DC Comics Shipping from Lunar Distributors for July 3, 2024

DC COMICS:

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Dan Mora), $4.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Jim Lee Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Stephen Bliss Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Puppeteer Lee Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover E Chris Samnee Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover F Chrissie Zullo Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover G Resistance Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover H John Timms Connecting Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover I Wes Craig Raised UV Foil Variant), $7.99

Absolute Power #1 (Of 4)(Cover J Daniel Sampere Power Participation Card Stock Variant), $5.99

All-Star Superman TP (DC Compact Comics Edition), $9.99

Batman #150 (Cover A Jorge Jimenez)(Absolute Power), $5.99

Batman #150 (Cover B Dustin Nguyen Card Stock Variant)(Absolute Power), $6.99

Batman #150 (Cover C Mattia De Iulis Card Stock Variant)(Absolute Power), $6.99

Batman #150 (Cover D Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Artist Spotlight Wraparound Card Stock Variant)(Absolute Power), $6.99

Batman #150 (Cover E Chris Samnee Card Stock Variant)(Absolute Power), AR

Batman #150 (Cover F Tirso Cons Card Stock Variant)(Absolute Power), AR

Batman And Robin And Howard Summer Breakdown #1 (Of 3)(Cover A Jeffrey Brown), $4.99

Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries #7 (Cover A Puste), $2.99

Birds Of Prey #11 (Cover A Leonardo Romero), $3.99

Birds Of Prey #11 (Cover B Gleb Melnikov Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Birds Of Prey #11 (Cover C Serg Acuna Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Birds Of Prey #11 (Cover D Chris Ng Card Stock Variant), AR

Boy Wonder #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Juni Ba), $5.99

Boy Wonder #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Khary Randolph), $5.99

Far Sector TP (DC Compact Comics Edition), $9.99

JSA The Golden Age TP (2024 Edition), $24.99

Justice Society Of America #10 (Of 12)(Cover A Mikel Janin), $3.99

Justice Society Of America #10 (Of 12)(Cover B Tony Harris Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Justice Society Of America #10 (Of 12)(Cover C Paris Alleyne Card Stock Variant), AR

Kneel Before Zod #7 (Of 12)(Cover A Jason Shawn Alexander), $3.99

Kneel Before Zod #7 (Of 12)(Cover B Lucio Parrillo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

My Adventures With Superman #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Li Cree), $3.99

My Adventures With Superman #2 (Of 6)(Cover B Megan Huang Card Stock Variant), $4.99

My Adventures With Superman #2 (Of 6)(Cover C Design Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Poison Ivy #24 (Cover A Jessica Fong), $3.99

Poison Ivy #24 (Cover B David Nakayama Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Poison Ivy #24 (Cover C Frank Cho Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Poison Ivy #24 (Cover D Eliza Ivanova Card Stock Variant), AR

Poison Ivy #24 (Cover E Frank Cho Virgin Card Stock Variant), AR

Red Hood Outlaws Volume 2 TP, $14.99

Shazam #13 (Cover A Gleb Melnikov), $3.99

Shazam #13 (Cover B Riley Rossmo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Shazam #13 (Cover C Simone Di Meo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Shazam #13 (Cover D Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Artist Spotlight Wraparound Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Vixen NYC Volume 6 TP, $14.99

Wonder Woman Volume 1 Outlaw TP (2023 Series)(Daniel Sampere Book Market Cover), $19.99

Wonder Woman Volume 1 Outlaw TP (2023 Series)(Stanley Artgerm Lau Direct Market Cover), $19.99

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A Negromancer July 2024

Welcome to July 2024. Welcome to Negromancer 2.0.  This is the rebirth of the Negromancer, the former movie review site, as a movie review and entertainment and culture news blog.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademarks of their respective owners.

