Spell is a peculiar blend of Misery and Get Out, and that doesn’t mesh as well as you’d hope. Here is another film that features solid acting, but can’t save itself from the dreadful writing. African American representation in horror is always welcomed, but not in a bland manner. Spell wants to be a social commentary and its message is muddled at best. The film finds more success in being tedious and forgettable.
This film was right to land on VOD because no theater should be allowed to show this at any time. It’s mind-boggling how so much potential can be wasted, and with notable actors along for the ride. Spell struggles to garner interest from anything happening on the screen once the central conflict begins. The mishaps in the script are the film’s biggest detractor since every other aspect was adequate. It is directed by Mark Tonderai and written by Kurt Wimmer, not a good sign at all. Spell stars Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine, Andre Jacobs, Lorraine Burroughs, and John Beasley. In the film, Marquis Woods (Hardwick) travels with his family to Appalachia after his father’s passing, but their plane crashes. Marquis wakes up under the care of Eloise, a hoodoo specialist who won’t let him leave.
Loretta Devine as Eloise in Spell
Wimmer does little to get audiences interested in Marquis or the predicament he finds himself in. Marquis was raised around very toxic habits, but he made it on his own after running away from home. He hasn’t seen his father in years, struggles to parent his children, so much so that he brushes off his son being bullied. Despite being introduced to Marquis, Spell manages to not spark interest once he is caught up in the hoodoo. The lack of development, combined with us now being thrust into Eloise’s games makes the film dull. Eloise is a firm believer in her African hoodoo and believes black people should respect where they come from. Ultimately, this film ties itself into slavery but does it better than most. Wimmer’s script has a lot going on that wasn’t executed properly, and never gives a reason to care.
Many things don’t quite add up in the end, but that goes back to Marquis being an uninteresting, and underdeveloped protagonist. Still, Hardwick and Devine are having fun with these roles. Devine captures all of Eloise’s traits in the best way possible and eats up every scene. Hardwick does what he can, and while never bad, his performance felt out of place. The character of Marquis came off like it should have been portrayed differently on screen. The actors in Spell make the most of this messy screenplay by serving up solid performances across the board.
Omari Hardwick as Marquis in Spell
Tonderai doesn’t offer much here, every scene feels hollow and meaningless. The moments of Marquis caught in a dire situation aren’t made to feel frightening at all. His saving grace was having two talented stars in the lead throughout the film. The pacing has its highs and lows because of how Spell fails to compel viewers until Marquis has to pull an object out of his foot. However, there is some superb cinematography featured and it compliments the film’s focus on hoodoo practices as well. The color palette choice assists with highlighting Eloise’s insane nature, and it creates a feeling of unease in the area Marquis finds himself in.
Spell stumbles far too much and never developed its characters enough to warrant the third act it offered, which was great. Its message isn’t made clear, but it has to do with slavery and staying true to your roots as a black person. It includes one of the most discomforting gore scenes in recent memory while being a complete trainwreck overall. There’s not much to get out of it, but hopefully, this was the final time hoodoo appears in horror for quite some time.
Monkeys Fighting Robots spoke with writer Rylend Grant about his new comic THE PEACEKEEPERS, which is currently funding on Kickstarter.
About THE PEACEKEEPERS: All hell breaks loose in quaint a northern Michigan community when a team of in-over-their-heads bank robbers kills a beloved Sheriff’s Deputy. In a small town with BIG secrets, local detective Richard Holton races to peel back the layers of a depraved down home conspiracy before the bungling Federal Agents assigned to the case send everyone involved to ground.
THE PEACEKEEPERS is a dark, quirky crime drama in the vein of Fargo or No Country for Old Men. It’s a love letter to case-a-season police dramas like True Detective and The Wire, to Elmore Leonard novels, and to comic masterpieces like Criminal and 100 Bullets.
Grant is a screenwriter by trade, having worked on projects for A-list directors (you can read more about that below). He’s co-created PEACEKEEPERS alongside artist Davi Leon Dias, colorist Iwan Joko Triyono, and letterer HdE.
The series is drawing comparisons to Fargo, The Wire, and Grant himself calls it his Pulp Fiction in our interview, so if you’re a crime fiction fan, PEACEKEEPERS is a project you can’t miss.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Well, first off, your comic BANJAX was nominated for four awards at this year’s Ringo Awards, including Best Series, so huge congrats on that. Combining that with your nominations and win at last year’s Ringos, how does it feel to receive that kind of recognition so early in your comics career? Is there anything you would attribute that critical success to?
