Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 1st to 6th, 2021 - Update #14

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

NEWS - From THR:   On Fri., Nov. 5th, a crowd at rapper and record producer, Travis Scott’s "Astroworld Festival" unexpectedly began pushing toward the stage, causing panic and chaos, and leaving eight people dead, authorities said.  The dead range from age 14 to 27.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  "Stranger Things" Season 4 will debut Summer 2022 and will be comprised of 9 episodes.  Netflix has also released the titles for each episode.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Emilio Estevez will not be back for the second season of the Disney+ series, "The Mighty Duck: Game Changers," likely over COVID vaccination rules.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot will play the "Evil Queen" in Disney's live-action version of it classic animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Film collective and comedy troupe, "Broken Lizard," has begun production on its next film, "Quasi," a new satirical take on the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" story.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  On "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Tom Hanks offered a poignant remembrance of his friend, the late actor Peter Scolari, who was also Hank's co-star on the late ABC sitcom, "Bosom Buddies."

CELEBRITY - From THR:  David Chase, creator of HBO's beloved "The Soparnos," gives a wide-ranging interview to "The Hollywood Reporter."  He talks extensively about that show's final episode.

MOVIES - From Variety:   Robert Downey, Jr. and Matt Damon have joined Christopher Nolan's World War II epic, "Oppenheimer," about the development of the atomic bomb.  Cillian Murphy will play J. Robert Oppenheimer.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Director Troy Duffy has reunited with actors Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery for "Boondock Saints III."

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   "Burn Notice" star Jeffrey Donovan will lead NBC's "Law & Order" revival, playing an NYPD detective.

ANIMATION - From Variety:  Chris Pratt will provide the voice of famous cartoon feline, "Garfield," in an upcoming animated film from Alcon Entertainment and Sony Pictures.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 10/29 to 10/31/2021 weekend box office is Dune with an estimated take of $15.53 million.

From Deadline:  "Dune" has now crossed the 300 million dollar mark in worldwide box office.

TRAILER - From LiveForFilm:  There is a teaser trailer for the upcoming new "Jeepers Creepers" film, "Jeepers Creepers: Reborn."

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline:  This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From THR:   The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline:  Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of  “sabotaging the set.”

From THR:   Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers.  She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin:  An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions.  Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline:   Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR:   Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting.  He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR:  The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline:  Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR:  Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline:   "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film.  They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline:  "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline."  The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR:  The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through.  The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline:  The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust."  As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR:  "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline:  The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN:   Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety:  Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety:  The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.

Review: "ETERNALS" is Endlessly Fascinating

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 65 of 2021 (No. 1803) by Leroy Douresseaux

Eternals (2021)
Running time: 157 minutes (2 hours, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR: Chloé Zhao
WRITERS:  Chloé Zhao, Chloé Zhao & Patrick Burleigh and Ryan Firpo & Kaz Firpo; from a screen story by Ryan Firpo & Kaz Firpo (based upon the Marvel Comics by Jack Kirby)
PRODUCERS: Kevin Feige and Nate Moore
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Davis (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Dylan Tichenor and Craig Wood
COMPOSER: Ramin Djawadi

SUPERHERO/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring:  Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, Bryan Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Haaz Sleiman, Esai Daniel Cross, and David Kaye (voice) with Salma Hayek, Kit Harringston, and Angelina Jolie

Eternals is a 2021 superhero film directed by Chloé Zhao and produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  It is the 26th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics stories and characters created by Jack Kirby and first appearing in the comic book, The Eternals #1 (cover dated: July 1976).  Eternals the movie focuses on a race of immortal beings who have lived on Earth for millennia, protecting and shaping its people.

Eternals begins with the story of the “Celestials,” the great beings that created the universe.  They also created a race of immortals, known as “Eternals,” to do their bidding.  Seven thousand years before the present day (5000 BC), ten of these Eternals arrive on Earth from their home planet, Olympia.  They are Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), and Ajak (Salma Hayek), their leader.  They are human-like and have super-powers.

The most powerful Celestial, Arishem (David Kaye), has sent these Eternals to Earth to protect humanity from monsters known as “Deviants.”  Over several millennia, the Eternals protect humanity from the dangers posed by Deviants, but they are not allowed to interfere in the development of the humans and their civilizations.  In 1500, after believing that they have killed off the last Deviants, the Eternals break apart as a group because they have different opinions on what their responsibility is towards humans going forward.