Also, my first original graphic novel, THE WRATH OF KARAPACE: A BIG SPIRITS EPIC, co-created by Carter J. Allen, is now on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. You can also buy it at Walmart online.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 23rd to 30th, 2024 - UPDATE #15

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 6/28 to 6/30/2024 weekend box office is Disney/Pixar's "Inside Out 2" with an estimated take of 57.4 million dollars.

MOVIES - From THR:  Denis Villeneuve's next film from Warner Bros. will arrive in 2026.  It could be the third film in the "Dune" series, "Dune: Messiah."

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Actor Jared Padalecki says goodbye to his series, "Walker," on The CW.  And he has harsh words for the "cheap" network.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The Los Angeles Lakers' new coach, JJ Reddick, meets the press.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The "Harry Potter" television reboot series is taking shape under the guidance of a duo from HBO's hit, "Succession."  Francesca Gardiner will write and Mark Mylod will direct the series.  The series is due in 2026.

From Deadline:  The "Harry Potter" TV series and the "IT" prequel series, "Welcome to Derry," are headed to HBO as part of Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming "rethink."

ACADEMY AWARDS - From Variety:  Recent Oscar-nominee, Lily Gladstone, is among 487 people invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Reminiscing about his past with the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise, actor Judge Reinhold had signed onto the 1984 original film when the project was an action movie with Sylvester Stallone set to star.  The film later become a comedy starring Eddie Murphy.  The new film, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" is due on Netflix July 3rd.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 6/21 to 6/23/2024 weekend box office is Disney/Pixar's "Inside Out 2" with an estimated take of 100 million dollars.

From THR:  "Inside Out 2's" 100 million dollars in box office is the all-time record for an animated feature film. That is also the seventh-biggest weekend for any film.

REMEMBRANCE - From Jacobin:  Apparently, the recently deceased actor, Donald Sutherland, was a man on the political left and he never abandoned those principles.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Jonathan Majors has come in from the cold. He will star in the revenge thriller, "Merciless." The film will be directed by Martin Villeneuve, the younger brother of "Dune" director, Denis Villeneuve.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Actor, musician, and comedian, Martin Mull, has died at the age of 80, Thursday, June 27, 2024.  He is best known for roles in such satirical series as "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "Fernwood 2 Night" and it continuation, "America 2 Night."  He had recurring roles in the former ABC sitcoms, "Rosanne" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch."  He was a lead in the sadly, short-lived Fox comedy, "The Cool Kids."  His best known film role may be as "Colonel Mustard" in 1985's "Clue."  He as nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on HBO's "Veep."

From Variety:  American film and television actor, Bill Cobbs, has died at the age of 90, Tuesday, June 25, 2024.  A prolific actor, Cobbs appeared in such films as "The Brother from Another Planet" (1984), "New Jack City" (1991), "The Bodyguard" (1992), "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), and "Night at the Museum" (2006), to name a few.  A frequent presence on numerous TV series, he appeared on such series as "I'll Fly Away," "The Drew Carey Show," and "Star Trek: Enterprise."  He was twice nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the Canadian children's television series, "Dino Dana," winning the award in 2020.

From Deadline:  American television executive, Jamie Kellner, has died at the age of 77, Friday, June 21, 2024.  Kellner helped founded two broadcasts networks, the Fox Broadcasting Company (1986), and The WB (1994).  Later, he would succeed Ted Turner as head of Turner Broadcasting System (2000).  Among the TV series Kellner helped develop were "The Simpsons," "Married... with Children," and "In Living Color" at Fox and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dawson's Creek" at The WB.

From Deadline:  American film and television actor, Spencer Milligan, has died at the age of 86, Thursday, April 18, 2024.  He was best known for playing, "Rick Marshall," the father of Will and Holly Marshall, during the first two seasons on the children's live-action, sci-fi TV series, "Land of the Lost" (NBC, 1974-75).

