Edgar Wright and Johnny Depp are in early negotiations with 20th Century Fox to collaborate in a Neil Gaiman’s children’s book adaptation as part of a package deal.
Their pitch consists in a live-action and animation hybrid film, adapted by screenwriter Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) from Neil Gaiman’s New York Times bestseller Fortunately, the Milk. The story, told from a boy’s point of view, is about the imaginative adventures a father tells his children about his trip to get milk that morning before breakfast, while his wife is away on business.
“I bought the milk,” said my father. “I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: t h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road.”
“Hullo,” I said to myself. “That’s not something you see every day. And then something odd happened.”
Johnny Depp, who can be seen currently in theaters starring in Black Mass, will also star in this new project and produce through his company Infinitum Nihil, along with Zareh Nalbandian, of the awarded animation and visual effects studio Animal Logic Entertainment (The Lego Movie, Happy Feet).
Edgar Wright is in pre-production for Baby Driver with Ansel Elgort, Lily James, John Hamm and Jamie Foxx. Depp has in post-production the Alice in Wonderland sequel, this time directed by James Robin (The Muppets), Alice Through the Looking Glass and the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean titled Dead Men Tell No Tales, to be released in 2017.
Welcome to Geekflix, your monthly update of what’s coming to Netflix next month. Sadly it’s slim pickings next months for fans of pop culture but we are getting a special treat at the end of the month. So at least we have that to look forward too.
1. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (November 1)
“Who lives in a pineapple under the seas?” While episodes of the show can be hit or miss, this movie, thanks to an incredibly hilarious appearance by David Hasselhoff is entertaining enough even for the most closeted of Spongebob fans.
2. Black Butler Season 3 (November 18)
Every fangirl’s favorite rich boy with a demon butler is back to enter into the Book of Circus and Book of Murder arcs of the series. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy.
3. Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu: Season 3 (November 20)
For all the Lego fans out there, another season of the popular Ninjago series is coming. Watch as the series takes a more futuristic turn, and the team works to save Sensei Wu from the new villain.
4. Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Season 1 (November 20)
The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here. The next installment of the Netflix exclusive series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jessica Jones is a woman with super powers who takes as a private investigator. This one will definitely be essential viewing.
5. Ultimate Spiderman: Season 3 (November 20)
The third season of the new Spiderman cartoon has our favorite wall crawler teaming up with Ant-Man, Clock and Dagger, and… a crossover with Jessie? Still should be entertaining.
The episode starts with Kimito finding out his parents are living sweet off the money they got for him becoming the ‘Commoner Sample.’ From there he is finding it rough being the only guy in the school. His terrible day is only intensified when he comes across a girl who is so engrossed in her work she strips off her clothes. Luckily it’s more for shock factor then fanservice that leads to a ‘pervert’ joke as Aika walks in on the two of them. Which is good because they say she is 14 years old but looks 6. Hakua, a young genius who gets lost in a trance and begins scribbling physics equations on any surface she can find. She quickly forms a bond with Kimito, which comes off more like a “sweet brother and sister” bond than the sexual one Anime has been pushing a lot lately. It’s a bit refreshing not to have the Big Brother complex character.
Next, the show introduces a katana carrying, Samurai girl named Karen, who thanks to a misunderstanding challenges Kimito to a duel. She begins by cutting a group girls and Kimito down to their underwear. As the fight continues, Karen cuts off Kimito’s underwear. If it’s not evident, she’s not good at fighting. As she accidently cuts off her uniform. Feeling defeated she bows to Kimito and calls him her master. Karen and Hakua, start hanging around Kimito’s room, and Hakua even supplies Aika with a box of cell phones for her latest plan to become more popular.
More hilarity ensues thanks to the new cast additions. This show still won’t be on anyone’s list for the greatest anime of the year or even the season for that matter. Still, it’s a fun harem show and is entertaining to watch. For those who follow the genre, though, it may be a dream come true.