In the present day, Sersi and Sprite live together in London.  One night, they are attacked by a Deviant, but the powerful Eternal, Ikaris, arrives to drive the creature away.  Sersi, Sprite, and Ikaris decide to reunite their group in order to be prepared for the renewed threat of the Deviants.  However, not all the members are willing to reunite as some have new lives and others hold old grudges.  Meanwhile, dark secrets from their past and about their future hinder the Eternals ability to deal with “The Emergence,” an event that threatens to destroy the world.

Eternals is Marvel Studios most unique film to date.  For all the talk of there being a formula to Marvel's films, Eternals is like nothing else that Marvel has done and like no other superhero film, for that matter.  The costumes, special effects, technology, art direction, and graphic design are key to creating a film that is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but also feels separate from it, in a way.

Eternals co-writer and director Chloé Zhao won two Oscars for her work on the 2020 film, Nomadland, a film filled with characters that are fiercely independent, unique, and contrary.  Eternals is a film about a group of ten people who essentially form a family, but these ten are individually disparate people.  After their mission is complete, the Eternals discover that they have very little in common.  They know enough, however, as they saying goes, to hurt the ones they love.

Zhao deals with the ramifications of being a hero confronted by the question of which is more important in a mission – the orders or doing the right thing.  Zhao reveals that it is not so easy because individuals have differing views on the mission and what it means to “do the right thing.”  Zhao also delves into the complicated nature of a family unit, how the bittersweet can become downright sour when there are secrets and lies and also betrayal.  Eternals is a film about difficult relationships and about the heartache and pain that can come when differences cannot be bridged.

Some may find Eternals too long and boring.  There may not be enough action for fans used to the humongous action set pieces of the Avengers films.  Also, the film's ostensible lead, Gemma Chan's Sersi, is a female superhero that is nuanced in ways not seen in superhero films, especially compared to Marvel heroines like Black Widow, The Wasp, and the Dora Milaje.  Chan creates a Sersi that is beautifully gentle and compassionate, while being vulnerable in a way that makes her a better hero.  Even Angelina Jolie's Thena, an elite warrior, is as vulnerable as she is fierce and violent.

That is not the formula for girl-hero kick-ass and that is fine by me.  I find Eternals endlessly fascinating, and while I watched it, I always wanted more of it.  After all, each Eternal has 7000 years worth of stories to tell, and that's just what happened before they arrived on Earth.  Whether there is another Eternals film or not, Eternals 2021 is important to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, simply because it is the kind of entry that will stand out and show that there can be truly different things in that cinematic universe.  Eternals is one of the year's best films.

9 of 10
A+

Friday, November 5, 2021


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Review: "Nomadland" is Frances McDormand's Land

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 of 2021 (No. 1802) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nomadland (2020)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – R for some full nudity.
DIRECTOR:  Chloé Zhao
WRITER:  Chloé Zhao (based on the non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder)
PRODUCERS:  Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, and Chloé Zhao
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Joshua James Richards (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Chloé Zhao
COMPOSER:  Ludovico Einaudi
Academy Award winner including “Best Picture”

DRAMA

Starring:  Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells

Nomadland is a 2020 drama film directed by Chloé Zhao.  The film is an adaptation of the 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, by author Jessica Bruder.  Nomadland the film depicts the real-world phenom of “nomads” people who live as transients, traveling around the United States and living in motor vehicles (“vandwelling”).  The film portrays this through the eyes of a woman who leaves her hometown to live as a vandwelling working nomad.

Nomadland opens sometime in 2011.  Sixty-something Fern (Frances McDormand) recently lost her job after the “US Gypsum Corporation” plant in Empire, Nevada shut down.  Fern had worked there for years along with her husband, who recently died.  Empire, a company town of US Gypsum, basically becomes a ghost town as almost everyone leaves after the jobs disappear.

Fern decides to sell most of her belongings and purchases a van, which she names “Vanguard.”  It becomes her new home.  Fran travel the country searching for work, sometimes working at an Amazon fulfillment center.  When she isn't at Amazon, Fern embarks on a journey through the American West, a modern-day nomad, living in her van.  Is this her new life or is it just a temporary state?

It has been noted that a number of real-life nomads and vandwellers appear as themselves in Nomadland, especially of note, Bob Wells, one of the best known proponents of vandwelling.  However, Nomadland, despite its title, is not so much about nomads and vandwelling as it is about Fern's journey.  The film's writer-director Chloe Zhao chronicles Fern's evolution from someone who becomes a vandweller out of necessity into someone who seems to fully embrace the life of a nomad.

