Comics Review: VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA Volume 2 #21

VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA VOLUME 2 #21
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Thomas Sniegoski
ART: Michael Sta. Maria
COLORS: Omi Remalante, Jr.
LETTERS: Troy Peteri
EDITOR: Joe Rybandt
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Ben Oliver; Stephen Segovia; Michael Sta. Maria; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2021)

Rated Teen+

Vampirella is vampire and female superhero created by the late author and science fiction and horror expert, Forrest J Ackerman, and comic book artist, Trina Robbins.  Vampirella first appeared in Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969), the debut issue of a black and white horror comics magazine from Warren Publishing.  Writer-editor Archie Goodwin changed the character from a hostess of horror comics to a leading character in her own stories.

Vampirella publications were published by Warren into 1983, and after Warren's bankruptcy, Harris Publications obtained the character and published new and reprint Vampirella comic books into the mid-1990s.  In 2010, Dynamite Entertainment obtained the character and has been publishing new Vampirella material since then.

One of Dynamite's Vampirella comic book series is Vengeance of Vampirella, which was also the title of a Harris Comics series.  Vengeance of Vampirella Volume 2 is written by Thomas Sniegoski; drawn by Michael Sta. Maria; colored by Omi Remalante, Jr.; and lettered by Troy Peteri.  The series focuses on a reborn Vampirella, fighting the forces of chaos to save humanity and then, trying to live in the world after the fight.

Vengeance of Vampirella Volume 2 #21 opens with Vampirella and her traveling companion, Jeannine, on the road.  They come across a middle-age couple, Phil and Agnes, in need of protection.  The couple encountered a trio of men who decided to ignore Vampirella's order that monsters and humans alike behave with each other and try to live in some semblance of peace.

Phil and Agnes offer Vampirella and Jeannine a hot bath and a home cooked meal in their hometown of Surette.  Vampirella finds the place strangely undamaged compared to virtually everywhere else, but their hosts assure her that their peace and quiet is the result of luck.  Our hard-traveling heroes, however, are about to discover that there is more to this small town hospitality than meets the eye.

THE LOWDOWN:  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Vengeance of Vampirella Volume 2 #21.  It is the second issue of this series that I have read, and one of a growing number of Vampirella comic books that I have recently read.

Writer Thomas Sniegoski offers a nice change of pace with his script for this twenty-first issue.  The story is of a familiar type, one now called “folk horror,” but luckily, here, Sniegoski is giving us the Vampirella twist.

The art and storytelling by Michael Sta. Maria still recalls classic Warren Publishing Vampirella, but also reflects this issue's change of pace.  Omi Remalante, Jr. colors capture the bucolic phoniness of Surette, and letterer Troy Peteri keeps the dialogue on simmer.

In my review of the twentieth issued, I said that I wanted more Vengeance of Vampirella Volume 2.  I still do, and you may join me, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Vampirella will want to try Vengeance of Vampirella Volume 2.

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


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Comics Review: "RED SONJA VOL. 6 #1" ... Like Wow!

RED SONJA VOLUME 6 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Mirka Andolfo and Luca Blengino
ART: Giuseppe Cafaro
COLORS: Chiara Di Francia
LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
COVER: Mirka Andolfo
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jan Anacleto; Joseph Michael Linsner; Erica D'Urso; Brett Booth; Mirka Andolfo; Tabitha Lyons (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2021)

Rated Teen+

Based on the characters and stories created by Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Robert E. Howard

“Mother” Chapter One

Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated: February 1973) saw the debut of a high fantasy, sword and sorcery heroine, Red Sonja.  Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Red Sonja was loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), the creator of the character, Conan the Cimmerian.

Red Sonja remained a fixture in comic books from then until about 1986.  There have been several ongoing Red Sonja comic book series, and the latest, Red Sonja Volume 6, is under the guidance of popular Italian comic book creator, Mirka Andolfo.  It is written by Andolfo and Luca Blengino; drawn by Giuseppe Cafaro; colored by Chiara Di Francia; and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Red Sonja Volume 6 #1 opens in Hyperborea, and its story begins in a village, ransacked and set on fire.  It's residents dead, and the dregs from the forces of “Three-Eyes Shezem,” digs among the ruins for scraps.  Suddenly, the She-Devil with a Sword is upon them.  For she has traveled for two months from Massentia to arrive at this village.