Shomin Sample currently simulcasts streaming on Funimation.
The third episode! Now that Sakurako-san has had two episodes to settle down and get comfortable, it’s time for the plot to really kick in, this is where the rubber meets the road, where Sakurako-san shows its true colors. And how did the show fare??? Not well.
Spoilers
Before we get to the bad, let’s cover what this show did right. First of all due to finals and all, school shouldn’t have much of a presence on Sakurako-san. Instead the focus will be Sakurako and her bone obsession. This isn’t too much of a surprise, but it’s a nice confirmation.
Second, the show still looks gorgeous. The backgrounds are detailed, motion is mostly fluid, and the character designs are fantastic. The only issue the visuals have is the over reliance on CG for the bones, especially when some skeletons aren’t CG and they look a million times nicer.
Now on to the bad stuff, first I’ll cover all of the little nitpicks, of which there are many, I had to filter out many others, then to the bigger issues.
One of the smaller things that really bugged me was the sexual tension when Shoutaro and Sakurako are in the cave. This was completely unnecessary, seemed out of character, and detracts from the relationship Shoutaro and Sakurako currently have. If they never touched it again after this it wouldn’t be too bad. Just an odd moment, but it seems to hint at a romance developing later in the series. This would completely destroy the chemistry Shoutaro and Sakurako have together. One of the best elements of any Watson-Sherlock relationship is the lack of romantic elements, it’s best when the two are friends, or have a mentor-type relationship.
When Shoutaro and Kougami were having cake at the cafe, Kougami says “You found my Grandma’s bones.” This is a really weird and stilted way of saying this. It would have been much more natural to say, “You found my Grandma’s body.” Or “You found my Grandma’s corpse.” It’s possible this is a translation quirk, but I think it’s more likely that Sakurako-san is just as obsessed with bones as Sakurako herself.
When asked, Shoutaro described his relationship with Sakurako as a ‘guardian,’ which, apparently, is him. The problem with this is that Shoutaro has not acted like a guardian at all. He doesn’t take care of her at her house, that’s the old woman’s job, he doesn’t determine what they’re agenda is, Shoutaro is not the one with power in their relationship. Shoutaro is actually just along of the ride. I guess a better word to describe their relationship would be ‘freeloader,’ Shoutaro, of course.
Kougami is really, really, overly dramatic. The show as it’s moments (such as the “It’s your duty to live, as one so young.”) But to the level that Kougami reacts to everything this episode in particular. Felt very… anime. That’s not a bad thing, some shows, such as Anohana, Clannad, and Shigatsu, also have this over-the-top drama. But so far Sakurako-san doesn’t have that style of drama, so Kougami as a whole feels kind of out-of-place.
This episode has confirmed that the bone parade scene is here to stay, and probably will show itself every episode. It’s pretty annoying. There is way to much CGI, and it feels empty. The purpose of the scene is obviously to get us excited about what’s about to come, Sakurako’s observations and clues to solve the mystery. The problem is we don’t care. The bone parade happens right after the body is found, Sakurako-san fails to get us invested in the mystery. Because of this, the bone parade scene lacks any of the excitement that it’s supposed to.
Before I move on to the big, troubling issue, I would like to clarify a mistake I made last week. In the article for the second episode of Sakurako-san, I mentioned the episode having a fresh corpse, thus adding to the stakes, unlike the first episode, however the first episode did have a murder to solve. The couple killed and tossed into the ocean. While this is an error on my part, it doesn’t bode well for the show if I’ve forgotten the meat of the episode less than a week later.
As for the big issue Sakurako-san has, it’s beginning to feel unrealistic. This is due to two majors flaws with the writing. One, Sakurako’s observations often make no sense. First she is a true Sherlock with her observations, seemingly knowledgeable in all fields, even though she’s only obsessed with bones. The show has never painted her as anything other than a bone fanatic, so how does Sakurako-san know so much about sailor knots?
