The Internet Movie Database, one of the premiere movie sites has decided to make some changes. The Amazon owned website will no longer offer one of its previous services. Effective February 20th 2017, the site will no longer have a message board system for fans to be able to discuss movies.
IMDB released the following statement in regards to their decision.
message boards are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide,
Reading between the lines it’s not hard to conclude their decision came from the forum becoming a hotbed of trolling.
Websites becoming overwhelmed with trolling behavior is not a new occurrence. Many sections of the discussion centered website Reddit have become rampant with troll behavior and have resulted in their termination due to violating the site’s content policy. There has also an outcry against this behavior from creators in different areas of fandom in an effort to help people see the errors of this behavior.
We here at Monkeys Fighting Robots make it a point to stand against troll culture. Such practices are destructive and unhealthy to the fan community as a whole. We make it a point to do what we can to try and promote a healthy and supportive nature in the community which is often missing at times. We may not like certain movies and show but we never believe those who do are inferior in anyway, shape, or form.
It’s sad to see a site which has become one of the most prominent entertainment sites online lose its message boards. All because of the actions of few individuals spoiling the fun for everyone else. Are you a frequent user of the IMDB message boards? Does this announcement take you by surprise? Leave a comment below and let us know.
As a dedicated Timely/Marvel comics fan, I was curious about what Marvel Entertainment Inc.’s acquisition of Mick Anglo‘s original 1954 run on Marvelman would produce. Anxious fans of Neil Gaiman‘s 1988 treatment seem no closer to reading any new stories, only reprints (and even those seem to have stopped). But, Mick Anglo fans must be ecstatic that reprints of his black and white comics are back on the stands.
He’s back, and he’s more far-out than ever in Alan Moore’s treatment
A friend of mine gave me volumes one and two of Marvelman Classic. We both read and thoroughly enjoyed both Alan Moore‘s revamp of Marvelman from 1982, and Neil Gaiman’s subsequent take on the character. I knew a bit about what to expect, having read a couple reprints of original Marvelman comics in the past. So, I dived into these comics knowing that they’d be pretty hokey. Rather than for their literary quality, though, these comics are noteworthy as both historical publishing oddities and the original source material for something that Alan Moore used to redefine comics.
Still, in an effort to judge things on their own merits, on its 63rd anniversary of its publication I’m going to review the first story from Marvelman Classic Volume One, “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” from Marvelman #25 (February 3rd, 1954).
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – Some Background
For those who are unfamiliar with Marvelman, imagine an obvious knockoff of DC’s Captain Marvel who dresses differently. In fact, Marvelman, whose publication rights have been the subject of more than one legal disagreement, owes his existence as a published character to a legal battle between Fawcett Comics, the original corporate overlord of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel, and National/DC, the original corporate overlord of Superman.
In a legal decision that stopped the American publication of comics featuring Captain Marvel or any of his entourage, readers in the UK became some of the only ones who got to read Captain Marvel comics, although what they got were reprints. L. Miller & Son Ltd. was responsible for these British reprints, but eventually this practice ended. Instead, Mick Anglo was contracted by L. Miller & Son to come up with a character that would fill the commercial void that a loss of monthly Captain Marvel-related comics represented. Enter Micky Moran/Marvelman.
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – “Shazmota!”
When I refer to Marvelman as a knockoff of Captain Marvel, I’m not referring only to his contentious name.
Like Billy Batson, Micky Moran is a good kid. After being treated in “special machine” by a reclusive scientist, Micky gains the ability to transform himself into Marvelman, the mightiest man in the universe, whenever Micky says Kimota. Marvelman, in turn, turns back into Micky if he says the word. Sound familiar?
Other similarities include the array of supporting characters, including Young Marvelman and the oxymoronically named Kid Marvelman.
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – Boromania!
On his way home from working overtime as a copy boy at the coincidentally named Daily Bugle, Micky Moran witnesses a mugging. Changing into the mighty Marvelman by yelling “Kimota,” he scraps with the muggers. But, they manage to make off with their victim’s briefcase.
After dispatching the muggers, Marvelman turns back into Micky. The mugging victim informs him that the briefcase contains plans to an experimental atomic bomber. The mugging victim believes his attackers to have been Boromanian agents out to use the plans for their own nefarious purposes.
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – Balco
In the shadows, Balco, the Boromanian chief has watched the whole scene. Now knowing that the invincible Marvelman turns into the relatively helpless Micky Moran and vice versa by saying “Kimota,” Balco incapacitates and gags Micky.