Red Sonja's prize is a particular child, bearing curious white tattoos.  Her name is “Sitha,” and she turns out to be the village's only survivor, but she really does not belong there, according to Zondryck.  He is the one who has sent Sonja to find the child.  Now, Sonja has a travel companion, and their journey to Massentia will bring them across hardened ice, imposing mountains, dangerous forests, and the kind of people that make them dangerous.

THE LOWDOWN:   Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Red Sonja Volume 6 #1, which is the latest of several Dynamite Entertainment Red Sonja comic books that I have recently read.

The only Mirka Andolfo comic books that I have read are the first two issues of her recent maxi-series, Deep Beyond (Image Comics).  I am happily adding Red Sonja Volume 6 to that.  The story by Andolfo and Luca Blengino is straightforward with lots of Red Sonja-style ultra-violence.  There is, however, a surprising hook in Sonja as she plays something of a mother to a child who is more than she seems.

The art and storytelling by Giuseppe Cafaro flows like water and reflects the mercurial nature of the secrets and back story behind narrative.  Chiara Di Francia's colors also capture the wild and secretive nature of this first chapter, with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering providing a steady beat.  I am very surprised by this first issue, and I am interested enough to come back for more.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja and Mirka Andolfo will want to try Red Sonja Volume 6.

A-

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


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Comics Review: SONJAVERSAL #7

SONJAVERSAL, VOLUME 1 #7
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Christopher Hastings
ART: Pasquale Qualano
COLORS: Kike J. Diaz
LETTERS: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Joseph Michael Linsner; Jae Lee with June Chung; Jung-Geun Yoon; Lucio Parrillo; Max Fiumara; Savannah Polson (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (August 2021)

Rated Teen+

Based on the characters and stories created by Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Robert E. Howard

Conan the Barbarian #23 (cover dated: February 1973) saw the debut of a high fantasy, sword and sorcery heroine, Red Sonja.  Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith, Red Sonja was loosely based on “Red Sonya of Rogatino,” a female character that appeared in the 1934 short story, “The Shadow of the Vulture,” written by Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), the creator of the character, Conan the Cimmerian.

Red Sonja remained a fixture in comic books from then until about 1986.  In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment began publishing comic books featuring differing versions of the character.  One of those is a spin-off title, Sonjaversal, which sees Red Sonja battle other versions of herself from different dimensions.  Sonjaversal is currently written by Christopher Hastings; drawn by Pasquale Qualano; colored by Kike J. Diaz; and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Sonjaversal #7 opens in the world of Yellow Sonja, vampire hunter.  In her world, however, vampirism is not a mystical curse, but it is a disease, one that mutates.  The mutation that most troubles Sonja is the one that has apparently allowed a vampire she already killed to return to life.  Also, Yellow Sonja's late parents were also vampire hunters … who were turned into vampires … forcing Sonja to kill them.  Well, they are back, too!  So what are they up to?

Meanwhile, in outer space, there is Purple Sonja.  And like the other Sonjas, she is being vexed by Hell Sonja.

THE LOWDOWN:   Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Sonjaversal #7, which is the second issue of the title that I have read.

I enjoyed the sixth issue of Sonjaversal, but I find myself really liking Sonjaversal #7.  Well, I am a sucker for vampires, but writer Christopher Hastings offers a story that has an intriguing vampire mystery and is also droll and witty.  What can I say?  This comic book surprised me.

The art team of illustrator Pasquale Qualano and colorist Kike J. Diaz is consistent in this seventh issue, where I found them inconsistent in the sixth.  Here, Qualano's storytelling flows and Diaz's coloring has a kind of psychedelic affectation.  Luckily, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's stylish lettering also conveys the snappy fun of this offbeat vampire horror fiction.  I am recommending Sonjaversal #7 to you, dear readers, just because it is a fun read.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Red Sonja will want to try Sonjaversal.

