Preacher: A Running Diary of Episode 1

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May 24, 2016

I have a confession to make, which seems like a fitting way to start a review about a show called Preacher, I know absolutely nothing about it. I mean zero. Until the news broke last year that Seth Rogen and his pal Evan Goldberg were making a television adaptation for AMC, I’d never heard of Preacher.

But I was intrigued for three reasons:

I love The Walking Dead (TWD), Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul so every AMC show gets the benefit of the doubt to begin with as far as I’m concerned.
I really like the first half of This is the End, the Rogen/Goldberg collaboration dealing with God and religion in a humorous way, so I thought they might do a good job with this.
Finally—I thought there’s a good chance that everyone else reviewing this will compare it to the comic the way people often compare TWD or Game of Thrones to the source material. I won’t have anything to compare it too, so I’ll be a completely fresh set of eyes.

To that end—I tried to stay away from any pre-show build up. I avoided any spoilers or interviews that might give too much away. I wanted a clean slate as I kept a running diary while watching the pilot episode. So here we go…

The Preacher Diary

This space scene (complete with meteor) looks like it should be the open to Lost in Space not Preacher. This is an interesting start.
Cut to a priest in Africa giving an impassioned sermon when he’s hit by the aforementioned meteor. He’s now apparently possessed. Maybe he’s the villain?
Maybe not, he just exploded all over his congregation. This is what I would call a tone-setter.
Now we get another preacher in black and white, cut to Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) waking up. For a preacher he seems to have a lot of scars on his back. You get the feeling he’s hung over.
Oh he is, there’s the alcohol to prove it.
Ass and holes. Funny sign.
So he sucks at giving sermons. Not exactly inspiring as a preacher.
This young boy fills in the back story by letting us in on Jesse’s past of doing bad things asking the Preacher to hurt his dad. For Jesse’s part he says he doesn’t do those things anymore. Sure he doesn’t.
Don’t try to shove your PC Prairie Dog down this town’s throat!
The sheriff is more concerned about the mascot than the preacher who’s obviously about to drink and drive. OK.
Cut to… The Wolf of Wall Street? A bunch of suits (bachelor party maybe) doing lots of drugs and drinking on a plane, listening to a pretty amazing story from this Irish guy, who’s name tag says Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun).
Uh oh… Cassidy finds a bible in the bathroom with weird writing. His level of concern means either everyone on the plane is a devil worshiper or he’s some kind of demon.
It’s Kill Bill on a plane! Where did all the weapons come from? You’d have thought the ax sitting with the magazines would have been pretty noticeable.
The old half bottle stuck in someone’s chest and used to drain them of blood trick. Seen it a million times. (OK, I’ve never seen that). Between that and the neck bite I assume Cassidy’s a vampire?
Cassidy grabs an umbrella before jumping out of the plane. Please let him be some kind of messed up Mary Poppins.
Looks like some guys are investigating the priest explosion from the top of the show. Gonna be a tough autopsy.
Preacher now checking on a guy on the couch. Oh, there’s a woman in the bathroom and Jesse ain’t having it. Afraid to be tempted by the flesh perhaps?
Flashback!
Damn, this lady just killed a man with a cob of corn. And then offered to do arts and crafts with the witnesses who also happen to be small children.
Oh I just realized that Raina (Ruth Negga)! I loved her on Agents of Shield.
My arts and crafts projects were never that fun. Who knew you could make a bazooka from some empty cans.
Raina (now called Tulip) has some history with Jesse. She wants him to do a job. He says no.
Guess that umbrella didn’t help Cassidy keep his intestines on the inside.
Jesse meets with the abused wife. At the start of the scene I didn’t see it coming, but as they went on I just knew the wife was going to say she and hubby were into Fifty Shades kind of stuff.
Now to Russia…. OK. Guess another religious guy exploded there. It’s hard out there for a priest.
The young Howard Stark and Raina are parked in a dark car. “I created Captain America!” “I turned into a Porcupine that can see the future!” “Touche!”
I did know there was a character in this called “Arseface” and now I know why. This has to be a terrible role to play. Nobody will recognize this guy without the makeup.
Anyway—this kid seems to have some real guilt about something.
Tom Cruise Explodes! Talk about an excellent Easter egg type thing.
A vampire and a preacher are in a bar…
Do dive bars still have payphones?
Finally—I think we’re going to see what the Preacher is all about as abusive husband/Civil War Reenactor isn’t pleased with him.
Preacher is putting the hurt on these confederate soldiers. Oh snap… I mean he literally snapped that dude’s arm right through the skin. Ouch.
Preacher tells the woman who clearly has a thing for him he’s leaving, so she breaks her kids’ iPad?!?! That’s messed up.
Are you there God, it’s me Preacher?
Oh wait, there is something there. Watch out that thing killed TOM CRUISE!
Seems the mystery blob didn’t killed Jesse… but turned him into Kilgrave?
Seems he’s also more dedicated to the church, but the way he’s saying it is sort of creeping me out.
Is this guy going to literally open his heart?
Yes he is.
Does this mean Jesse is the bad guy? My guess is they explore the moral dilemma of how the power of persuasion. If nothing else, he’ll have to watch what he says or at least how he says it.
Looking forward to the next episode. I have to wait two weeks?!?!