That’s easy to answer, she doesn’t. In the first episode, Sakurako made an observation claiming that due to they way to knot was oriented it would be impossible for the male to have tied it with his dominant right hand from his position. However, this isn’t true. The knot can be tied to that orientation from that position, you just have to tie it a little differently. And based on the lack of background known about the male it’s impossible to know whether he would have the knowledge to tie it this way, if at all. To sum up, Sakurako’s knowledge is far beyond what she has been known to… know, and her observations are really just bogus delivered with lots of confidence.
Also, the ‘Soutaro’ plot line I had mentioned last week has shown up this week as well! But, Soutaro was just Sakurako’s little brother. It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing. The cliché set up of this plot line combined with the shows willingness to shove any emotion there under the rug does not bring promise.
A proper reaction to this episode
To sum up, Sakurako-san is a gorgeous and flawed show. It has it’s good aspects, but the negatives far out weight them. Ultimately, Sakurako-san isn’t bad enough to drop, at least not yet, but if nothing worthwhile comes out of this by episode five, I’m done.
AMC Network will release the trailer to Preacher on Sunday, November 1, during the 90-minute episode of The Walking Dead, according to Bloody Disgusting.
AMC’s Preacher is an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, and published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint.
Preacher is one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time, the story of a man of God in a small Texas town who sets out to avenge the decimation of his hometown by supernatural forces.
The plot of the show revolves around Jesse Custer, a conflicted preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a powerful creature that has escaped from heaven. Along with his ex-gal, Tulip, and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to find God.
AMC’s Preacher stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, Joseph Gilgun as Jesse’s Irish vampire best friend Cassidy, Ruth Negga as Jesse’s girlfriend Tulip O’Hare, Ian Colletti as Arseface, and W. Earl Brown as Arseface’s father Sheriff Hugo Root. There is no firm date for when Preacher will hit the airwaves, but mid-2016 looks to be the target.
Picked up for a full season. Things are Heatin’ up in Texas. Who’s ready for some #Preacher ? Prepare yourselves, it’s gonna get crazy.
Though it has the misfortune of following in the footsteps of two other feature films released in recent years centered around the brilliant and complicated life of the man whose name the film shares, Steve Jobs is without question the most innovative and impactful of the three. With its elegant structure and willingness to separate itself from historical accuracy in order to focus on distilling character essence, the film succeeds where its predecessors failed in terms of rendering a portrait of the man and his relationships with those closest to him that is intimate, compelling, and most of all substantive. It’s as though by getting away from trying to re-create places and events in a semi-accurate way, Steve Jobs gets audiences closer than they’ve ever been to the true essence of the man behind the pop culture superstar. What audiences experience may not be true in the sense of how it actually happened, but it feels true in terms of the personas and emotions involved.
Narratively built around three key events in Jobs’s career both within and outside of Apple — the product launches of the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT cube computer in 1988, and the iMac in 1998 — the film focuses on Jobs (played by Michael Fassbender) as he interacts with and/or finds himself confronted by a specific group of people whose lives and career paths orbited his. Almost always by his side is Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), originally the marketing director for the Macintosh, who balances managing the events themselves with managing Jobs and his specific concerns and priorities as he prepares to take the stage. Then there’s Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg, Pawn Sacrifice), a member of Jobs’s original Mac team who unfortunately finds himself bearing the brunt of his boss’s ire as a function critical to Jobs’s idea for the Mac’s consumer appeal doesn’t want to work less than an hour before showtime. There’s also Jobs’s one-time closest friend and collaborator, Steve “Woz” Wozniak (Seth Rogen), with whom he co-founded Apple and whose design and vision for the Apple II led to years of financial success for the company, and John Scully (Jeff Daniels), the former Pepsi CEO who Jobs lured away from the “cola wars” in order to perform the same function for Apple and allow Jobs to focus on design and development. And finally, there’s Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice), Jobs’s former girlfriend who insists that her daughter Lisa (played at age 5 by Mackenzie Moss, age 9 by Ripley Sobo, and age 19 by Perla Haney-Jardine) is also Jobs’s daughter, a claim he vehemently denies both publicly and privately.