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


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Review: "SHANG-CHI and the Legend of the Ten Rings" Rings My Bell

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 of 2021 (No. 1792) by Leroy Douresseaux

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and language
DIRECTOR:  Destin Daniel Cretton
WRITERS:  Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, and Andrew Lanham; from a story by Dave Callaham and Destin Daniel Cretton (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: William Pope (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, Nat Sanders, and Harry Yoon
COMPOSER: Joel P. Best

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring:  Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung, Meng'er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Wah Yuen, Florian Munteanu, Jayden Zhang, Elodie Fong, Arnold Sun, Harmonie He, Ronny Chieng, Benedict Wong, Tim Roth, and Ben Kingsley

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a 2021 superhero film directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  It is the 25th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, that was created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin and first appeared in the comic book, Special Marvel Edition #15 (cover dated: December 1973).  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings focuses on a young martial artist who is forced to confront his past and his father's deadly criminal legacy.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (or simply Shang-Chi) opens one thousand years ago and focuses on Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung), a warlord who found the “Ten Rings,” mystical weapons that grant their user immortality and great power.  Wenwu establishes a secret society of warriors called the “Ten Rings,” and begins to conquer the world.  In 1996, while searching for a legendary village, “Ta Lo,” Wenwu meets the village's guardian, Jiang Li (Fala Chen).  The two battle, but eventually fall in love and have two children, a boy named Xu Shang-Chi and girl named Xu Xialing.

Decades later, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) has adopted the name “Shaun” and is living in San Francisco.  Along with his long time best friend, Katy (Awkwafina), he works as a valet at a fancy hotel.  One day, while taking the city bus, Shang-Chi and Katy are attacked by a Ten Rings squad led by the assassin, “Razor Fist” (Florian Munteanu), who wants to steal a pendant given to Shang-Chi by his mother.  Fearing that the Ten Rings are going to steal a second identical pendant given to his sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), Shang-Chi decides to track her down.  Waiting for him, however, is a conspiracy that will inadvertently free a great evil known as the “Dweller-in-Darkness.”  To stop that, Shang-Chi will finally have to confront his past and grasp his destiny.

If I am honest, I will admit that I love martial arts fighting scenes in television and especially in movies.  I prefer fighting as performed by Asian or Asian-American actors.  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings gives me both, and the fight scenes are spectacular, so much so that they movie could never give me enough to satisfy me.  The general choreography of the action scenes is quite good, as seen in the bus-battle sequence, and it is clear that Shang-Chi's fighting style and techniques are influenced by the martial arts films of legendary Chinese actor/stuntman, Jackie Chan.

With flashy visual effects, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also explores Asian culture, offering nice peeks into both family dynamics and Chinese culture and myths.  In a way, Shang-Chi is a movie that blends a story of family with an an exploration of a fantasy world that is similar to the one in Disney's recent animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon.  This immersion in a different world and culture allows Shang-Chi to set itself far apart, the way Black Panther stood out from other Marvel Studios films.

Shang-Chi also offers the combination of the prodigal son and the gifted-kid motif that both Raya and other Marvel films (like Iron Man and Black Panther) offer.  In that role, Simu Liu is versatile as Shang-Chi, an incredibly talented fighter who is also a happy-go-luck every man.  I found Liu's Shang-Chi likable from the first moment I saw him on film.  Tony Leung is an intense, dramatic heavy as Shang-Chi's shady father, Xu Wenwu; it's a gritty, edgy performance that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings needs in order to keep the story from flying away in its flights of fancy.

I do think that Marvel tries a little too hard to convince us that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.  We got that with the appearance of Wong (Benedict Wong), a character that appeared in Doctor Strange (2016), but an end credits scene is ready to pound it into our heads, as if we never had a clue.  The film, especially its flashbacks and in its quiet moments, sometimes falls flat.  That keeps it from being the kind of next-level Marvel film, that Black Panther and the better Avengers and Captain America films are.

Still, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an exceptional film, both in its story and in what it represents.  Shang-Chi is Marvel Studios' first film with an Asian director and a predominantly Asian cast, and it shows those distinctions with pride, while being wonderful and entertaining.

