effects, special effects, and stunt crews.  When a director harnesses this effort to maximum effect, he can make that kind of action flick that is the Art of the summer movie.

There are times when McG and company stumble over themselves in an effort to both connect Terminator Salvation to the original films (especially the first two) and to be respectful of the originals, somewhat to the detriment of this film.  However, McG has led his cast and creative staff to the promised land of the great action film, one so stuffed with edge-of-the-seat thrills and breathtaking visuals that it won’t soon be forgotten.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, May 31, 2009

EDITED:  Thursday, November 5, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Review: "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" Remains Entertaining

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 101 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Terminator 3:  Rise of the Machines (2003)
Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sci-fi violence and action, and for language and brief nudity
DIRECTOR:  Jonathan Mostow
WRITERS:  John Brancato and Michael Ferris, from a story by Tedi Sarafian and John Brancato & Michael Ferris (based upon characters created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd)
PRODUCERS:  Matthias Deyle, Mario F. Kassar, Hal Lieberman, Joel B. Michaels, Andrew G. Vajna, and Colin Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Nicolas de Toth and Neil Travis
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David Andrews, and Earl Boen

Terminator 3:  Rise of the Machines is a 2003 science fiction and action film from director Jonathan Mostow.  It is the third film in the Terminator film franchise.  In this film, Schwarzenegger's Terminator travels from a post-apocalyptic future to the present in order to protect 19-year-old John Connor and his future wife from a new and more lethal female Terminator.

So is it as good as T2?  Honestly, I wasn’t all that crazy about Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Sure, the special effects were eye popping at the time; it was like watching actual, real magic on a movie screen.  There were many scenes that I liked, but overall, T2 seemed like some Gothic and ponderous beast, not at all like the lean and hungry fighting machine that was The Terminator, the original and still the best.  But rest assured, a good time is to be had in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

John Connor (Nick Stahl), the future savior of mankind in its war against the machines, is now 18.  In the nearly six years that have passed since the omnipresent Skynet sent a T-1000 to kill him and his mother, Connor has dropped out of society.  He’s off the grid:  no phone, no job, no credit card, and no home.  Judgment Day (originally set to occur in 1997), the day that the machines were supposed to launch nuclear war on humanity, has passed, and nothing happened.

John’s still afraid that something is going to happen.  He’s grown weary of his mantle when suddenly a T-X (Kristanna Loken), a female terminator, comes through time.  Vastly superior to previous terminators, the T-X is programmed not only to kill John but a future lieutenant, Kate Brewster (Clair Danes), as well.  Right behind her is the T-850 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a replica of the terminator that saved his life as a boy, but this new model is holding dark and shocking secrets deep in its computer brain.

I have to give credit to director Jonathan Mostow (U-571) and the screenwriters for going for the jugular.  T3 is a wall to wall cartoon, occasionally it’s all balls out.  Not only is it so very cartoon like; it’s has the kind of outrageous and over the top stunts and action scenes that usually drawn by the best comic book artists.  Mostow lavishes mayhem and destruction with an attention to detail when it comes to delineating the rubble and fallout from destroyed buildings and cars.  I don’t think destruction has had such chaos and beauty since the Japanese animated film (anime) Akira.  In terms of shootouts, car chases, explosions, and bloody, gore-filled deaths, this is one of the fanciest, grandest B-movies ever made.  It so fun because you don’t have to think, but the movie is still good enough to hold your attention.  As insane as the pandemonium of T3 is, it’s not strained and forced like the disabled anarchy of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.

T3 is certainly not as thoughtful as its predecessors, being relatively philosophy free.  This time Arnold’s terminator is grimmer, darker, and more determined to follow his programming regardless of the feelings of the humans he has to protect, even those of his charge John.  Ms. Loken makes a fearsome T-X, and she certainly has moments when she could scare Dracula.  However, I found that her beautiful face made her seem a little too much like candy, more tart than dangerous.  The T-X is so powerful that it’s hard to believe that it could not carry out its programmed task.  Nick Stahl is an excellent John Connor, beset by doubts and fearful of the future.  Ms. Danes has her moments, but it takes awhile for her to warm up to the part.

Still, even the rough spots can’t take the fun out of this crazed trip of non-stop violent action.  Sometimes hilarious, often breathtaking, and thrilling from end to end, T3 fits right in with the other Terminator films, and it’s a hoot to boot.

7 of 10
A-

Edited:  Thursday, November 5, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 15th to 21st, 2016 - Update #41

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From BusinessInsider:  Legendary screenwriter Shane Black says that Mel Gibson is blacklisted in Hollywood.  Black wrote "Lethal Weapon," one of Gibson's most successful film franchises.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  The Weinstein Company has bought the worldwide rights (except for French-speaking territories) to "21 Years: Quentin Tarantino," a documentary about the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

---------------
COMICS - From IGN:  All the spoilers for this coming week's hot comic book, "DC Universe: Rebirth #1."

---------------
BLACK LIVES MATTER - From NYT:  When white cops can't find a black man to kill, they just might kill a white man.  Article comes with shocking video.

---------------
COMICS - From Marvel:  Marvel confirms stellar cast for "Thor: Ragnarok."