Each in their turn — Hoffman, Hertzfeld, Woz, Scully, Chrisann, and Lisa — get solo time with Jobs during the forty minutes immediately prior to each of the product launches. Each in their turn, they attempt to bargain and reason with Jobs and are subjected to his exacting demands, his long memory for slights and grudges, his patent denial of ever being wrong about anything, and other expressions of the narcissism that’s become as much a part of our collective cultural memory of the real Steve Jobs as is his visionary genius. Jobs never lets anyone forget that he really is the smartest man in any room, and just how on board each of the characters is with that particular concept in a given moment determines how he treats them in that moment. See things his way (which almost no one ever does), and he’s warm and appreciative. See things differently? Yeah, have fun with that conversation.
What makes Steve Jobs a must-see film starts and ends with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Once again, the writer responsible for such cerebral, dialogue-driven dramas as The Social Network, Moneyball, and many, many years ago A Few Good Men delivers a film that deliberately has the dynamic sound and rhythm of a stage play. The rigid three act structure, the symmetry of each act’s real-time progression (each is approximately 40 minutes, to match the conceit in the film that the events take place 40 minutes before the start of the launches), the ways in which scenes move forward as characters around Jobs enter and exit, all contribute to the experience feeling smaller, more intimate and immediate, than a more conventional film might.
Complementing Sorkin’s efforts here is the vision of Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. In addition to his effective staging and use of the locations chosen for the backdrops of each act, Boyle chooses to film each of the three acts in different film stock, altering the physical, visual look of the film as it transitions from act to act to reflect the movement forward in time and the evolution of technology. It’s these artistic flourishes — Sorkin’s sense of symmetry and Boyle’s visual aesthetic — that make Steve Jobs the film very much like a product Jobs the man might have designed: in form and function both artistic and effective.
But what about the acting? It’s no overstatement to suggest that Steve Jobs might succeed come Oscar season in landing one or even two nominations in each of the primary acting categories. Much will be made of Michael Fassbender’s effort at portraying Jobs, and every ounce of praise will be well-deserved, as his is a commanding performance. But Fassbender is an actor from whom commanding performances have come to be expected, particularly in character-driven dramatic roles, and thus his fine efforts here may not impress audiences as much as they should simply because they already know he’s that good.
In comparison, the performer who may really blow people away with his work here is Seth Rogen. The stoner persona Rogen so often inhabits in the films that made him a star is completely camouflaged behind a bushier beard, large eyeglasses and slumped shoulders as the actor plays the awkward but earnest foil to Fassbender’s charismatic but often inscrutable and duplicitous Jobs. Jeff Daniels also turns in tremendous work here as he brings to life John Scully, and Kate Winslet is every bit as good as you might expect her to be given the quality of this material. Everyone is good here, and Fassbender’s work with them makes them exceptional. But it’s Rogen’s Woz that audiences will most likely find themselves cheering for every time he verbally spars on Jobs, and that’s a credit to just how strong Rogen’s work here truly is.
All that said, it’s important to note that speaking in terms of plot and plot development, there isn’t much of one in Steve Jobs aside from witnessing how Jobs as a person evolves to face personal challenges he wasn’t expecting to face in the course of fomenting the technological revolution that he truly believed only he was capable of leading. Essentially, it’s a character sketch; perhaps one of the most elaborately conceived and entertainingly executed character sketches in modern film, but nonetheless, still a character sketch. That aspect of the film alone may prove a turn-off to those going in hoping for a more conventional narrative, but the fact that it’s not constructed to be a crowd-pleaser shouldn’t be considered a flaw. After all, the last cinematic effort at bringing Steve Jobs to life on the big-screen, 2013’s Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, was conceived and executed as a conventional biopic, and people didn’t like that movie, either.