8 of 10
A

Friday, September 3, 2021


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Review: Jackie Chan Really Rumbles in "RUMBLE IN THE BRONX"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 of 2021 (No. 1791) by Leroy Douresseaux

Rumble in the Bronx (1996)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for some language and violent sequences
DIRECTOR:  Stanley Tong
WRITERS:  Edward Tang and Fibe Ma
PRODUCER:  Barbie Tung
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jingle Ma
EDITOR:  Peter Cheung
COMPOSER:  J. Peter Robinson

MARTIAL ARTS/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Francois Yip, Bill Tung, Carrie Cain-Sparks, Morgan Lam, Marc Akerstream, Garvin Cross, Alf Humphries and Kris Lord

[Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Marvel Studios' “Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings,” has said in interviews that the films of Jackie Chan heavily influenced his Marvel film.  I decided to go back and take a new look at the first Jackie Chan film I saw, “Rumble in the Bronx.”]

Rumble in the Bronx is a 1995 Hong Kong martial arts film starring Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong.  Both Chan and Tong directed the film's action choreography.  Rumble in the Bronx was released in Hong Kong in 1995.  New Line Cinema released an English-dub version of the film with a shorter run time than the original version in February 1996.  The film also introduced Jackie Chan to a mainstream audience in the United States.  Rumble in the Bronx focuses on a young man from Hong Kong who uses his martial arts skills to take on a street gang and murderous mobsters while visiting his uncle in New York City.

Keung (Jackie Chan) comes to New York City to attend the wedding of his Uncle Bill (Bill Tung) to his bride-to-be, Whitney (Carrie Cain-Sparks).  Uncle Bill, who lives in the Bronx, is also about to sell his grocery store, “the Wah-Ha Supermarket.”  Keung meets Elena (Anita Mui), the woman who is buying the supermarket, and he ends up agreeing to stay in the U.S. a little longer to help Elena with the transition of ownership

What Keung does not know is that his uncle's store and this Bronx neighborhood is plagued by a street biker street gang led by a man named Tony (Marc Akerstream).  Keung thwarts the gang members the first time he meets them, but he also meets a Danny Chan (Morgan Lam), a disabled Chinese-American boy whose sister, Nancy (Francois Yip), is a member of the gang.  Keung attempts to help Danny and Nancy, while in constant battle with Tony and his crew.  However, neither Keung or Tony know that they are about to become entangled with a vicious crime lord, White Tiger (Kris Lord).

I had heard of Jackie Chan by reputation long before I had a chance to see Rumble in the Bronx.  Prior to the release of that film in 1996, Chan was an international movie star, but only had a cult following in the U.S.  I do remember that a friend of mine at the time was a huge Jackie Chan fan and went out of her way to see his films.  Also, the fact that Rumble in the Bronx was set in New York City, but was actually shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada fascinated some commentators.

The truth about most Jackie Chan films is that they are not about the plot, but are an excuse to show the amazing martial arts, acrobatic, gymnastic, and stunt skills of Jackie Chan.  Chan is an amazing performer and a charismatic movie star, even when speaking in what is not his first language, English.

At the time of the U.S. theatrical release of Rumble in the Bronx, I read an article that said that Chan had been seriously injured while performing his own stunts over forty times.  For much of his career, Chan has done most of his own stunts, and Rumble in the Bronx shows Chan in all his glory.  Watching it, I saw many instances in which he did things that could and should have killed him.  But Chan is like a real-life superhero, getting up every time he is knocked down.  Once I started watching Rumble in the Bronx this most recent time, I had a hard time stopping for anything.  Chan moves so fast that it makes the film seem to be shorter than it actually is.

Rumble in the Bronx is also a bit odd beyond Chan's act.  The film is surprisingly humorous, making it a delightful action-comedy, but it is also unexpectedly violent, including depicting a brutal kind of murder that one would not expect in this film, considering its humorous slant.  However, Rumble in the Bronx also includes one of my favorite Jackie Chan stunts, the scamper through the grocery cart.

