Sunday, January 9, 2022

Comics Review: "THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3" Offers New Terror for the New Year

THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #3 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix

STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: Sunny Gho and David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Jason Shawn Alexander
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2021)

Rated M / Mature

The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix


The Magic Order was a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel.  Published in 2018-19, The Magic Order focused on the sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protect humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes.

A second six-issue miniseries, The Magic Order 2, has arrived.  It is written by Mark Millar; drawn by Stuart Immonen; colored by Sunny Gho and David Curiel; and lettered by Clem Robins.  The new series focuses on a magical turf war between The Magic Order and a group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.

The Magic Order 2 #3 opens in Romania, one thousand years ago.  The first of the Moonstones leads a band of wizards from the thirteen corners of the Earth against the dark wizard, Soren Korne.  Their victory against him – a twist of fate involving a creature known as “Othoul-Endu” – changed the world for humanity.  The Magic Order was born, and it made the bad things go away.

Back in the present, Korne's descendant, Victor, has gathered his forces, and they are making their move to retrieve the pieces of the Stone of Thoth, a talisman from ancient Egypt that summons anything from space, time, and beyond.  Standing in their way is The Magic Order … and standing in the way of the Order is one of their own, the troubled wizard, Francis King!

THE LOWDOWN:  In the wake of the Black Wedding, as seen in The Magic Order 2 #2, I was ready to go deeper into the sequel to my favorite Mark Millar written, creator-owned comic book, The Magic Order.  Of course, this third issue does not disappoint.

One of the many things that Millar does supremely well as a comic book writer is make his characters, the good, the bad, and the depraved, engaging.  It is one thing to fashion personalities for fictional characters that are the good guys.  It is quite another to make even the most despicable villains have motivations that feel genuine to the readers – even if those motivations are … also despicable.

If The Magic Order is really like a blend of Harry Potter with a Martin Scorsese mob film, the series needs comic book artists whose storytelling chops are strong enough to make The Magic Order more than that.  Here, there are dark arts families that are as ruthless as a mob family, and the magic is as big as anything found in Harry Potter media.

What Stuart Immonen brings to this mix is power and scope.  Whatever he presents on the page, he imbues with the sense that there is more.  He makes the masters of the dark arts characters malevolent and malignant rather than simply being evil.  And what about the struggle of the heroes?  Well, it's worse than it looks.  The good guys may be powerful, but Immonen depicts that struggles and troubles as ever bigger.  I've been reading comic books so long, and Lord, it is good to know that there are still artists that can grab my imagination and sweep the cynicism and cobwebs away.

Seriously, what Millar and Immonen are delivering in The Magic Order 2 would scare mobsters and make boy wizards pee their pants.  If you aren't reading The Magic Order 2, dear readers, your pull list is out of order.  And you don't need to be a wizard to fix this pitiful situation.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.

A

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


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http://www.millarworld.tv/
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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Saturday, January 8, 2022

Comics Review: "NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #1" Examines the Universal Monster

NIGHT OF THE GHOUL #1 (OF 6)
comiXology/Best Jacket Press

STORY: Scott Snyder
ART: Francesco Francavilla
COLORS: Francesco Francavilla
LETTERS: Andworld Design
EDITOR: Will Dennis
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (October 2021)

Age Rating: 15+

Episode 01


Night of the Ghoul is a digital comic book miniseries created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla.  It is published by comiXology as part of its “comiXology Originals” line of digital comics.  This six-issue series will later be collected in trade paperback form by Dark Horse Comics.  Night of the Ghoul focuses on the dark conspiracy behind a lost horror film from 1936.


Night of the Ghoul #1 opens at night in the California desert – fifty miles west of Calexico.  Forest Innman and his son, Orson, race to an old folks home, where Forest will pretend to be an agent of “Northgood Health Insurance.”  Under that guise, Forest hopes to meet one of the home's residents, Charles Patrick.

Charles Patrick, however, isn't his real name.  He is really T.F. Merritt, a screenwriter and film director from the Golden Age of Hollywood.  In 1936, Merritt shot a film, “Night of the Ghoul,” that was meant to stand side by side with James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) and Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) as seminal Hollywood horror films and as instant classics.  “Night of the Ghoul,” however, never made it to the silver screen.  A mysterious studio fire destroyed the footage and killed the cast and crew at the wrap-party.  The film became a legend, but no footage was ever recovered … until now.