Final Thoughts

It’s not at The Walking Dead‘s level, but TWD wasn’t at TWD’s level until mid-season three so there’s plenty of time. It’s also much lighter in terms of tone than TWD so I don’t feel depressed after watching it. The cast is really good and after one episode I’m certainly curious where it’s going from here. I’m in.

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Review: ‘Jem and The Holograms’ #15: Tech Support

By

Anthony Wendel

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May 24, 2016

DARK JEM part 5 of 5!
Silica’s band The Sickness take over the Misfits’ Tour—and the Holograms have to work with the Misfits to stop her! And just as things look hopeless, an unexpected guest shows up in appropriately dramatic fashion to help save the day… or maybe bask in their destruction!

Between Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #53 and Jem and The Holograms #15, there is a lot of teams preparing for battle against strong opponents this month. It weird though if you think about it as the Transformer comic went with the more emotional character moments while Jem and The Holograms has Tech Rat return and bring some very interesting technological dialogue. You’d think those would be the other way around. Either way, both issues are fantastic.

The return of Tech Rat really helps this issue a lot. Writer Kelly Thompson is Is able to give some interesting bits of dialogue to explain how Silica is able to mind control those who listens to her music. There also is a page with Jerrica remembering her past where Thompson is able to truly capture an awkward parent conversation.

It’s also shown, The sickness (Silica’s band) isn’t just holograms but are real people who are being corrupted by her. Given she should be able to use holograms just like Synergy, it was hard to tell what her band was in the previous issue. As the Holograms and Misfits find a way to deal with Silica, she is free to roam around and control her minions as she sees fit. Makes you feel bad for the poor band members she has under her control.

The art is fantastic as ever. Sophie Campbell’s art and M. Victoria Robado’s color work haven’t diminished their quality from previous issues. The panels where Silica is present are truly memorable thanks to the dark and edgy colors used. The team also employs lighter colors when a flashback is happening so people are able to recognize it’s a dream sequence. With a series where life like holograms can appear any moment, a way to distinguish reality and fantasy is very helpful.

With a late arrival to the issue, it looks like the Misfits and the Holograms will be ready for a showdown against Silica. Issues like this leave the creators with a promise of something big to happen in the next issue. Now all the team has to do is deliver a battle which really resonates with the readers. I’m sure the fans will be crossing their fingers for the conclusion to be truly epic.

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Honest Trailers tackles X-Men: the Animated Series

By

Gary Moloney

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May 24, 2016

Ahead of the release of X-Men: Apocalypse, the crew over at Screen Junkies the seminal X-Men: the Animated Series an Honest Trailer. This show over twenty years remains one of the greatest superhero cartoons ever made, even if the censors prevented Wolverine from truly being able to let loose. So if you are a child of the 90s, why not check it out.

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Review: Scooby Apocalypse #1 “Taking the Scooby Snack”

By

Gary Moloney

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May 24, 2016

Comics are weird. So often we forget the joy that comes with the bizarre nature of the medium. The joy that such oddities bring is why we love this form. Yet, it also is a barrier to entry for many. Sometimes, however, we get wonderfully wacky creations like Scooby Apocalypse ; a dystopian take on everyone’s favourite crime-solving gang and their dumb dog. Having already teamed up with Vincent Price, encountered extraterrestrial life and engaged in a monster derby, the only logical place to take Scooby and Mystery Inc. was the end of days itself.