Review: "GODZILLA MINUS ONE" Recalls the Original Spirit of Godzilla

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 26 of 2024 (No. 1970) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan; Language: Japanese

Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for creature violence and action

DIRECTOR:  Takashi Yamazaki

WRITER:  Takashi Yamazaki (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS:  Gô Abe, Kazuaki Kishida, Keiichiro Moriya, and Kenji Yamada

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kôzô Shibasaki

EDITOR:  Ryûji Miyajima

COMPOSER:  Naoki Satô

Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/DRAMA and HISTORICAL/WAR

Starring:  Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Sakura Ando, Munetaka Aoki, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Yuya Endo, and Sae Nagatani

Gojira Mainasu Wan is a 2023 Japanese historical war drama and science fiction film written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki and produced by Toho Studios.  It is Toho's 33rd Godzilla film and 37th entry in the Godzilla film franchise.  The film's English-language title is Godzilla Minus One, the title by which I will refer to it in this review.

Godzilla Minus One won the Oscar for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” at the 96th Academy Awards earlier this year (March 10, 2024).  The director, Takashi Yamazaki, was one of the four men who each received an Oscar statuette for the win.  In Godzilla Minus One, a former kamikaze pilot is struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder when the giant monster of his nightmares returns to attack post-war Japan.

Godzilla Minus One opens in 1945, near the end of World War II.  Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki)  lands his Mitsubishi A6M Zero at the Japanese base on Odo Island for repairs.  Shikishima is a kamikaze pilot (the military units that flew suicide missions for Japan during WWII).  The base's lead mechanic, Sōsaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki), deduces that Shikishima had fled from his suicidal duty by pretending his plane had technical issues.  Later that night, Godzilla, a large dinosaur-like creature, attacks the island garrison, and only Shikishima and Tachibana survive.

Shikishima returns home to find his parents were killed in the bombing of Tokyo.  Plagued by survivor's guilt, he begins supporting a woman, Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe), whose parents also died in the bombing.  With an orphaned baby girl, Akiko (Sae Nagatani), left in Noriko's custody, Shikishima forms a kind of family unit.  He even finds employment aboard a minesweeper tasked with disposing of naval mines from World War II.  Still, Shikishima can't leave the war behind and is reluctant to ask Noriko to marry him.

Meanwhile, the United States' nuclear tests at the Bikini Atoll leaves Godzilla mutated and empowered.  Baptized within the horrific power of the atomic bomb, Godzilla now re-emerges, more powerful, and begins to battle Japan on land and sea.  Can Shikishima emerge from his guilt and help save Japan from a monster that can unleash the power of a nuclear weapon?

North American audiences are familiar with the modern, rebooted version of Godzilla that stumps around the Legendary Entertainment's “MonsterVerse” an American multimedia franchise that includes a suite of movies that began with 2014's Godzilla and includes the most recent hit, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024).  In Japan, Godzilla also received a modern reboot, known as the “Reiwa era,” and that began with the 2016 film, Shin Godzilla.  Godzilla Minus One is the fifth film from this era.

Godzilla mainly appears in three major sequences in this film, and they are absolutely awesome.  The initial one, the attack on Odo Island, is as good any dinosaur attack depicted in Jurassic Park (1993) and its sequels or Jurassic World (2015) and its sequels.  The second sequence, when Godzilla attacks Ginza, a district in Tokyo, took my breath away.  I believe that the Ginza attack probably earned Godzilla Minus One the votes it needed to win its special effects Oscar.  This film's Godzilla is the old-fashioned one that looks like the man-in-a-suit original from the early Godzilla films, beginning in the mid-1950s.  However, modern special effects takes the classic and gives him more character, making him more a force a nature than a mere monster.

Godzilla Minus One is as much an ensemble wartime drama as it is a monster movie.  It is not perfect, because it does drag quite a bit in places between Godzilla's appearances.  The cast, led by Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi Shikishima, personifies the lives of people living and struggling through the aftermath of a defeated Japan.  In a sense, Japan's imperial ambitions and overreach brought that suffering on the people.  However, dropping two atomic bombs dropped on Japan (on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945) was some other country's decision.  Nor is Japan at fault for the monster that Godzilla becomes as a result of the United States' atomic testing in the Pacific.