Inman, obsessed with horror films, found a forgotten canister of footage from “Night of the Ghoul,” and this discovery has sent him on his odyssey to meet T.F. Merritt.  But Merritt asks one important and ominous questions: has Inman watched the film?

THE LOWDOWN:  Twenty-nine of the 32 pages of Night of the Ghoul #1 are story pages.  My synopsis is really only a broad overview of what happens in this first episode.  There is an entire co-plot that is actually the depiction of the film, “Night of the Ghoul,” which artist Francesco Francavilla draws in beautiful black and white.

Francavilla and Snyder work as a single creative unit.  Snyder's story, which recalls the classic horror films of yesteryear, and Francavilla's art, which is inherently spooky, come together in one alluring package.  There is an extra creepy scene that takes place in a hall in the home that does not come across to me as ever being a script and then a series of illustrations.  It seems to have come into existence whole, so convincing is the evil that it conveys.  Night of the Ghoul is a world of shadow and fog, not creative process, one that will invite you inside … in time to kill you.

This first episode is not so much an intellectual experience as it is a reading experience that calls on the reader's memories and the emotions attached to specific memories.  The authors seem to bid you to get inside this story and feel, perhaps, feel the way you did when you first read comic books.  In that way, Night of the Ghoul is a pure pop comic book, like Francavilla's The Black Beetle comic books.

I am recommending Night of the Ghoul because it is the kind of horror comic book that makes me remember my earliest horror comics experiences – Charlton Comics and Warren Publishing.  And it is the kind of comic book that gives me a reason to keep reading comic books.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Scott Snyder and of Francesco Francavilla will want to try Night of the Ghoul.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/comiXology
https://twitter.com/DarkHorseComics
https://twitter.com/Ssnyder1835
https://www.instagram.com/ssnyder1835/
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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 1st to 8th, 2022 - Update #19

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

SIDNEY POITIER - From Deadline:  Former President Barack Obama pays tribute to Oscar winner, the late Sidney Poitier, who died Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  Star tributes continue to pour in for Sidney Poitier.

From Deadline:  This is the site's Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) page.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Partners Damon Wayans, Jr. and Kameron Tarlow are developing a female-driven reboot of the seminal 1950s sitcom, "The Honeymooners," for CBS Studios.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Actor Chris Evans ("Captain America") is rumored to play legendary Hollywood star, Gene Kelly, in an untitled film.

FILM FESTIVALS - From Variety:  The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has scrapped plans for an in-person event and will be exclusively virtual.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 12/31/2021 to 1/2/2022 weekend box office is Sony/Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" with an estimated take of 52.7 million dollars.

From Negromancer:  My review of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

From Deadline:  At 654 million dollars in overseas box office, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is now the top Hollywood film of 2021 at the international box office.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Bahamian-American actor, film director, and Black American activist, Sidney Poitier, has died at the age of 94, Thursday, January 6, 2022.  He was the first Black male actor to be nominated for the "Best Actor" Oscar - for "The Defiant Ones" (1958) and the first to win it - for "Lilies of the Field" (1963).  He received the "Honorary Academy Award" in 2001.

From Variety:   Diector, screenwriter, and actor, Peter Bogdanovich, has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, January 6, 2022.  One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich directed such films as "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) and "Paper Moon" (1973), and "Mask" (1985).  His most famous work was "The Last Picture Show" (1971), one of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s.  He earned Oscar nominations for directing the film and writing its screenplay.

From Variety:  Actor, screenwriter, and producer, Max Julien, has died at the age of 88, Saturday, January 1, 2022.  Julien was best remembered for his role as "Goldie" in the seminal blaxploitation film, "The Mack" (1973).  He wrote and produced another seminal exploitation classic, "Cleopatra Jones" (1973).  Julien was also a sculptor and clothes designer.

From APNews:  Former NFL coach and player, Dan Reeves, has died at the age of 77, Saturday, January 1, 2022 from complications of dementia.  Reeves a member of the Super Bowl VI (1972) champion Dallas Cowboys as a running back.  He won another Super Bowl as an assistant coach of the Super Bowl XII (1978) winning Dallas Cowboys.  Reeves was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1981 to 1992 and led them to three Super Bowls, all of which they lost.  Reeves was coach of the New York Giants from 1993 to 1996.  He coached the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003 and led them to Super Bowl XXXIII (1999), which they lost.

From Variety:  American animal advocate and beloved television actress and comedienne, Betty White, has died at the age of 99, Friday, December 31, 2021.  A five-time Emmy winner, White starred on CBS's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" from 1973 to 1977, NBC's "The Golden Girls" (1985-92), and TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" (2010-15).