Rylend Grant: My first published comic book series – the political action thriller Aberrant – won a Ringo Award last year for BEST VILLAIN and was nominated for two others… BEST SINGLE ISSUE and I was nominated for BEST WRITER along-side Scotty Snyder, Jeff Lemire, Brian Michael Bendis, and Brian K. Vaughan. Banjax was nominated for BEST SERIES this year along-side Bitter Root, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, and Something’s Killing the Children…
It’s so crazy to be in that company. I honestly haven’t really fully processed it yet. Being nominated/winning has opened so many doors for me. I’m staring at a lot of wonderful opportunities in the comic book world right now. I’m so thankful to the folks at the Baltimore Comic Con for actively championing smaller books like Aberrant and Banjax. It’s made all the difference.
In terms of that attributing the critical success… I think it has a lot to do with my day job. I’m a screenwriter by trade. I’ve spent the last 15 years writing movies and TV shows for folks like Ridley Scott, JJ Abrams, Justin Lin, Luc Besson, and John Woo. I’m fairly new to comics, sure, but I’ve been telling great stories for a long time. I had my proverbial 10,000 hours in before I ever even wrote a comic page. I think all of that made the transition a whole lot easier.
MFR: And your new series is THE PEACEKEEPERS, a small-town crime drama in the vein of Fargo. It seems like a departure from your previous work, which has featured superheroes, military action, and high concept sci-fi. Were you purposefully trying to change things up with this new project, or did it just kind of happen?
RG:Banjax and Aberrant were my way of processing 30+ years of consuming traditional comic books. Those are definitely superhero stories. If you look deeply, Aberrant is kind of my twisted take on Captain America. Banjax is my Batman story. I’ve kind of been there and done that now. I don’t know that I’ll do supes again until/unless Marvel or DC come calling.
The Peacekeepers is me branching out, spreading my wings. I don’t think there are enough stories like this in comics. These are the stories I truly love and so I am enthusiastically filling that void while pissing in the wind and howling at the moon.
MFR: What can you tell us about PEACEKEEPERS? What excites you most about working on this book compared to your previous ones?
RG:The Peacekeepers is a story I’ve wanted to tell for 15+ years, but haven’t been able to. I grew up amid the Sundance movement. I saw Pulp Fiction and said, “Hey, I want to do that!” I went to AFI and got my snooty filmmaker education. But by the time I got spit out into the workforce, Hollywood stopped making those movies.
I spend my days writing big poppy action flicks now and it’s a great time, but there is this other, more cerebral side of me that doesn’t always get nourished. Hollywood is a frustrating place. What you’re allowed to do as a writer there you can essentially fit on a postage stamp. They’re only making about five different kinds movies these days. They want you to tell those stories in a very specific way. I’m pretty damn good at writing those movies, but I needed to find another outlet to stay creatively sane.
The beauty of comics is you can tell any kind of story, in any kind of way, as long as it’s GOOD… and I think this is pretty damn good. The Peacekeepers is my Pulp Fiction.
MFR: You’ve worked with artist Davi Leon Dias before on ABERRANT – how did the two of you come to reunite, and what made his style the perfect fit for PEACEKEEPERS?
RG: Well, the truth is, Davi and I never really stopped working together. We did ten pretty kickass issues of Aberrant and then we moved right into another series – a Tokusatu joint called Suicide Jockeys – which got caught up in all of this COVID craziness and has yet to be released.
Davi’s a great artist and an even better guy. We’ve done excellent, award-winning work together. We know each other backwards and forwards at this point. It just makes things so much easier. The basic foundational stuff is already taken care of. It frees us up then to focus on subtly and nuance… and that’s how you end up with a great book instead of just a good book.
MFR: You’re currently funding PEACEKEEPERS on Kickstarter. Now, you have prior experience with crowdfunding, as well as experience going through a more traditional publisher. Why was Kickstarter the right move for this project?
RG: Well, it’s not like I choose one path over the other. I instead chose to do both.
You’re essentially talking about two different audiences. There are the people who pretty much exclusively buy their books in comic shops… and then there are the people who pretty much exclusively buy their books on Kickstarter. There is some overlap, but not nearly as much as one might think. If you are a creator and you’re only serving one of those audiences these days, you are doing yourself and your book a disservice.
It’s such a wonderful time to take a book to Kickstarter. There is a rabid and wildly enthusiastic fanbase there. If your book is good, it will be embraced wholeheartedly… and you can actually make a few dollars! Seriously. Very few of us make money putting books in comic shops and when you’re dealing with creator-owned titles like these, you’re often sinking tens of thousands of dollars – your own money – into art and printing… the idea that you can go to a website and make some of that money back is earth-shattering/a game-changer for a lot of creators.