So who cares if it’s “another” movie about Steve Jobs? Go see it, anyway. He was a remarkable individual, one whose character and essence is likely to inspire interpretation in yet more films and other media as time goes on and his creative legacy continues to touch our daily lives. But now, perhaps for the first time, in this film, you have an attempt to capture who and what Steve Jobs was to those around him that’s as innovative in its efforts as Jobs himself was at the work for which we remember him. For that reason alone, Steve Jobs the film deserves your attention, especially if you own or regularly use an iAnything.
Steve Jobs
Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston. Directed by Danny Boyle.
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rated R for language.
Wonder Woman is expected to start filming in November and plot details are starting to leak out.
What we know as fact is Patty Jenkins is directing from Jason Fuchs’ script, Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman, with Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Wonder Woman will be in theaters on June 23, 2017.
The rumor is that film will take place between World War I and modern day with Circe and Ares as the main villains (Heroic Hollywood).
JoBlo is reporting that Wonder Woman takes place a few months before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and that Batman will be in the film. First as an observer of the movie’s climatic battle and later to introduce himself to Diana. JoBlo also reports that the invisible jet will make an appearance in the film as well.
Wonder Woman will make her first appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on March 25, 2016.
Few characters have benefited from the New 52 like Aquaman, who under the pen of Geoff Johns and his successors has become a runaway hit, with stellar arcs like “The Others” and “Throne of Atlantis.” In the art department, Ivan Reis has earned his place as one of the premier Aqua-artists of all time. What new Aqua-fans might not know is that Aquaman has starred in many great stories before Brightest Day and Johns’ solo run on the character.
Aquaman first appeared in More Fun Comics #73, published in November 1941, in a story written by Mort Weisinger and illustrated by Paul Norris (incidentally, More Fun #73 was also the first appearance of Green Arrow!). Aquaman would go on to become a reliable back-up feature, appearing in World’s Finest Comics and Adventure Comics throughout the 40’s and 50’s. Along with his finny friends like Topo the Octopus, during this time Aquaman fought Nazis, charlatan sea wizards, and modern day pirates like his recurring foe Captain Jack Black. In this version, Aquaman gained his powers thanks to the genius of his father, an underwater explorer who discovered the secrets of Atlantis and transformed his son using that ancient knowledge.
As comics evolved throughout the 1950’s, and Golden Age continuity gave way to Silver Age innovation, Aquaman gained a new origin in Adventure Comics #260 (May 1959). This issue introduced the beginnings of modern day Aquaman, revealing his name as Arthur Curry and that he was, in fact, the son of a lighthouse keeper and the lost queen of Atlantis. Aquaman soon gained a friend in Garth, also known as Aqualad, who shared Aquaman’s powers and outsider status in Atlantean society. At this time, Aquaman’s primary creative team was Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon, who remains one of the most fondly remembered artists ever to work on the character.
Though enjoyable enough as a backup feature, Aquaman soon found himself in the big leagues, appearing on a cover for the first time in March 1960’s The Brave and the Bold #28, the first appearance of the Justice League of America. Most characters in the JLA had already undergone extensive world-building, either in the Golden Age (Batman and Wonder Woman) or in the Silver Age (Flash and Green Lantern under Julie Schwartz, Superman under Aquaman co-creator Mort Weisinger). Aquaman and Martian Manhunter were the exceptions.
To rectify this, Aquaman was finally given his first solo title, aptly named Aquaman, in 1962. Under the pen of DC editor Jack Miller, Aquaman found himself more heavily involved with Atlantis than ever before. Aquaman and Aqualad were soon joined by the water spirit Quisp, whose inter-dimensional powers aided them in their adventures. Miller’s greatest contribution, however, was undoubtedly the creation of Aquaman’s partner and future wife Mera with artist Nick Cardy. A queen from an underwater dimension, Mera had the ability to control water and make it take shapes of her choosing. In Aquaman #18, Miller’s final issue, Mera and Aquaman wed, an extraordinary move in an age when Aquaman’s fellow superheroes went through pains to keep their secret identities from their loved ones.