Balco reveals that he stole the plans to the bomber so he could hijack it and drop an atomic bomb in the centre of “Washington!” I presume that Balco meant Washington DC and not the state of Washington, but we’ll never know.
Micky, who has been secured to the side of the atomic bomb, is able to yell “Kimota!” when the bomb’s parachute deploys and removes his gag. Marvelman grabs the bomb and hurls it into an ocean. He also apprehends the fleeing Boromanians by snatching their plane out of the air. A statesman declares Marvelman an international hero. But he’s not in it for the praise, he’s just doing his “duty as a good world citizen.”
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – The Art
Mick Anglo manages a kind of Adventures of Tintin look that works pretty well in his restrictive black and white medium. The art’s cartoonish, but because of the light-hearted and sometimes goofy nature of the story it fits.
Marvelman Classic Vol. One: “Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber” – The Story
It’s a pretty exciting story but boy is it derivative! Having read a number of Golden Age comics, I’m pretty familiar with the way these fifth columnist/spy/saboteur plot stories go. This one didn’t offer much in the way of novelty, but, hey, it’s Marvelman’s first time out. Go easy on him.
In September of 2017, Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) turns 30 years old. Arguably the best series in the long, storied history of Star Trek, ST:TNG made being bald cool again, scored Emmy Awards as a syndicated show, and took special effects to a whole new level on television. Most importantly, TNG did what science fiction does best — using fantastic visuals to tell stories about humanity. To tell those stories, many great actors known to geekdom, filled the shoes of aliens, dignitaries, thieves, and more from across the galaxy.
10 Actors Who Appeared On
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Comic book artist Mike Norton is best known for his Eisner Award Winning digital series Battlepug, and his co-creation with friend and colleague Tim Seeley, the critically acclaimed creator-owned series Revival, but now you might notice him for his political cartoons.
“I have been a decidedly non-political person all my life until this last election. This whole situation is beyond reality. It’s insane. It made me realize how while I actually believed in causes and policies, I never really did anything. So, I’ve changed a little. I’ve been donating all my convention profits to organizations that will directly help those who will be hurt the most by this ridiculous cartoon of an administration. The cartoons are just for me. I wake up every morning and see the news and this is my way of screaming into my pillow to keep myself sane,” said Norton.
Thursday afternoon, Norton published his Lil’ Donnie strip on Facebook and Twitter, gathering 76 shares and 279 retweets in the past 24 hours.
The cartoons may be just for him, but Norton’s artistic style and writing wit can’t help but gain traction in the viral nature of our media today. Norton confirmed that there will be at least one more Lil’ Donnie coming out shortly.
UPDATE: Norton released the second strip Friday afternoon.
As the Chicago artist stated above, he is donating all his convention profits to organizations that will directly help those who will be hurt the most by the Trump administration, so you probably should follow him on Twitter (@themikenorton) to stay up to date with his convention schedule.
What do you think of Norton’s Lil’ Donnie? Do you want to see more creators become politically active? Comment below.
Norton is also the Co-Founder of Four Star Studios along with Seeley, Sean Dove, and Jim Terry.
The last issue of Revival, #47 hits you local comic book store on February 22.
Story: Tim Seeley
Art: Mike Norton
Cover: Jenny Frison
IT ALL ENDS HERE! Em Cypress is the link between the land of the dead and the world of the living, and she must decide the future of humanity…if her sister Dana will let her! LAST ISSUE OF THE ACCLAIMED SERIES! Don’t miss it!
DC Bounces Back After ‘The Killing Joke’ with ‘Justice League Dark’!
The supernatural world invades DC Comics and it feels right at home. ‘Justice League Dark‘ is newest entry in the acclaimed series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. It also follows the story and the characters established in ‘Justice League War‘.
After weak R-rated ‘Batman: The Killing Joke‘, this movie is like the darkest DC Animated Movie yet. Not only does ‘Justice League Dark‘ use the R-rating to its advantage but there’s no feeling that the creators are TRYING to be edgy. Everything comes off natural and never feels forced into being something its not. The addition of magic into this universe doesn’t throw off the storytelling, which is refreshing.