From APNews:  "Betty White, an ageless TV star, was America's sweetheart" by Frazier Moore.

From APNews:  "Actors, comedians and President Joe Biden" react to death of Betty White"

From EOnlineRobert Redford offers his "crush," Betty White in a heartwarming tribute.

From DeadlineDon Cheadle shares a touching tribute to Betty White.  White and Cheadle were co-stars on "The Golden Palace" (1992-93), which was a spinoff of NBC's "The Golden Girls."

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AWARDS:

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 22nd Annual Black Reel Awards were announced a few weeks ago. Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," has a record 20 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 27, 2022.

From AwardsWatch:  The Columbus Film Critics Association announced the nominations for their annual film awards.  Director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 noms.  The winners will be announced Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.

From Deadline:  The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.

From THR:  The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced.  "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each.  Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From GoldDerby:   The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From Deadline:   The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."

From THR:  Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."

From Variety:   The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."

From Deadline:  The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards.  Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."

From THR:  Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th).  The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."

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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 Variety:  One of the producers of tragic Western film, Rust, Emily Salveson, pushes tax shelters and hid income.

From THR:  "I let go of the hammer and 'Bang,' the gun goes off" says Alec Baldwin says in his first interview of the moment when a gun he was holding accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From DeadlineAlec Baldwin will sit down with ABC's news-reading clown George Stephanopoulos for a one hour special tomorrow night to talk about what happened on the set of the movie "Rust."  It will be Baldwin’s first extensive interview about the shooting.

From Deadline:  Industry veteran, Thall Reed, the father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Western, "Rust," may have handed the police a tip on why the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot to death on the set.

From THR:  A search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday for a prop shop sheds light on how alleged live ammunition ended up on the set of the Western film, "Rust," where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October.

From Deadline:  A month after cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the New Mexico set the movie Western, "Rust," by a prop gun “discharged” by Alec Baldwin, those closest to the cinematographer held a private ceremony and interred her ashes at an unknown location.

From Deadline:  Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust."  "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline:  The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From DeadlineSerge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR:   In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

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.


Thursday, January 6, 2022

Comics Review: "Nita Hawes' NIGHTMARE Blog #3" - Me and the Devil Blues

NITA HAWES' NIGHTMARE BLOG #3
IMAGE COMICS

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: well-BEE
COLORS: Luis Nct with mar and Silvestre Galotto
LETTERS: Marshall Dillon
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: well-BEE
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Jason Shawn Alexander
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated “M/ Mature”

Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog created by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

“The Fire Next Time” Part III: “Along Came a Spider”


Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is a new comic book series created by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander.  Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is written by Barnes and drawn by well-BEE; colored by Luis Nct; and lettered by Marshall Dillon.  The series focuses on a woman who is on a quest to root out the evil in her city.

In Baltimore, Maryland, which some call “Bodymore, Murderland,” there is a woman named Dawnita “Nita” Hawes.  She is the owner of “Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog” where citizens can contact Nita when they have a problem of a supernatural or paranormal nature.  Nita has just begun her quest to root the evil out of her city – with the help of her dead brother, Jason.

As Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog #3 (“Along Came a Spider”) opens, Anansi, the God of Stories and Knowledge, arrives.  Detective Harden slowly comes around to seeing things Nita Hawes' way … slowly.  Nita also has a conversation with Jason.

Meanwhile, our heroine travels back to Annapolis, Maryland, in a bid to uncover the lost history of legendary blues singer, “Howlin'” Henry Hawkins.  He is now a resident of “Happy Acres Rest Home,” and his body is a vessel for the demon, Corson, who continues his plot against humanity.  As Nita gets deeper into Hawkins' history, Corson moves closer to her.  And what does Anansi want?

THE LOWDOWN:  Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog is a spin off of Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander's hit vampire comic book, Killadelphia.  In fact, Dawnita “Nita” Hawes is the ex-lover of one of Killadelphia's lead characters, Jimmy Sangster, Jr.

The first three issues of Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog have established that this comic book can stand on its own.  Still, writer Rodney Barnes helps the readers find delight in the threads that connect the two series.  In Nightmare Blog, Barnes is offering a blend of dark fantasy and horror that is intense its violence, but also intimate in its telling.  This narrative is personal because it is so much about Nita Hawes, and it is vulnerable because she is vulnerable.  That is best exemplified in her conversations with her brother, Jason's spirit.  For all its lovely demonic violence, this series feels like a character study that spreads out from Nita to other characters.