In that, I can see why McDormand would go on to win the Academy Award for “Best Actress” for her performance as Fern.  McDormand creates in Fern a character that seems so real that I found myself believing that Fern was a real person.  This certainly helps to sell the docudrama mode Zhao sometimes adopts to tell particular chapters of this film.  In a career filled with virtuoso performances, Nomadland presents one of McDormand's very best.  Although the film does have another professional actor, David Strathairn, playing a character named “Dave,” a nomad who falls in love with Fern.  However, Strathairn and his character seem like a sapling trying to stay rooted in the hurricane that is McDormand's performance.

Nomadland is poetic and poignant; sometimes, it is poignant to the point of being too sorrowful to watch.  The film captures the restlessness in Fern, and its director captures the precariousness of Fern's new lifestyle.  Nomadland is about Fern's journey and life in Nomadland.  The “nomadland” and its nomads, are there to serve the purpose of her story.  If the film's title were more honest, it would be entitled “Fern” or “Fern in Nomadland.”  Nomadland is like a series of vignettes about Fern more than it is an actual story about something.

Still, Nomadland is a powerful character study that is successful because it is in the hands of both a powerful actress, Frances McDormand, and highly-skilled film director, Chloe Zhao, who can create multiple layers within the story of a character.  Nomadland reminds me of director Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980).  People see it as a great film, while I see it as a good, but meandering film that has built a great reputation largely on a truly great, generational performance by by its leading man, Robert DeNiro (who also won the “Best Actor” Oscar for this role).  Nomadland is a really good, but meandering film that has built a great reputation on...

As a character study, Nomadland is an exceptional film, but it has no larger meaning beyond being an exceptionally well-made film.  Nomadland is one of those film's that will make some people ask, “What's the point of this?”  Art for art's sake? Oscar bait? – I couldn't really answer that question.  However, I will give Nomadland a higher grade than I gave Raging Bull.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, October 31, 2021


NOTES:
2021 Academy Awards, USA:  3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Chloé Zhao), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Frances McDormand), and “Best Achievement in Directing” (Chloé Zhao); 3 nominations: “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Chloé Zhao), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Chloé Zhao), and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Joshua James Richards)

2021 BAFTA Awards:  4 wins: “Best Film” (Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, and Chloé Zhao), “Best Leading Actress” (Frances McDormand), “Best Director” (Chloé Zhao), and “Best Cinematography” (Joshua James Richards); 3 nominations: “Best Screenplay-Adapted” (Chloé Zhao), “Best Sound” (Sergio Diaz, Zach Seivers, and Mike Wolf Snyder), and “Best Editing” Chloé Zhao)

2021 Golden Globes, USA:  2 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Chloé Zhao); 2 nominations: “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Chloé Zhao) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Frances McDormand)


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Comics Review: "SHEENA Queen of the Jungle #1" is a Cool Start

SHEENA: QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE VOLUME 2 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Stephen Mooney
ART: Jethro Morales
COLORS: Dinei Ribero
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Rose Besch; Arthur Suydam; Joseph Michael Linsner; Carla Cohen; Stephen Mooney; Leslie Leirix; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2021)

Rated Teen+

Sheena originally created by S.M. “Jerry” Iger and Will Eisner

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is an American comic book character.  She first appeared in the British magazine, Wags #46 ( January 1938), and was created by legendary American comic book creators, Will Eisner and S. M. “Jerry” Iger.  Sheena made her first American appearance in Jumbo Comics #1 (Fiction House, cover dated: September 1938) where she was a mainstay until 1953.  Sheena was also the first female comic book character to star in her own series.  A “jungle girl heroine,” Sheen was an orphan, like Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan, who had adventures featuring African natives, wild animals, and white hunters and villains.

Dynamite began publishing Sheena comics in 2017 with a series that ran ten issues.  Dynamite is debuting a second series, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Volume 2.  It is written by Stephen Mooney; drawn by Jethro Morales; colored by Dinei Ribero; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  The story finds Sheena investigating the strange goings on in a cutting-edge bio-dome.

As Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Volume 2 #1 opens, Sheena awakens in a swanky hotel in Val Verde.  Apparently, the Cardwell family has come calling again.  It seems they are behind a huge scientific project, a “bio-dome” in the middle of the Val Verde jungle.  It is an amazing synthesis of the natural world and the man-made world of the future, but the first travelers into the dome have disappeared.