Godzilla Minus One is a depiction of Japan's post-WWII efforts to save itself from its own actions and the actions of others.  I found myself rooting for them in that epic final battle much in the way I root for the U.S. of A in American war cinema.  However, Godzilla Minus One is not so much about nationalism as it is about national survival, and it is quite well-made and entertaining, also.

A

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, June 29, 2024

NOTES:

2024 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masanori Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima)

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

Comics Review: "CABRA CINI: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe" is a Big F'ing Deal

CABRA CINI: VOODOO JUNKIE HITWOMAN #0 DELUXE

ACTUALITY PRESS

STORY: Sam Johnson

ART: Bruno Letizia; Carlos Granda

COLORS: Chunlin Zhao

LETTERS: Bruno Letizia; Paul McLaren

COVER: Carlos Granda with Chunlin Zhao

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Flint Douglas with Chunlin Zhao

38pp, Color, £12 (print), £8 (digital)

Suggest for mature readers

Cabra Cini created by Sam Johnson

“Voodoo Trespass,” “Into the Infinite”

Cabra Cini is a comics character created by writer Sam Johnson.  He is best known as the writer and creator of the sexy superhero, Geek-Girl, who has starred in a comedy-fantasy miniseries and ongoing series.  Cabra Cini is a former sex worker who used “voodoo magik” to free herself of her abusive pimp/boyfriend.  Now, she is a hit woman addicted to voodoo, Cabra Cini: Hitwoman.

Johnson recently launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in order to publish Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe.  This standalone comic book collects the two Cabra Cini stories, “Voodoo Trespass” and “Into the Infinite,” which were originally published in the the comic books, Geek-Girl #5-9 (cover dated: October 2019 to February 2022).

Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe opens with the story “Voodoo Trespass.”  Between Heaven and Hell, there is Limbo.  However, Limbo isn't all white space; there is an upper-level, tucked-away dimension inside it called “the Infinite.”  Cabra Cini uses the Infinite to get from where she is to where she is going – on the way to kill someone.  Cabra has just accepted a new assignment, but this time, the Rook, the ruler of the Infinite, means business. He doesn't want Cabra using his realm in order to get to her kills, and he will throw everything at her to stop her, including a terrible figure from her terrible past.

Next up is “Into the Infinite.”  Drug-dealer Jacob Trencher wants Cabra Cini to kill his ex-business partner, Ethan Drew.  Trencher, himself, is pretty versed in the dark arts and darker dimensions.  And what is the connection between Cabra's latest assignment and Maine's most famous superhero, Geek-Girl?  This time, Cabra Cini doesn't know what she needs to know.

THE LOWDOWN:  Sam Johnson provided me with a PDF review copy of Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe.  The Kickstarter campaign for this comic book has already started.

Cabra Cini is both weird and dark, and I think weird fiction should be dark even when it plays in the light.  Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe darkly weird and weirdly dark, and Johnson, as usual, has a good time writing Cabra Cini stories, as evident in these two tart treats.  Readers with broad tastes will recognize ideas that are similar to elements from Marvel's Elektra (the Frank Miller version as seen in Daredevil) and from DC Comics' John Constantine: Hellblazer and Preacher.  I don't want to spoil Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe, but the stories contained here do three things.  They offer an origin story; connect to Geek-Girl; and act as a bridge to the 2022 Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman four-issue miniseries.

The artists of the two stories here, Bruno Letizia and Carlos Granda, respectively, are different in graphical styles, but are similar in that they are both quality storytellers.  Their storytelling, dear readers, will make you want to get more Cabra Cini comic books, and both stories give a quick overview and introduction to the world of the voodoo junkie hitwoman.  That's what is also great about this – the title, and, sooner or later, Cabra Cini will be a big thing in comic books.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of writer Sam Johnson's comic books and of Cabra Cini will want to both fund and read Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe.