Things have gotten really bad for everybody in the comics business amid this fit of COVID… creators, publishers, retailers. You had pencils down. You had comic shops closing. You had waves of layoffs and firings. That meant that shops had to be a lot more careful what they ordered/put on the shelf, publishers had to be a ton more careful what they greenlit, and it all resulted in fewer opportunities for guys like me.
But other things are changing… I actually think we’ve entered this age of “creator empowerment” in comics. We saw something similar happen in basketball over the last decade. We saw this era of “player empowerment,” guys like Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant ripping control away from the owners, deciding where they play and who they play with… Again, the same thing is happening in comics. Creators like me, we used to have to wait for permission from a publisher to make the book we wanted to make… well, we no longer need that. Today, we can just make our books and take them directly to the consumer via sites like Kickstarter.
It used to be that publishers were wary of Kickstarted books. That’s not the case anymore. Smart publishers like Scout Comics realized that Kickstarter can be a valuable proving ground for would-be titles. The simple fact is, if something does well on Kickstarter, it’s probably going to do well in a shop. Well, everyone is hopping on board now. Image is publishing Kickstarter books. Dark Horse is too. It’s a new game.
So, the plan is to kickstart the first “season”/story arc of The Peacekeepers and then take it to a traditional publisher. Then, I’m serving both audiences, getting the best of both worlds. You’re going to see a lot of creators doing this in the coming years. Bigger and badder creators too… if only because they can get a better deal. Shit, the Scott Snyders and Kevin Eastmans of the world are already doing it, running six-figure campaigns. More to come.
MFR: I know that screenplays often leave a lot of room for directors to interpret things like blocking and camera angles. Does your background as a screenwriter lead you to write comic scripts the same way? Do you leave a lot of space for the artists you work with to interpret things as they see fit?
RG: Well, for whatever it’s worth, I have a Masters degree in directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory (where David Lynch, Terrence Malick, and Darren Aronofsky went) so I tend to approach each comic issue like it’s a little film I’m directing.
The cool thing about writing comics is there is no set format. Everybody kind of does it a bit differently. My scripts tend to be half screenplay/half director’s notes… everything that I’d hand to a Cinematographer, Production Designer, or Costumer on a film gets handed off to my artist and colorist. My scripts get very specific… “Panel 1 – Wide shot. Low Angle. This character is in the foreground. She’s wearing this. There’s a car in the background. I want it to be this specific car, this specific color. In my experience, artists like it because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of their job.
All that said… I’m working with some extremely talented people here and the first thing I say to every collaborator is, “my scripts are very specific… but if you see a better way to do something, PLEASE let me know.” I’d say about 95% of the time an artist or a colorist comes to me with a change, it ends up on the final page, and the book ends up much better for it.
MFR: You had a very interesting path on your way to comics. Prior to writing, you made a living playing poker, right? Is there anything you learned playing cards that you’ve been able to use in your comics career?
RG: You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em… know when to fold ‘em… LOL.
I’m kidding. Kind of. There was indeed a time in my life where I paid my bills playing poker online and in card rooms around Los Angeles. It’s a great game and yes, playing it for a long time has no doubt helped me in my film/comics career in a number of ways. Poker teaches you patience and discipline, it forces you to set emotions aside and analyze situations logically. I think more than anything, playing for years changed my relationship to failure. You fall on your face a lot playing poker. You can’t let any one hand or any one session sink you. Success is measured over time. Success is won by soldiering on, by getting up after falling over and over and over again. If that isn’t applicable to a career in film, TV, and comics, I don’t know what is.
MFR: And finally, you recently launched a podcast with David Avallone to fill the hole in our hearts where comic conventions used to be. Can you talk a little about the genesis of the project, and what listeners can expect when they tune in?
RG: David Avallone (writer of Betty Page, Elvira, and Drawing Blood with Kevin Eastman) is one of my closest friends in comics and a frequent convention wing-man. He and I have done more than a few of these online cons in the wake of COVID and they have been great, but certain itches were not being scratched.
The thing we missed most about the “con experience” was something many call “bar con…” it’s what happens after the show. After a long day on the floor, we creators always get together at the bar across the street from the convention center and just shoot the shit for a couple of hours. We generally start talking about the day, about the state of the comics union, but it tends to quickly degenerate into us arguing about old Star Trek episodes or something like that. It’s a gloriously beautiful mess.