[Also, both Nita and Jason have paid high costs to live in the United States, and I wonder if their unhealed wounds represent all our wounds.  When I say “our,” I mean Black and Brown people only, boo.]

The beautiful art by well-BEE, with its illustrative qualities, brings Barnes' potent imaginings to life.  There would be no comic book without the comic book artist, and well-BEE is making Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog an incredible comic book.

With Luis Nct and company's dream slash nightmarish colors and Marshall Dillon sounds of Hades lettering, the pentagram is complete.  We have a winner in Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog, the comic book I insist you read – from Hell with kisses, Leroy.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Killadelphia and of the original Hellblazer will want Nita Hawes' Nightmare Blog.

A+

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


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022

94th Oscars Announces Shortlists in Documentary Film Categories

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlists in the "Documentary Feature" and "Documentary Short Subject" categories for the 94th Academy Awards®.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Feature category for the 94th Academy Awards.  One hundred thirty-eight films were eligible in the category.  Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Ascension” 
“Attica”
“Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry”
“Faya Dayi”
“The First Wave”
“Flee”
“In the Same Breath”
“Julia”
“President”
“Procession”
“The Rescue”
“Simple as Water” 
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
“The Velvet Underground”
“Writing with Fire”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
Fifteen films will advance in the Documentary Short Subject category for the 94th Academy Awards.  Eighty-two films qualified in the category.  Members of the Documentary Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Águilas”
“Audible”
“A Broken House”
“Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis”
“Coded: The Hidden Love of J. C. Leyendecker”
“Day of Rage”
“The Facility”
“Lead Me Home”
“Lynching Postcards: “Token of a Great Day””
“The Queen of Basketball”
“Sophie & the Baron”
“Takeover”
“Terror Contagion”
“Three Songs for Benazir”
“When We Were Bullies”

Nominations voting begins on Thursday, January 27, 2022, and concludes on Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

The 94th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland® in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.


ABOUT THE ACADEMY:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 10,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.


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Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Comics Review: "PANTHA Volume 2 #1" is the Year's First Great Debut Comic Book

PANTHA VOLUME 2 #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson
ART: Igor Lima
COLORS: Adriano Augusto
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty; Carlos  M. Mangual; Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Judy Jong
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jorge Fornes; Vincent Aseo; Alvaro Sarraseca; Elena Pianta; Ken Haeser; Jamie Biggs; Rachel Hollon (cosplay)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Pantha was a Warren Publishing comic book character who was an adversary of classic Warren character, Vampirella.  She began as an alien shapeshifter from Vampirella's native planet, and she could morph into a black panther.  Pantha first appeared in Vampirella #30 (cover date: January 1974).

Pantha's origin was rewritten and she became an ancient Egyptian queen who was cursed by the goddess, Sekhmet, because of the murders she committed.  Pantha must walk the world forever, trapped between the forms of human and panther.  She will never know home or peace, burdened by the fury of a goddess and the rage of the innocents she ordered slain.

Pantha, like Vampirella, is now belongs to Dynamite Entertainment, which gave the character her own six-issue miniseries in 2012.  Pantha returns in a new comic book series, entitled Pantha Volume 2.  It is written by Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson; drawn by Igor Lima; colored by Adriano Augusto; and lettered by Dezi Sienty, Carlos  M. Mangual, and Taylor Esposito.

Pantha Volume 2 #1 opens two months prior to the main story aboard Tikhon Airlines Flight 1075, somewhere over the Baltic Sea.  The “Children of Ta-Nakht” holds the flight and the passengers hostage, which is just the beginning of the diabolical plans.

In present day, Toortooga, Florida.  Pantha resides at the Toortooga City Zoo as a six hundred pound black panther, hiding away from the world.  She is plagued by her ancient past when she was Maatkar Samira, living in Thebes, Egypt, as the queen to Pharaoh Diogenes Hamset II.  In 1458 B.C., Samira envied the peasant girl, Tarin, who gave the king what she could not, a male heir.  Summoning the goddess, Sekhmet, protector of the pharaohs, Samira commits a series of unforgivable sins.

Now, Pantha has a chance for redemption.  Someone or something is killing the Egyptian gods, and it falls upon Pantha to save the pantheon.  In exchange for her help comes the promise of redemption and freedom from her curse … a redemption and a freedom that come with a cost, of course.

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  They recently provided me with a PDF for Pantha Volume 2 #1, which is only the first Pantha comic book that I have read.