A

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

Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe Kickstarter page.

Cabra Cini: Voodoo Junkie Hitwoman #0 Deluxe Kickstarter video.

https://twitter.com/daSamJohnson

https://twitter.com/Markosia

https://twitter.com/Markosia_News

https://markosia.com/

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for June 26, 2024

BOOM! STUDIOS

APR240088 ANIMAL POUND #4 (OF 5) CVR A GROSS (MR) $4.99

APR240089 ANIMAL POUND #4 (OF 5) CVR B SHIMIZU (MR) $4.99

APR240091 ANIMAL POUND #4 (OF 5) CVR D FOC REVEAL BERGARA (MR) $4.99

APR240117 DUNE HOUSE CORRINO #4 (OF 8) CVR A SWANLAND $5.99

APR240118 DUNE HOUSE CORRINO #4 (OF 8) CVR B FISH $5.99

APR240121 DUNE HOUSE CORRINO #4 (OF 8) CVR E FOC REVEAL VAR FRANCIS $5.99

FEB240141 GARFIELD FULL COURSE TP VOL 03 $16.99

APR240053 GRIM #18 CVR A FLAVIANO $3.99

APR240054 GRIM #18 CVR B PATRIDGE $3.99

APR240057 MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #121 CVR A CLARKE $4.99

APR240058 MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #121 CVR B DARK GRID BARENDS (C $4.99

APR240059 MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #121 CVR C HELMET VAR MONTES (C $4.99

APR240093 RARE FLAVOURS #6 (OF 6) CVR A ANDRADE $4.99

APR240094 RARE FLAVOURS #6 (OF 6) CVR B RICCARDI $10.00

APR240039 SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #38 CVR A DELL EDERA $3.99

APR240040 SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #38 CVR B FRISON $3.99

APR240041 SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #38 CVR C 5 YEAR FOIL STAM $5.99

APR240044 SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #38 CVR F FOC REVEAL VAR $3.99

FEB240026 SONS OF EL TOPO OMNIBUS HC (MR) $49.99

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Dynamite Entertainment Shipping from Diamond Distributors for June 26, 2024

DYNAMITE

APR240253 AOD FOREVER #9 CVR A BARENDS $4.99

APR240254 AOD FOREVER #9 CVR B SUYDAM $4.99

APR240255 AOD FOREVER #9 CVR C FLEECS $4.99

APR240256 AOD FOREVER #9 CVR D BURNHAM $4.99

DEC230288 ELVIRA MEETS HP LOVECRAFT #1 CVR G PHOTO ATLAS ED ELVIRA SGN $99.99

DEC230333 NEGADUCK #6 CVR A LEE $3.99

DEC230334 NEGADUCK #6 CVR B MOSS $3.99

DEC230335 NEGADUCK #6 CVR C FORSTNER $3.99

DEC230336 NEGADUCK #6 CVR D CANGIALOSI $3.99

DEC230337 NEGADUCK #6 CVR E ACTION FIGURE $3.99

APR240198 SPACE GHOST #2 CVR H CHO LTD VIRGIN $50.00

APR240270 SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL 2 #3 CVR A TAO (MR) $4.99

APR240271 SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL 2 #3 CVR B KEITH (MR) $4.99

APR240272 SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL 2 #3 CVR C HOWARD (MR) $4.99

APR240273 SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL 2 #3 CVR D VALE (MR) $4.99

APR247799 SWEETIE CANDY VIGILANTE VOL 2 #3 CVR I FOC YONAMI (MR) $4.99

APR240220 THUNDERCATS #5 CVR J NAKAYAMA LTD VIRGIN $50.00

MAR240227 VAMPIRELLA #669 CVR E PARRILLO LTD VIRGIN $50.00

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