Writer Bob Haney followed Miller, and he and Cardy rapidly expanded Aquaman’s supporting cast, introducing characters such as Aquaman’s son Arthur Junior, the terrorist organization O.G.R.E, Aquaman’s half-brother Ocean Master, Tula (Aquagirl), Black Manta, and Aquaman’s chief advisor and friend Vulko. Through their creations and stories, Haney and Cardy added an element of familial soap opera that has been prevalent in the character’s comics ever since. Thus Aquaman entered the big leagues, and in 1967 he became the first DC superhero after Superman to star in his own animated series (also written by Haney), first in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then the following year in Aquaman.
But rough waters lay ahead for the King of the Seven Seas, and though the 60’s had been kind, ensuing decades would be not. Following his first ongoing series’ cancelation in 1971, Aquaman returned to back-up or co-feature status for most of the 1970’s, with a brief revitalization of his original solo series lasting only seven issues. From the mid-80’s on, Aquaman was victim to numerous false starts, the one exception being the controversial “harpoon-hand” period that lasted seventy-five issues during the 1990’s. It took Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis to revitalize the character, first in Brightest Day and then in their ensuing Aquaman run. But though Aquaman may have had a rocky publication history, it’s also a storied one, filled with many wondrous and heartbreaking tales and epics. Here are ten of the best.
1. The Search for Mera (Aquaman Vol. 1 #40-56, by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo)
Under the editorship of Dick Giordano, Skeates and Aparo crafted what was arguably the first great Aquaman run, with stunning covers by Nick Cardy. For two years, Skeates and Aparo deftly mixed epic adventure, political intrigue, and social relevance with a maturity heretofore unseen in Aquaman. They began with “The Search for Mera,” an eight-part story arc that followed Aquaman across sea and land in search for his wife. These issues were followed by exciting and innovative tales like “Is California Sinking?” and “The Creature That Devoured Detroit,” stories that touched upon the anxieties of the times. Aparo remains the definitive Aquaman artist for many.
2. Death of the Prince (Adventure Comics #435-437, 441-455, Aquaman Vol. 1 #57-63; by Paul Levitz, David Michelinie, Paul Kupperberg, Steve Skeates, Jim Aparo, Mike Grell, Don Newton, and others)
The most famous – and infamous – of Aquaman stories, this 1970’s story arc began in Aquaman’s backup feature in Adventure Comics and concluded with the brief revival of his first ongoing. Written primarily by Paul Levitz, David Michelinie, and Paul Kupperberg, with dynamic artwork by Aparo and others, “Death of the Prince” found Aquaman at odds with a slew of enemies in a fast-paced series of adventures that climaxed with the death of his baby son at Black Manta’s hand. Though such shocking character deaths may be commonplace in today’s comics, Aquababy’s death was as disturbing as it was surprising in 1977, and laid the groundwork for the uniquely personal enmity between Aquaman and his arch-foe.
3. Thicker Than Water (Aquaman Vol. 2 #1-4, Aquaman Special; by Neal Pozner, Craig Hamilton, and others)
This beautifully illustrated 1986 four-issue miniseries by Neal Pozner and Craig Hamilton introduced Aquaman to the world of ancient Atlantean magic and provided him with a fresh new – though short-lived – costume. Pozner and Hamilton tied the history of Aquaman’s present-day Atlantis to the ancient Atlantis of Arion, the Atlantean sorcerer-hero who starred in his own solo series throughout the 80’s. The miniseries explored the unhealthy relationship between Aquaman and Ocean Master, the latter using his brother’s rage to fuel ancient magicks for evil purposes. The story was followed up in 1988’s Aquaman Special by Gary Cohn, Dan Mishkin, and George Freeman, a metaphysical tale that saw the character begin to recover from his consuming grief over the death of his son and reconcile with Mera. Though elements of these stories were soon retconned, magic would remain an important element of the Aquaman mythos, forever tied with Atlantis.