Pantha Volume 2 #1 is easily one of the best first issues that I have read in the last few months.  Writers Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson just freaking kill it.  I mean there is enough good stuff in this first issue alone to create at least four more series.  Sniegoski and Acheson sold their souls to write this first issue, and they more than got their money's worth.  There is no way the second issue can sustain the high level of this first issue.  If these writers kill that second issue, then, clearly there will be a need for some occult investigating.

Speaking of soul-selling, artist Igor Lima is excellent.  His storytelling had me flipping pages until I nearly climaxed at the end.  If I smoked, I would already be on my second cigarette.  Adriano Augusto beautifully colors Lima's art with museum-quality results.  This comic book is so awesome that it needs three amazing letterers:  Dezi Sienty, Carlos  M. Mangual, and Taylor Esposito.

Don't walk.  Don't run.  Drive like a maniac (without causing an automobile accident) to your local comic shop and get Pantha Volume 2 #1.  Or calmly visit comiXology and read a digital version.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite's dark fantasy titles will want to read Pantha Volume 2.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/DynamiteComics
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https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment


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

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Comics Review: "ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE #4" is Ancient Evenings of Fun

ELVIRA MEETS VINCENT PRICE #4
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: David Avallone
ART: Juan Samu
COLORS: Walter Pereyra
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland
EDITOR: Joseph Rybandt
COVER: Dave Acosta
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Dave Acosta; Juan Samu; Anthony Marques and J. Bone
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2022)

Rated Teen+

Chapter Four: “Inglorious Bastet”


In 1981, actress and model Cassandra Peterson created the “horror hostess character,” known as “Elvira.”  Elvira gradually grew in popularity and eventually became a brand name.  As Elvira, Peterson endorsed many products and became a pitch-woman, appearing in numerous television commercials throughout the 1980s.

Elvira also appeared in comic books, beginning in 1986 with the short-lived series from DC Comics, Elvira's House of Mystery, which ran for eleven issues and one special issue (1987).  Eclipse Comics and Claypool Comics began the long-running Elvira: Mistress of the Dark from 1993 to 2007.  In 2018, Elvira returned to comic books via Dynamite Entertainment in the four-issue comic book miniseries, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, that actually ran for 12 issues.

Vincent Price (1911–1993) was an American actor and a legendary movie star.  Price was and still is best known for his performances in horror films, although his career spanned other genres.  Price appeared in more than 100 films, but he also performed on television, the stage, and on radio.  Thus, he has two stars on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” one for motion pictures and one for television.

Elvira and Vincent Price team up for the first time in the comic book miniseries, Elvira Meets Vincent Price.  The series is written by David Avallone; drawn by Juan Samu; colored by Walter Pereyra; and lettered by Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland.  The series finds Elvira and Price searching for a long-lost cult movie, “Rise of the Ram,” because it contains an incantation that can save the world from destruction at the hands of the ancient Egyptian god, Amun-Ra.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4 (“Inglorious Bastet”) opens at “The Pyramid Fields of Abu Sir.”  Vincent Price has been vanquished … or so it seems.  Now, all that stands between Amunet and her plans to revive her hubby, Amun-Ra, from the “Western Lands” is Elvira, screenwriter Ahmed Alhazred, and Anipe the tour guide.

As Amunet reads “The Spell of the Final Day” from “The Book of the End of All Things” scroll, Elvira has a reunion with someone who can help her.  Amun-Ra rises and the entire world watches, via a “Deathflix” stream.  Will Vincent return in time to help save the day?  Can Vincent return?

THE LOWDOWN:  In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  One of them is Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4, which is the fourth issue of the series that I have read and one of many Dynamite Elvira comic books that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

In my review of Elvira Meets Vincent Price #3, I said that I could read another 100 pages of that delightful comic book.  I feel the same way about this fourth issue.  The witty and perfectly humorous writing of David Avallone and the pitch-perfect comedy storytelling of Juan Samu make this final issue a total winner.  If there were justice in comic book awards, Avallone and Samu would at least get some kind of nomination as best writer-artist team.

The sterling painterly colors of Walter Pereyra and the spry lettering of Taylor Esposito with Elizabeth Sharland complete this superb creative team.  While we await the fifth and final issue of this series, dear readers, let's enjoy the afterglow of the fantastic Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Elvira and of Vincent Price and of David Avallone's Elvira comic books will want to read Elvira Meets Vincent Price.

A+

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


https://twitter.com/DAvallone
https://twitter.com/Juansamuart
https://twitter.com/DynamiteComics
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/
https://www.facebook.com/DynamiteComics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

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