The Story:
Things get out of control for the Justice League once paranormal entities begin to run wild. None of them seem prepared for the newest threat so the team decides to call in some help. This help comes in the form of group of supernatural-based heroes with experience! Batman from the Justice League joins forces with Zatanna, Constantine, Swamp-Thing, and Deadman in hopes to stop the villain known as Destiny.
Like the rest of these DC Animated Movie Universe films, it’s based on a lot of New 52 continuity and stories but remains mostly original. This allows for less baggage as no one is waiting to breakdown the comic book adaptation. This allows artist create new material. I think this is missing from the DCEU films and Hollywood superhero films as a whole.
Bringing Horror To DC:
As a horror fan, it took me a while to find my place in the comic world. It wasn’t until I found characters like Swamp Thing and Constantine that I fell in love. Now seeing them brought to life in such a dark way, it’s a joy to horror and comic fans alike.
There’s supernatural elements filled with occult imagery and tinged with religions overtones. This coupled with jump scares and a few ghost and it almost feels like a new James Wan film. That’s not the only horror influence. The violence is appealing to gore-hounds. For any DC animated movie to be this bloody needs applauds. It pushes boundaries more than ever before but it works for these characters!
Seeing John Constantine is always good. After the sad cancellation of his NBC show, it was a joy to see him pop up on The CW’s ‘Arrow‘. But this is the type of Constantine that fans are craving! ‘Justice League Dark‘ brings the best out of him with the signature snark and his magic getting to shine in animated form. Same goes with seeing Swamp Thing. There’s only been one live-action version of the big green bad-ass so anytime this beloved DC iconic appears, you should be happy.
Using Batman as the bridge between the Justice League and Justice League Dark was smart. He’s the only non-horror DC character with the darkest story and world. This is played up in this film when he meets a group of grim reapers and he scares them off. Yes, Batman scares a group of grim reapers! That’s how scary this man this…
Stale Animation, Even Staler Dialogue
With all the compliments, there’s still some complaints.
This style of DC Animation has been stunning since they introduced in ‘Justice League War‘. But something about the way it comes across in ‘Justice League Dark‘ disappoints. In action, the characters look laughable. Each gets some amazing frames to show off the design but it seems like the animators had too much going on. They allowed new things like the magic to shine but the creatures in this film have seemingly recycled designs.
Speaking of recycled, this dialogue feels generic. Between the heavy exposition or the cheesy one-liners, some scenes were hard to get through. Especially the ones who involving a giant monster made out of shit. Yeah, whoever came up with that needs a stern talk. It was probably the same person writing the juvenile dialogue of Deadman. I’m not familiar with his character but I hope he doesn’t always come off this cringe-worthy.
Final Thoughts:
As a fan of horror and DC Animated movies, I really enjoyed this. The great in this film is enough to overlook the few glaring problems. Seeing Swamp Thing, Batman, and Constantine all work together is worth the viewing alone!
I recommend ‘Justice League Dark‘ for fans of DC Animation or lovers of horror needing to find a way into the comic book world.
First Teri Hatcher is heading to Supergirl, now we have Kevin Sorbo on his way to the show. Thanks to ComicBook.com we now know that the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeysis arriving to Supergirl. While we know he is playing a villain, we don’t know who he’s playing yet. To quote Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg, “Since his days as Hercules, Kevin Sorbo has brought such a strong presence to the screen and we couldn’t be more excited to have him join us on Supergirl,” and that’s all we have to go on. Now as to who he could be playing, now that’s where we get to have fun speculating.
Hercules comes to Supergirl, yet as a Surprise Villain, I can’t help but be intrigued.
So who will Kevin Sorbo be playing on Supergirl? The possibility is there that he could be teamed with Teri Hatcher’s big bad, we shall see. We’ll know more in the weeks to come as I doubt we’ll be left in the dark for long on this. The possibilities are endless here and there’s so many directions this could go. Either way you can’t help but dig this. Between Dean Cain, Kevin Sorbo, and Teri Hatcher, we’re getting some clever 90’s TV casting. It’s the sort of thing that cannot help but make any 90’s kid smile.
Now I leave it up to you all in the Monkeys Fighting Robots Universe, what do you think of this announcement? Have any ideas as to who Kevin Sorbo will play? Do you get a kick out of Hercules playing a bad guy on Supergirl? Feel free to let us know in the comment section below. I will be happy to discuss any ideas you all may have on this.
Supergirl airs on the CW at 8:00 pm ET on Monday Nights.
The official big game TV spot for Transformers: The Last Knight has been released via Paramount Pictures on Youtube. Check it out below.