Scooby Apocalypse follows books like Afterlife with Archie and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in putting classic cartoon/comic characters, in scenarios that starkly contrast their light-hearted origins. The conceit here is that each character, while retaining their core characteristics, is radically re-invented from their iconic counterparts. Scooby, for example, is presented as a genetically engineered experiment (loving branded subject 24602) as a way of explaining his limited intelligence and speech ability. Velma is the one character who differs substantially from her original form as the quirky, nerdy sleuth is turned into a near nihilistic Oppenheimer; scared of her own creations. There is a limit to when concept encroaches on character and this book tethers on the edges of style over substance.

One is left wondering if the story itself would have been better served if the classic version of the gang faced the end of the world. This inaugural issue marks the first time that these versions of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby meet. Instead, we are presented with facsimiles of the iconic characters who we have little relation with. Continuity may not have been one of the franchise’s strong suits, but it would give a weight to the series that it currently lacks.

There is a lot of exposition in this issue, in order to explain how the ~~Umbrella Corporation~~ Complex created a nano-tech virus that turned humanity into Scooby’s rogue gallery of monsters. This style of information dumping isn’t something that the Scooby Doo franchise has ever shed away from. Indeed, the series is premised on characters explaining another’s motivations in a master-class of show don’t tell. Having Velma becoming self-aware of her tendency to monologue to herself, is in many ways, a loving tip of the hat to continuity, but it is also a clear of example of the writers trying to be a bit too clever for their own good. The dialogue, therefore, ranges from clunky world-building to compelling Whedon-esque character moments which is a shame because it truly excels when it gives the gang breathing space to allow their personalities to manifest. It is in those quiet moments that we remember why these characters have endured for nearly 50 years.

Howard Porter’S interior artwork presents our heroes in a photo-realistic style that ground them in a semblance of reality. It does so to great effect, even if the sight of Shaggy as a modern-day hipster rather than his more traditional beatnik is quite jarring. Meanwhile, Scooby manages to retain his cartoonish charm even with his revised mad science origins. This style, much like Afterlife with Archie, serves to distinguish this iteration of its predecessors. Rather than present itself as cynical “not your father’s Scooby Doo”, the art serves to highlight the cruelty of this new world and the challenges that Mystery Inc. will face. Rather than the cheap, stock-footage cartoons of the past, they are real flesh and blood characters. For the first time, they are as fragile and mortal as the rest of us, something that not even the live-action movies were able to achieve. For the initiated, eagle-eyed Hanna-Barbara fans may also catch references to Dyno-Mutt among others in the backgrounds, though as the title suggests they may not be long for this world.

If it feels like Scooby Apocalypse was a book designed by committee then you aren’t far off the mark. Although Jim Lee is credited with the initial concept, Keith Griffin handled the plot and breakdowns while J.M. DeMatteis handled the dialogue. The term “too many cooks” springs to mind. The result is as mixed a bag as one might expect which makes this quite a difficult comic to review. I am slow to call this a bad comic by any means because when it focuses on these characters and their relationships, it does to tremendous success. It certainly suffers from a sever case of “set-up syndrome” where the weight of establishing it’s own concept overpowers the more personal tale it wants to tell. There is potential here for a compelling narrative about a group of meddling-kids way in over their heads. It longs to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but often forgets that it was the characters and not the concept that made that series work. This has the bones of the classic Scooby Doo underdog story and the talent to execute it, but they need to return to first principles. The creative team has a way to go if they want to earn themselves a Scooby Snack.

A review copy was kindly provided by the publisher; DC Comics.

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Geoff Johns Says He Will Buy Back Rebirth #1 If Fans Are Let Down

By

Seth Frederiksen

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May 24, 2016

With DC Rebirth around the corner, Geoff Johns, DC’s CCO and writer of the upcoming mini-series, has stated that he will personally buy back any copies from fans disappointed with the story.

This news came from comicbook.com, in an interview with the longstanding writer. Johns stated in the interview, “If anyone wants to check out comics, wants to check out DC Universe Rebirth #1 and doesn’t like it, they can mail [the comicbook] to Warner Bros., to me, and I will send them a check, I literally will, for both postage and for the book. I will buy all these books back because I believe in this issue a lot. I think it’ll do very well. I hope it does well. But I seriously will; I’ll buy back this book.”