Rumble in the Bronx is not a great Jackie Chan film, but truthfully, it was the perfect film in which to introduce mainstream American audiences to one of China's greatest movie stars.  And, also truthful, Rumble in the Bronx is quite enjoyable.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, September 2, 2021


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Review: "NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS" is Timely, Could Be Timeless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 of 2021 (No. 1790) by Leroy Douresseaux

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing/mature thematic content, language, some sexual references and teen drinking
WRITER-DIRECTOR:  Eliza Hittman
PRODUCERS:  Adele Romanski and Sara Murphy
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hélène Louvart
EDITOR:  Scott Cummings
COMPOSER:  Julia Holter

DRAMA

Starring:  Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, and Théodore Pellerin

[The Texas six-week abortion ban, SB8, went into effect today, as I write this (Wed., September 1, 2021), and that makes Eliza Hittman's acclaimed film, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” timely 20 months after its debut at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.]

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a 2020 British-American drama from writer-director Eliza Hittman.  The film focuses on a rural Pennsylvania teenager who, seeking an abortion, embarks on a fraught journey to New York City in order to get one.  Oscar-winning filmmaker, Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), is one of the film's executive producers.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always introduces 17-year-old Autumn Callahan (Sidney Flanigan), who lives with her family in rural Ellensboro, Pennsylvania.  Autumn suspects that she is pregnant and goes to the Ellensboro Women's Clinic.  There, she takes a test that confirms that she is pregnant – 10 weeks pregnant according to a woman who works at the clinic.

After learning that she is unable to get an abortion in Pennsylvania without parental consent, Autumn confides in her cousin, Skylar (Talia Ryder), that she is pregnant.  Autumn and Skylar buy two bus tickets and travel to New York City where Autumn can have an abortion with parental consent.   The journey, however, is fraught with complications, including the fact that the girls have little cash and have no place to stay in the city.  And getting an abortion is not as easy, nor will it be as quick, as Autumn thought.

Roe v. Wade (1973) is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision.  The Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, and, in the process, struck down many U.S. federal and state abortion laws.  However, beginning with Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), the Supreme Court essentially began allowing states to impose restrictions and regulations on a woman's right to have an abortion.  In the ensuing four decades, some of the restrictions placed by states can rightly be called “excessive,” to one extent or another.

That is the context in which Never Rarely Sometimes Always exists.  Autumn and Skylar embark on a fraught journey from small town Pennsylvania to New York City, knowing no one, not having a place to stay, and lacking adequate money so that Autumn can have an abortion.  And Autumn must face having this serious medical procedure as a minor, unsure of what support that she would get from her mother and (apparent) stepfather.

What hangs over this powerful drama is that Autumn is exposing herself and Skylar to danger because the state in which she lives, Pennsylvania, can place multiple restrictions on what is supposed to be a Constitutionally guaranteed right.  In theory, Autumn should have relatively easy access to safe medical care in her home state, yet what she does have in her home town is access to medical care, in which the facility's agenda takes priority over her health and well being and her choices.

In Never Rarely Sometimes Always, writer-director Eliza Hittman is advocating for abortion rights and access, yet she does all her preaching in a film that essentially has two parts.  The first is the story of a teenage girl facing a crisis, and the second part is a kind of dark New York adventure in which the young heroes must, by hook or crook, stay safe in order to enjoy a triumph – even if they cannot really celebrate such a triumph – Autumn getting her abortion.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always takes its title from the multiple choice answers that Autumn can give to a series of questions about her sex life asked by an abortion counselor.  It is in that moment, when Autumn struggles to answer, that Hittman depicts the reality that there is complexity behind a woman or girl's decision to seek an abortion.  It isn't simply about having an “abortion-on-demand.”

Suddenly, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is not so much an argument between anti-choice and pro-choice, nor is it simply about the states and their varying degrees of access to a safe and legal abortion.  Never Rarely Sometimes Always is, at that moment, a story about a teenage girl who faces alone the trouble she did not create by herself.

9 of 10
A+

Wednesday, September 1, 2021


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A Negromancer September 2021

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