4. McLaughlin’s Aquaman Run (Aquaman Vol. 4, #1-13; by Shaun McLaughlin and Ken Hooper)
In late 1991, Aquaman was once again given his own solo series, this time written by Shaun McLaughlin and with art primarily by Ken Hooper. The series saw Aquaman move past his angst to become a better hero, pushing him onto the international stage while reconnecting him to the larger DCU, with guest appearances from Martian Manhunter, the JLI, Batman, and the Sea Devils. Though it started slow, both writer and artist improved as the series progressed, with stories like “The End of a Road” (#6) and most especially “My Hero” (#13) being among the best. The series lasted only thirteen issues, DC deciding to take a different direction with a new creative team.
5. Atlantis Chronicles (Atlantis Chronicles #1-7; by Peter David and Esteban Maroto)
One of the greatest and most unique DC miniseries ever released, the seven-issue Atlantis Chronicles weaved history, mythology, and comic continuity into one sprawling epic, telling the story of Atlantis from its earliest days to the birth of Aquaman. Peter David wrote a tale that read like medieval European history, filled with sex, politics, religion, and war, and Esteban Maroto’s artwork provided a mature style of fantasy illustration alien to most American comics of the 1990’s. Told from multiple perspectives by chroniclers whose writings collectively form a history of Atlantis, this story’s epic scope has rarely been matched by other DC comics since. Though published the year before McLaughlin’s Aquaman run, this miniseries laid the groundwork for David’s future work on the character. Astonishingly, Atlantis Chronicles has yet to be collected by DC.
6. Time and Tide (Aquaman: Time and Tide, 1-4; by Peter David and Kirk Jarvinen)
Picking up from David’s Atlantis Chronicles, Time and Tide was written by David with art by Kirk Jarvinen, presented in the form of Aquaman writing a journal about his early days. In this origin story, Aquaman recounts his first adventure as a surface-world superhero while teamed-up with the Flash, his young adult life being raised by dolphins, his first romance, and his first encounter with Ocean Master, whom he discovers is his brother. Poignant and fun, David’s story refined and tweaked elements of Aquaman’s origin, while Jarvinen’s cartoony artwork made this miniseries pop. Time and Tide sold well and led to David’s ensuing ongoing Aquaman run.
7. Peter David’s Aquaman Run (Aquaman Vol. 5, #0-46 and Annuals #1-4; by Peter David, Martin Egelund, Jim Calafiore, and others)
The most successful modern Aquaman run before Geoff Johns, David’s tenure on the ongoing Aquaman title provided much-needed stability for the Marine Marvel. David rebuilt Aquaman’s supporting cast, this time including newcomers like Dolphin and his estranged son Koryak. David combined underwater magic, old-fashioned superheroics, and the interpersonal drama of Atlantis’s first family to create a series of stories that explored Aquaman’s strengths and flaws as a hero, a father, and a king. The run is most famous for Aquaman’s loss of his hand, replaced by a harpoon – a controversial move that, along with Aquaman’s new costume, alienated some traditional fans. In spite of these divisive changes, the work of David, Egelund, and Calafiore proved popular – so much so that the DC Cinematic Universe’s Aquaman will look like their Aquaman.
8. Dan Jurgens’ Aquaman Run (Aquaman Vol. 5, #63-75; by Dan Jurgens and Steve Epting)
Closing out Aquaman’s longest running solo title, Dan Jurgens and Steve Epting gave us a regal and confident Aquaman, a mature hero and wise king dealing with threats to Atlantis both above and below the sea, and included guest appearances by the Justice League and Warlord. Jurgens wrote Aquaman as the King Arthur of the Deep, with Atlantis his Camelot. Adding to the legendary tenor of the run was the unusual narration, which saw a future Tempest/Garth narrate their past adventures. Epting provided powerful and emotionally charged illustrations, and the Mike Kaluta covers were glorious.