This will also be Geoff Johns’s last writing in the comic book as his recent promotion to co-heading DC’s film division, as well as running the television projects already on the air, will take too much time to attend to the writing of several comic book franchises. However, Johns is more than excited for this storyline, stating that this would help bring back the sense of hope and optimism missing from the comics following the New 52 introduction. This is also something he is hoping to fix in the DCEU as soon as possible.

Source: comicbook.com

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Review: ‘Ghostbusters International’ #5: The Battle of the Louvre

By

Anthony Wendel

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May 24, 2016

“VIVA LA LOUVRE.” There’s no such thing as a coincidence, and the open ectoplasmic hostility at the Louvre go a long way towards proving that point. Can the Ghostbusters fend off a spectral assault without damaging one of the greatest art depositories in the known world? Um… can we get back to you on that?

As the team works to find out what is happening at the Louvre, Egon is working to figure out what is going on with the weird markings they keep running into. He stumbles on a lead to a much more powerful puppet master at work. Its nice the plot is finally starting to move a bit. Sure it hard to follow up the last storyline where the Ghostbusters ended up losing the firehouse but this new series really seems to be taking its time with doing anything major with any of the characters. It’s was starting to feel like the purpose of the new book was just to be able to fight ghosts at different European landmarks. Writer Erik Burnham does seem to know where he’s going with the story but just seems to be taking a while to get there.

The art is striking at the right times. The ghost they fight at the Louvre looks incredible menacing and seems be a homage to the Colossal Titan from Attack on Titan. The ghost causes all the different exhibits to come to life which is very creepy to see in motion. Dan Schoening’s art and Luis Antonio Delgado on colors really is a winning combination.

Though they are finally starting to make some connections to the mysterious symbols they keep finding, the new series is moving slower than previous ones. Hopefully the team is leading the readers to a bigger destination. Still, the book remains incredible entertaining filled with the humor and action fans have come to expect. Even if this turns out to be a more average Ghostbusters’ story, it will still be a very entertaining one.

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Rumor: Robert Downey Jr. Wants Mel Gibson to Direct ‘Iron Man 4’

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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May 24, 2016

There’s something unbelievable going on in Tinseltown: it’s a very quiet, slow-burning, Mel Gibson comeback. After popping up in Cannes this month to promote his revenge flick Blood Father (sounds excruciating), and making a handful of public appearances over the last year at premieres (namely the Mad Max: Fury Road premiere last year), the volatile and probably mentally unstable Gibson’s name is beginning to just sort of creep back into the pop culture news stream. I’m calling it now, the guy will be back on a regular basis before long.

Shane Black has been a busy man too, making the rounds to promote The Nice Guys – which, go see it please – and last week at Uproxx he made a throwaway comment about Robert Downey Jr. himself possibly wanting Mel Gibson to direct Iron Man 4, which RDJ has said he’s on board to make. It was a blip in an extensive interview, but still worth noting:

*Would you do another Iron Man? Downey seems to have changed his position and is open to another.

I think he wants Mel Gibson to direct it.

*Really? Downey has been supportive of Gibson.

And for good reason. Mel was great to him. Mel’s been really nice to a lot of people, including me. I’ll go on record saying I don’t believe anyone should be held accountable in any way for something they say while they are drunk. It’s not who they are. I know this because I’ve said horrible things to people and made them feel bad. And it wasn’t who I was, I was just drunk. Mel’s a great guy and I understand his new directing project is actually quite interesting. So, whatever. If you say something sober it’s one thing. If you’re drunk, you’re going to deliberately be belligerent just to piss people off. You know the effect you’re having and you don’t care. Yeah, one of these days, maybe Downey will do another one. I’d love to work with Robert again.

Again, just a throwaway line, but rumor-worthy and probably never going to happen. Handing a nutcase like Mel Gibson the keys to one of Disney’s biggest franchises in a string of insurmountably dominant franchise films would be totally insane. And yeah, Black says don’t blame the guy because he was drunk and people say bad shit when their drunk, but you can’t convince me those insane rants we’ve heard either first or secondhand from Gibson aren’t his true feelings on some very touchy issues.

Gibson is anti-semitic and definitely not the greatest guy, no matter how his previous transgressions are spun as alcoholism run amok. I’m sure he’s a great guy to his friends, and he and RDJ have probably been close for a while – they did star in Air America ages ago and they probably shared some late nights together before RDJ got his act together. But let’s just tap the brakes on Gibson returning to the director’s chair for an Iron Man movie, of all things.