That is where Sheena comes into the picture.  With her friends:  Yaqua, Chim, and Pete held out as ransom, of a sort, Sheena enters the bio-dome to find the missing people.  The walled-off jungle however hides violent death, many mysteries, and human trickery and deceit.

THE LOWDOWN:  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Sheena Queen of the Jungle Volume 2 #1, which is the first Dynamite Sheena comic book that I have read.  I think I did read Marvel Comics' two-issue version of its adaptation of the 1984 film, Sheena (which starred the late Tanya Roberts in the title role).

Stephen Mooney, Jethro Morales, Dinei Ribero; and Taylor Esposito, the creative team behind the recent comic book miniseries, Bettie Page and the Curse of the Banshee, slide right on into Sheena: Queen of the Jungle Volume 2, delivering deceit, trickery, and murder mystery most foul.  Mooney's script is a reader-grabber right from the first page, and by the end of this first chapter, that script practically held me hostage right along with Sheena.

Stephen Mooney can draw good girl art with the best of them, but his graphical storytelling is as strong as the illustrations are pretty.  Dinei Ribero also delivers pretty colors, but it can turn pretty dark when Sheena starts finding bodies.  Taylor Esposito's lettering tosses around the humor just before dropping in all the shocking reveals.

I'm totally surprised, as I really didn't expect a lot from this new Sheena series.  I thought it might be mildly entertaining, but this first issue makes me anxious for the next issue.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Sheena will want to try Sheena: Queen of the Jungle Volume 2.

A-

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

You can purchase the SHEENA Queen of the Jungle Vol. 1 trade paperback from Amazon.

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Comics Review: RED SONJA Volume 6 #3

RED SONJA VOLUME 6 #3
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

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

Rated Teen+

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

“Mother” Chapter Three

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.  In this new series, Red Sonja accepts the bounty to bring a girl named “Sitha” to a broker who will send her to her true home.  The girl, however, becomes attached to Sonja and calls her mother.

As Red Sonja Volume 6 #3 opens, Sonja battles the demon left behind by those who kidnapped Sitha.  After dispatching the talkative monster, Sonja races after the kidnappers, the necromancers R'Hakash and R'Hakiki, also known as “the Blinded Twins.”  With the help of a renegade slave, Sonja finds the twins' boat on the river Styx.

Now, to save her charge, Sonja must engage in a battle of her hardened steel and the twins' dark arts.  Luckily, a recent ally returns in the nick of time.  Meanwhile, what is Sitha up to?

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 #3, which is the latest of several Dynamite Entertainment Red Sonja comic books that I have read.  This is also only the fifth issue of a Mirka Andolfo comic book that I have read.

Thus far, Andolfo and Luca Blengino have offered an epic story of sword and sorcery, and they are starting to pit Sonja's sword against some funky sorcery.  The results can be simply stated; this Red Sonja comic book is a fun read for people who enjoy this sort of thing.

Artist Giuseppe Cafaro's compositions are a whirling dervish of devils and death, and the storytelling made my imagination chase after the narrative.  Chiara Di Francia colors and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou letters add a quicksilver and dreamlike quality to this chapter.  Yes, Red Sonja Volume 6 #3 certainly looks crazy.

Red Sonja Volume 6 is turning out to be a most unique and most intriguing Red Sonja series.  I think many of us will return 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: JENNIFER BLOOD Volume 2 #2

JENNIFER BLOOD VOLUME 2 #2
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Fred Van Lente
ART: Vincenzo Federici
COLORS: Dearbhla Kelly
LETTERS: Simon Bowland
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Lucio Parrillo
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS:  Joseph Michael Linsner; Lesley Leirix Li; Juggeun Yoon; Lucio Parrillo; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2021)

Rated Teen+

Jennifer Blood created by Garth Ennis and Adriano Batista.

“Bloodlines” Chapter Two: “Fireworks on the Green”

Jennifer Blood is a a comic book character created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Adriano Batista.  A suburban wife and mother by day, Jennifer Blood is a ruthless vigilante by night.  Born “Jessica Blute,” she took her mother's first name, Jennifer, and created the alter ego, “Jennifer Blood, and sought revenge against her father's family for the death of her parents.  The first Jennifer Blood comic book series ran for 36 issues from 2011 to 2014.

Jennifer Blood returns from the dead in a new comic book series, Jennifer Blood Volume 2.  It is written by Fred Van Lente; drawn by Vincenzo Federici; colored by Dearbhla Kelly and lettered by Simon Bowland.  In the new series, someone is acting like Jennifer Blood, who is supposedly dead.  And this “copycat” loves to kill criminals just like the original did.

Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #2 (“Fireworks on the Green”) opens in Bountiful, Utah, population 4302 – a town run by and for criminals.  You see, Bountiful is where the U.S. Department of Justice sends the most infamous East Coast mobsters into the federal “Witness Protection Program” (WPP).  Now, the population is dropping because someone is killing off the mobsters, one by one.  Could it be the legendary boogeyman, Jennifer Blood … or a copycat?

Alphonso Giallo a.k.a. “Don Gaillo,” the former overboss of Newark, NJ and current boss of Bountiful, has called in Europe's top female hit-man, the notorious Giulietta Romeo.  Giulietta is hot on Jennifer Blood's trail and is even reading Jen's “war journal.”  However, crooked former federal judge, The Honorable Whtilock Jebediah Barrister III, a rapist who also traded sex for lighter sentences, is ready to strike a bargain for helping Giulietta.  As the Bountiful Homeowners' Association's annual Fourth of July celebration, “Salute to America,” occupies the townsfolk, Jennifer or her copycat seeks to make deals of her own.

THE LOWDOWN:  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #2.  This is the second Jennifer Blood comic book I have read, although I had previously heard of the series.

I'll say the same thing about Jennifer Blood Volume 2 #2 that I said about the first.  It's a fun read and a funny one.  Writer Fred Van Lente seems to be having fun creating a number of oddball mobsters and depraved criminals and, so far, they are every bit as interesting as Jennifer Blood.  Van Lente also offers some funny plot twists to go along with the insane ways in which he has Jennifer kill the mobsters.

The art by Vincenzo Federici fits the violence, and the colors by Dearbhla Kelly are a splash of red and blue hues that emphasize the gore.  Simon Bowland's lettering is the soundtrack of sacrifice to mob violence and bloody revenge.  So let's keep going, dear readers.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Jennifer Blood will want to read Jennifer Blood Volume 2.

B+

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


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Comics Review: VAMPIVERSE #3

VAMPIVERSE VOLUME 1 #3
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson
ART: Daniel Maine
COLORS: Francesca Cittarelli
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Madibek Musabekov
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stephen Segovia; Meghan Hetrick; Maria Sanapo; Daniel Maine; Roberto Castro; Madibek Musabekov; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2021)

Rated Teen+

“The Red Mass” Book 3: “Paperchase”

Vampirella is a vampire and female superhero created by the late author and science fiction and horror expert, Forrest J Ackerman, and designed by 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.

Dynamite's latest Vampirella comic book series is Vampiverse.  The series is written by Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson; drawn by Daniel Maine; colored by Francesca Cittarelli; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.  In this new series, a Vampirella from one universe must travel the “Threads of the Fabric” and gather Vampirellas from other universes.  Their goal is to stop Bloodwing, a Vampirella who wants to kill all the other Vampirellas and also the Creator of all things.

Vampiverse Volume 1 #3 (“Paperchase”) opens on a world much like one of those 1950s television domestic sitcoms.  But where is the domesticity?  Lilith Van Helsing is on the run – from Bloodwing!  The murderous Vampirella has already killed Lilith's mother, Vampirella; her father, Adam; and her little brother, Adam, Jr.

Luckily, our heroic Vampirella; her new partner, adorable-yet-deadly Baby Prague; and “Book” (the “Book of Prophecy” personified as a disembodied boy) arrive in time.  Now, Lilith is part of this “Scooby gang” of the Vampirella universe.  Still, they need to find another Vampirella, the two-fisted, supernatural detective, “Vamp” if Book is going to find his missing pages.  But waiting for them is...

THE LOWDOWN:  Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department recently began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Vampiverse Volume 1 #3, one of a growing number of Vampirella comic books that I have recently read.

After a shaky first issue, Vampiverse has kicked into high gear with its second and third issues.  Writers Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson are weaving an interesting take on the universe of Vampirella by revealing delightful alternate Vampirellas and their inventively different worlds.  The third issue gets more action-packed with each page as it unveils a supernatural take on the 1930s and 40s.  Think Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with a touch of The Rocketeer.

Daniel Maine's art and Francesca Cittarelli's colors sell the pre-World War II vibe while Taylor Esposito's letters carry the beat of this fast-moving story.  Vampiverse's creative team has certainly given me a reason to return for more, and that reason is Vampiverse #3.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Vampirella comics will want to read Vampiverse Volume 1.

B+

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).