As you can see by the end of the trailer, there will be an extended version of this same TV spot shown during the Superbowl.
Featuring even more fighting between two of the main heroes, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, what could be going on to spur this turn of events?
What are your thoughts on the footage? Are you looking forward to this movie? Comment below!
“The Last Knight shatters the core myths of the Transformers franchise, and redefines what it means to be a hero. Humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg); Bumblebee; an English Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins); and an Oxford Professor (Laura Haddock).
Transformers: The Last Knight is released in theaters on June 23, 2017.
The inhabitants of a distant planetoid have fought off their robot overlords and established a thriving settlement on the planetoid’s mechanized surface. Now, years later, their de facto leader, Onica, must grapple with a new complication when their isolated way of life is threatened by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.
Planetoid Praxis Written, Drawn and Lettered by: Ken Garing Published by Image Comics
Writing
Planetoid Praxis is the long-anticipated sequel to the popular 2012 miniseries Planetoid. And although I haven’t (yet) read any of the original, I found the story being told to not only be captivating but easy enough to follow for a newbie like me.
The issue opens with an excellent visual sequence of a lone figure emerging from a spaceship; it is filled with the kind of details that a story that is in a rush would not even focus on. The extended scene, which goes on for pages, sets up both atmosphere and place without using a single word of dialog or narration. In a way, it reminded me of the great opening of the Guardians of The Galaxy film. It’s a great use of visual writing that reveals the truly alien landscape. It’s paced so well that you don’t even speed through it but turn the pages slowly, letting the world being introduced pull you in.
When we finally get to some other characters, we meet a group of children that encounter our mysterious figure. Through a series of events involving the kids and their extended family, we learn that the loner we saw at the beginning is an alien of the Ona-Mao, who are both hated and feared throughout the galaxy for having committed acts of genocide. But is THIS particular Ona-Man friend or foe? That’s the question at hand. Now we are given details through both dialog and flashback, and a true story begins to take form. A story with questions.
Garing is handling some heavy topics here, which is the goal of all great sci-fi. He paints even the main characters in shades of gray and doesn’t give easy sides to pick on. Planetoid Praxis is setting up what could be a very relevant story for our times
Art
The art is without a doubt amazing. Filled with detail and intricacies, all handled with the kind of delicate linework you find in the very best of Moebius and Metal Hurlant. The drawings, layout, and designs indeed have a very welcome European comics feel.
Garing is able to draw both expressive faces (alien and human) but also creates some breathtaking landscapes, ships, and technology. He is also a master at “pulling back the camera” and giving us some widescreen panels that are straight out of something like Ridley Scott’s Alien. In fact, H.R. Giger is another artist this comic brings to mind.
Conclusion
You can add Planetoid Praxis to the growing list of great sci-fi comics being done today. I am definitely going back to read the first Planetoid volume so I can be caught up for what is obviously going to be one fantastic book to read and pour over. I suggest you do the same.
We’ve been celebrating Image Comics‘ 25th anniversary all this week by breaking down the company’s all-time best 25 series. With so much diversity in its catalog, Image truly has comics for everyone. Check them out for yourself! And leave some of your own favorites in the comments.
Feel free to check out the rest of the parts below if you missed them,
Writer and Artist Andrew MacLean unleashes the wonder of Norgal a.k.a. The Head Lopper on the universe in grand style. It’s classic high fantasy with a twist as it has a wicked sense of humor that makes this comic special. Put it like this, Norgal’s traveling companion is the head of Agatha Blue Witch, when a head is your companion, it can only get weirder from there. MacLean keeps it weird though and manages to keep you hooked with each issue. The art is fantastic throughout and as the story develops, you can’t help but adore this new realm of adventure. It’s high fantasy with a dash of wicked comedy, Head Lopper is a tale not to be missed.
Marvel has found their Runaways roster, at last, six young actors have been chosen for the Hulu series, according to Newsarama.
“I’m so excited for fans of the comic to watch this perfect cast of amazing actors, all of whom embody the spirit of their characters more than I ever could have imagined,” said series creator Bryan K. Vaughn.
The Runaways is about a group of teenagers who can barely tolerate each other but must unite against a common foe, their parents.
Gossip Girl creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will be the series’ executive producers. Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory of Marvel TV will also produce. The show is a co-production between Hulu and ABC Signature Studios.
Planetoid Praxis