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Michael Keaton back in the mix to play the villain in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

---------------
TELEVISION - From DeadlineTV:  Ewan McGregor to star in Season 3 of "Fargo" for FX.

---------------
OBITS - From Variety:  The actor, Alan Young, has died at the age of 96, Thursday, May 19, 2016.  Young was best known for the classic sitcom, "Mr. Ed."  He played "Wilbur Post," the young architect who kept a talking horse in his suburban stable.  I was a fan.  R.I.P., Mr. Young.

---------------
MUSIC - From YahooNews:  John Berry, one of the original Beastie Boys (from the band's punk rock incarnation), has died at the age of 52.

---------------
COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Mark Millar, creator of "Kick-Ass" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service," wants to do a Star Wars/Marvel Comics crossover project.

---------------
MOVIES - From HitFix:  Daniel Craig rejects the truckloads of cash offered him to play James Bond again.  So we'll have a new Bond... stay tuned.

---------------
OBIT - From Variety:  Legendary CBS and "60 Minutes" newsman, Morely Safer, has died at the age of 84 - Thursday, May 19, 2016.

--------------
COMICS - From YahooMovies:  "Captain America: Civil War" is now the biggest movie of 2016 - in terms of worldwide gross.

---------------
MUSIC - From TheHill:  Sir Elton John writes a piece the ignorance of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory concerning trans-identity.

--------------
TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  CBS boss defends lack of diversity in its 2016-17 season's new offerings.  You'd think it was the 1950s at CBS.

---------------
COMICS - From THR:  The fallout from "Batman vs. Superman" is a shakeup in executive positions at Warner Bros.

From Vulture:  Meet Geoff Johns, the guy who will change nothing... or very little.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Noomi Rapace is in talks to join Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in "Bright" (based on a Max Landis script) for Netflix.

---------------
MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  Tyrese Gibson wants back in on the Transformers, specifically 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight."  Michael Bay responds.

---------------
COMICS - From DCComics:  DC has a new logo.

---------------
POLITICS - From Salon:  Donald Trump, the President of the Confederacy.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Shia Labeouf for "American Honey" and Joel Edgerton for "Loving" are born-again stars at Cannes.

---------------
MOVIES - From Collider:  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may be the title character in Shane Black's "Doc Savage" movie.

---------------
CRIME - From YahooCelebrity:  Bill Cosby and Playboy's Hugh Hefner are joint defendants in a sexual battery suit.

---------------
MOVIES - From DarkHorizons:  The title of the fifth Transformers film is, "Transformers: The Last Knight."  Josh Duhamel also returns to the franchise.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  "Jurassic World" homies, Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow, reteam for family action movie, Powerhouse.

---------------
POLITICS - From SheKnows:  This Michelle Obama caricature is not "racist" or "sexist," so much as it is simply unimaginative and is also the work of dull and marginally talented cartoonist.

---------------
COMICS - From THR:  Warner Bros. is working on a "Harley Quinn" movie starring Margot Kidder.  She would headline the film with several other female villains and heroes.  The DC Comics character will appear in this year's Suicide Squad."

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  "Top Gun" is 30 years old.

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies: "Loving," the film about Mildred and Richard Loving, is hot at the Cannes Film Festival 2016.  The movie tells the story of a black woman and white man who were arrested in their bedroom in 1958 for being married.

---------------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner at the box office for the weekend of 5/13 to 5/15/2016 is "Captain America: Civil War" with an estimated haul of $72.5 million.  This is its second straight weekend at #1.

From Variety:  "Captain America: Civil War" hits over $940 million worldwide.

From Patreon:   Haven't seen "Civil War?"  Read my review, which is fairly spoiler free.

---------------
OBIT - From Variety:  The actress Madeleine LeBeau has died at the age of 92, Sunday, May 1, 2016.  She was the last surviving credited cast member of the film Casablanca.

---------------
MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  Jennifer Lawrence could be the lead in that all-female "Ocean's 11" reboot.

--------------
COMICS - From Twitter:  #BlackPantherSoLit - enjoy!

---------------
MOVIES - From XOJane:  This article by a woman who worked in the film industry is riveting.  I think the unnamed film is "Election," a really good 1999 film and the unnamed director is probably Alexander Payne.

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  There may be a deal in the works for director Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro to reunited (for the first time since 1995's "Casino"), and they'd bring along Al Pacino.  The film is called "The Irishman."

---------------
COMICS - From TheWrap:  Patrick Stewart has been confirmed to return as "Professor X" in "Wolverine 3."

---------------

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  Second trailer for "Star Trek Beyond" and it is kick-ass and way better than the first.


---------------
DARWYN COOKE - on the passing, work, and life of the great American cartoonist and comic book artist.

From Deadline:  An obituary of Cooke, which is similar to his Wikipedia page.

From BleedingCool:  Professionals remember the late, great comic book artist, Darwyn Cooke.

From ComicBookBin:  More on the wonderful artist, Darwyn Cooke.

From BleedingCool:  The now-legendary WonderCon panel with Cooke.

From ComicsReporter:  A gallery of Cooke pieces.