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Review: ‘Scooby Apocalypse’ #1: Bland Armageddon

By

Anthony Wendel

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May 24, 2016

Those meddling kids—Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their dog, Scooby-Doo—get more ghost-debunking than they bargained for when faced with a fundamental change in their world. The apocalypse has happened. Old rules about logic no longer apply. The creatures of the night are among us, and the crew of the Magical Mystery Machine has to fight to survive—because in the apocalyptic badlands of the near-future, the horrors are real!This new monthly series takes Scooby and the gang to a whole new level and features character designs by comics superstar Jim Lee!

The second installment of DC Comics’ attempt to re-imagine Hanna Barbara characters tries to add a darker spin on those meddling kids. Of all three of the series announced this was the one which resonated with the fan base because of the wall concepts and character designs. Now, after all is said and done, a new cry will ring aloud as people read the issue and collectively proclaim: “Meh”.

Let’s ignore the whole hatred people had with the idea of “Shaggy is a hipster using terms like “Sheeple,”” argument and focus on what else this series has to offer. The issue is filled with exposition to explain this new world Scooby and the crew will be exploring. It can be easily summed up as Velma is working in a facility which did wild experiment including engineering Scooby (which is why he can talk) and the world will be full of monsters thanks to nanotechnology they release by the end of the issue. There! The premise is explained in one sentence instead of the eight pages of panels it takes Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis (who is actually credited as “Dialog and More Dialog”) to accomplish. They properly could have gone with a little less dialogue and come out alright and simplify it. It’s a series with a talking dog. There really isn’t a need for extensive explanations of how it all came to be. Readers are perfectly okay with notions like “Evil Research Facility” to explain what happened.. There is a small back up story about Shaggy’s first day at the facility and why him and Scooby are so close which is nice. Good to know as much as things change, Shaggy and Scooby will always be the best of friends.

Howard Porter’s art is serviceable but a bit odd. Every character is drawn with shiny lips like they coated them with lip gloss. This wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t in every single panel. There’s a lot of good detail work in the wider shots but the issue is so full of panels with talking heads it’s hard not to notice this odd choice with character designs.

So there it is. The most wild and off the wall attempt to reinvent Scooby Doo in a while and it sadly comes off as bland. Maybe in the following issues with the plot established there will be more intrigue but for now there doesn’t seem to be much substance here.

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ComiXology Announces New Subscription Model

By

Kaitlyn Booth

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May 24, 2016

ComiXology, an Amazon.com subsidiary, announced today that they are joining the ranks of Marvel and unveiled a new subscription plan called comiXology Unlimited. “We’re in a new golden age of storytelling with more incredible comics, graphic novels and manga than ever before,” said comiXology’s CEO and Co-Founder David Steinberger. “ComiXology Unlimited is fantastic portal to tons of great comics at a ridiculously great price. Get in there and start exploring.” They are giving their users the chance to freely read thousands of comics, graphic novels, and manga.

The service features books from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Oni Press, Valiant Entertainment, Archie Comics, Fantagraphics Books, Humanoids, Action Lab Entertainment, Aspen Comics, Zenescope Entertainment and more. The features include:

Unlimited reading on any device including web, mobile, and tablet
Exceptional Content that includes Eisner Award-Winning Comics
Free one-month trial

“You may have heard of Love and Rockets, Krazy Catand Ignatz, or Lumberjanes – but had no idea where to start reading or what collection to buy. Now you can simply start reading all these great titles today,” said John D. Roberts, comiXology Co-Founder. “ComiXology is changing the game again. First, we ignited digital via our Guided View reading technology. Now, with comiXology Unlimited, everyone can easily explore the expansive world of comics.”

ComiXology Unlimited debuts in the USA today and will open to other regions soon. Start your one-month free trial at https://www.comixology.com/unlimited.

Quotes are taken from a press releases provided by ComiXology.

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New International Poster For ‘Star Trek Beyond’

By

Kaitlyn Booth

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May 24, 2016

The first trailer for Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond was not well received but it looks like the second trailer is much more promising. They have released a new international poster that is very bright. We’re seeing a lot of Sofia Boutella’s (Kingsman: The Secret Service) character Jaylah so perhaps this Trek movie will do better by its female characters than previous installments. If nothing else it’s a good looking poster.

Are you excited for Star Trek Beyond? Let us know in the comments.

Star Trek Beyond is directed by Justin Lin and stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, and Simon Pegg. it comes out July 22, 2016.

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