9. Sub Diego (Aquaman Vol. 6, 15-22; by Will Pfeifer and Patrick Gleason)
Will Pfeifer and Patrick Gleason’s all-too-brief run on Aquaman saw half the city of San Diego sink underwater and its citizens mysteriously transform into water-breathers. Faced with grim circumstances, the people of “Sub Diego” must adapt and rebuild their lives – much as Aquaman has had to do in the past and must now do again. Now exiled from Atlantis, Aquaman returned to his classic orange and green duds, and along with a new Aquagirl, helped protect the citizens of Sub Diego and taught them to adapt to their new way of life.
10. Arcudi’s Aquaman Run (Aquaman Vol. 6, #25–29, 32–39; by John Arcudi and Patrick Gleason)
Writer John Arcudi picked up where Pfeifer left off, and together with Gleason gave us Aquaman’s most underrated run. Arcudi continued the Sub Diego storyline, developing the sunken city into a more fully realized place while seamlessly reintroducing Aquaman’s supporting cast and classic villains into the book. Gleason’s wonderfully stylized artwork matured as the book went on, bringing out the wonder and mystery of the ocean. Arcudi and Gleason also developed Lorena Maquez, the new Aquagirl, into a solid supporting character, one who Johns later used for Brightest Day. Though cut short to make way for Infinite Crisis, these stories hold up and deserve to be more widely known.
Though I rank these as the best, there are many other wonderful stories to fill your thirst for more Aquaman – J.M. DeMatteis and Dick Giordano’s 1980 back-up tales in Adventure Comics and Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice’s incredible Sword of Atlantis, to name but two. (For more insight into these comics and more, I heartily recommend The Aquaman Shrine, a fabulous resource.)
Unfortunately, of the stories listed, only Death of the Prince, Time and Tide, and Sub Diego have been collected. It seems Arthur is as much a victim of negligent collected edition editors as he is of false starts and cancelations. But Aquaman is nothing if not a survivor. With his growing popularity both in and outside of comics, there is little doubt that the King of the Seven Seas will not only endure but thrive, and continue to entertain and inspire readers with new stories worthy of his rich past.
New York, NY—October 23rd, 2015 — Jessica Drew. Private investigator, sometimes Avenger and… mom to be?! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your first look at SPIDER-WOMAN #1, the new ongoing series from writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Javier Rodriguez! It’s been eight months since the end of Secret Wars, and Spider-Woman has a whole new responsibility. She’s super heroing for two now! Ben Urich and Porcupine are still along for the ride but they aren’t making Jess’ life any easier. Half the time they won’t even let her leave the car! How’s a girl supposed to save innocent lives and keep herself out of harm’s way? Find out in the MOTHER of all Spider-Stories this November in the all-new SPIDER-WOMAN #1!
SPIDER-WOMAN #1
Written by DENNIS HOPELESS
Art & Cover by JAVIER RODRIGUEZ
Variant Cover by SIYA OUM
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Hip-Hop Variant by NATACHA BUSTOS
Cosplay Variant by YASHUNTAFUN COSPLAY
On-Sale – 11/18/15
Netflix released the first full trailer for Marvel’s Jessica Jones Friday morning.
The show takes places after a tragic end to her short-lived Super hero career. The series follows Jessica as she rebuilds her personal life and career as a detective who seems to get cases involving people with super abilities in New York City. Marvel’s Jessica Jones premieres on November 20th on Netflix.
The series stars Krysten Ritter as Jessica, David Tennant as Kilgrave, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, Rachael Taylor as Patricia “Trish” Walker, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Marvel’s Jessica Jones is Executive Produced by series Showrunner Melissa Rosenberg and Liz Friedman, along with Jeph Loeb, who also serves as Marvel’s Head of Television.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix. The series premieres on Netflix November 20.