Anyway, we put our heads together and figured out a way to approximate that in podcast form. The show is called THE WRITERS BLOCK. It airs on a number of YouTube channels now (most notably the COMIC CORPS YouTube channel) and will make the jump to Apple/Spotify very soon. Basically, we get a couple of our fancy creator friends together and just throw a party for an hour or so. The fan/viewer is cast as a fly on that wall. We’ve had some really great guests on… Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals), David F. Walker (Bitter Root), Kevin Eastman (TMNT), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)… It’s something that we really look forward to every week and it’s something we’ll definitely keep doing once this COVID ship rights itself. Look, 95% of comics podcasts are exactly the same… one hour, one-on-one interviews… How did you get into comics? What are you promoting right now? There are a few good ones out there. Don’t get me wrong. But we didn’t want to do that. This is something new. It’s something exciting. It’s something real. And folks really seem to be digging it. Tune in!
Thanks again to Rylend for taking the time to chat with us. Be sure to check out THE PEACEKEEPERS on Kickstarter right here.
Canto II #3 from IDW Publishing reminds the readers and characters what David M. Booher brings back from the first saga. With penciler Drew Zucker, inker Philip Sevy, and colorist Vittorio Astone displaying a dangerous yet beautiful fantasy world, letterer by Andworld Design takes the opportunity to record the voices of this world on the power of legends.
Background and Recap
Canto revolves around the titular clockwork run, foot tall, knight, and the many legends surrounding his world. Heroes of old, curses from a dark lord, and the necessary need for faith in these dark times. Canto’s kind had been enslaved by this Shrouded Man through a curse via clockwork hearts on a time limit replacing their original ones. After an initial journey doesn’t get Canto what he wants, he inspires his fellow Clockwork Knights to fight for their freedom. Unfortunately, that freedom is at risk as the Knights’ time limit approaches. Now they meet a former ally of the Shrouded Man who needs their help in lifting her kind’s curse so that she can lift theirs.
Legends Never Die In Canto II #3
Diving right into a literal cliffhanger, Booher reminds readers at every turn why people tell stories. When things look bleak, legends and the events behind them can inspire people to take risks. Risks can be costly as one of Canto’s friends is ready to sacrifice her life for him. The Shrouded Man mocks Canto for as their journey has the risk of dooming every Clockwork Knight. Fortunately, that same act has a flipside that puts the entire curse into question. Again no spoilers, but it seems the dark lord is hiding something among his mockery. Not that it changes the fate of a character who, among the rest of this issue’s cast, shares genuinely heartwarming times before the issue’s end. These moments ensure that despite their fates, these characters will never be forgotten.
Romanticizing The Moment
Penciler Drew Zucker displays a high degree of emotion to make the Clockwork Knights look expressive. With only their eyes being visible, the reader impresses themselves onto them for a form of empathy. This simple design on the knights with angles and body language makes each feel memorable within Canto II #3. Whenever their eyes are closed or obscured, it’s as though the reader is losing a part of themselves.
Inker Philip Sevy ensures that the reader stays on track with the main story. Simultaneously, the thick but lighter strokes can show readers some elements relevant to the obstacle at hand. Like, say a concrete pillar featuring overgrown plants saying that the mechanical Canto is dying after falling into the water.
Finally, the coloring by Vittorio Astone gives identity to the characters of Canto II #3. Each clockwork knight has a distinct coloring accent to them. Falco, for example, with his leaf-like eyepatch and green accents, looks experienced in the worst of the world but is hopeful thanks to Canto’s presence. Compare that to the Shrouded Man, who uses purple coloring to display how detached from everything he is. Something that his contact with Canto through the clockwork knight’s dreams attests towards.
Omniscient Lettering
Andworld Design takes its task of lettering to provide not just context but also memorable characterization. The opening caption is a great introduction to the overall story, and its parchment boxes look like this is a story someone on this journey tells. The color-coded detached speech is highlighted in colors representing the knights, red for Canto, green for Falco. Considering that closing captions boxes are green, suggesting Falco is delivering these last lines, it remains unknown who is telling the overall story, and the end may surprise the reader. In any case, the reader may have to pay attention to further developments after Canto II #3.
Canto II #3 Marks A Milestone
The epic of Canto continues with how it builds a legend out of memorable characters. Every action taken in Canto II #3 feels like a step closer to a story meant to give hope to people entering their darkest hour. When everything seems hopeless, it’s the memory shared with others that can make or break someone. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem, that memory can give rise to a legend. A legend seeing through till the end.
Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 out this week from Image Comics brings Jimmie Robinson’s mini-series to its rising action. By displaying everything the Queen does to push her agenda, the reader sees why she reigns supreme.
Recap
Previous issues deal with Bomb Queen running for president against Donald Trump. Even if it is under the bribe/threat of her heroic counterpart White Knight, not that she’s following his plans.
Bomb Queen Trump Card #3: Bluffing Hands Win
With Bomb Queen handling things her way, her confidants/opposers try to get a leg up on her. But no matter what they do, the results only seem to blow up in their faces. Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 only further explores why. Some critics against Bomb Queen say she’s an anti-hero, but this issue reminds readers and critics that she’s a supervillain who outsmarts all who oppose her. What better way to display that than doubling down on her vileness. Still, even stuff like exploding thongs and such are a distraction from her true villainous qualities. What makes the Queen so dangerous is her ability to turn all odds in her favor. By coming to the White Knight in his time of need, she not only secures her place in the election but is in the process of removing his restrain on her.
Nothing Is Too Far!
Robinson gets the chance to show off all of his skills. At one point, he even displays how far he’s come since Bomb Queen’s early days, through the roughs of an issue. His art is extremely emotive, from facial features to character actions, unlike before, where designs were much simpler. Even masked characters have wrinkles in their mask’s designs to display detail. Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 also displays coloring for action scenes as the backgrounds fade away to reflect the character’s color schemes. That way, it tells how characters are the central focus of the immediate narrative. Sometimes just sitting on a red chair is an indicator that White Knight is the one in trouble.
Then there’s arguably some of the less notable but important parts of comic art, lettering. On that page with roughs, Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 goes out of its way to show how Robinson uses both traditional lettering tools and setting them up before inking. It’s why many of the wordmarks look similar but are never the same or get in the way; they’re tailor-made for situations. In particular, one matches the flashbang explosion it accompanies as a natural extension, complete with a Silver Age style design; it looks harmless as comics in that era.
Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 Holds The Detonator
Bomb Queen Trump Card #3 holds everyone’s expectations by the balls, forcing them to pay attention. Because if they dismiss this as just bad girl trash, they miss out on why the Queen rules all. Every action, reaction, and small detail has a purpose that a supervillain takes to her full advantage. One that wins the approval of hardcore fans while compromising her ideals for a bigger payoff that’s coming.
Blue In Green, out now from Image Comics, is a horror OGN about an aspiring musician who returns home for his mother’s funeral and finds amongst his mother’s keepsakes a photograph of a late sixties jazz musician.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “How can a comic with a simple premise like this turn out to be one of the greatest graphic novels of 2020?” Well, this is exactly what I’m here for. Get ready to read all about why Blue In Green has become my new favorite horror graphic novel.
Writing
This book is wordy. Incredibly wordy. The way writer Ram V writes his narration; it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the words and feel like you’re reading a proper novel. It’s a stylistic choice that works well. All I’m saying is it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. So, be warned.
Speaking of the narration, the captions are mellow and mysterious. Ram V describes the main character’s feelings and thoughts elegantly, using intricate and vivid descriptions, but not to the point where it starts confusing the readers.
Early on, the reader can’t help but feel for Erik, the main character, and want him to find greatness. Throughout the entire comic, we’re witnessing Erik pursuing the extraordinary, willing to take every step necessary to achieve it. We see him fall, get beaten up, relieve painful memories, ruin relationships, but we never judge him or grow to hate him. By making the reader sympathize with Erik initially, we can understand every choice Erik makes even if we disagree with it.
Overall, it’s a beautiful and effective horror story. It’s poignant and terrifying. Everything you can hope for in a horror graphic novel. But, beneath the surface hides a wonderful thought piece about jazz music, obsession with greatness, talent, and art.
Art
Anand RK‘s work on this book is nothing short of exquisite; he chose to use mixed media and a unique art style to tell this strange, gloomy tale.
Inspired by Dave McKean’s work, the style fits in perfectly with this story’s dark themes.
Most of the time, the pencils are rough, raw, all over the place, Weirdly poetic. Some of the pages, especially the panels where buildings appear, look like painted-over architectural drawings. It’s a bold choice that works well here. The panel layouts are messy, blending into one another, creating a trippy look to the pages while we watch Erik slowly slipping into madness.
Anand RK usually holds back on details concerning the characters’ faces, which complements the mysterious vibe of the writing, but to emphasize an important character moment or dramatic beat, Anand RK isn’t afraid to go all out and draw the faces in great detail. Almost too many details which definitely make the readers feel awfully uneasy. More specifically, there are two instances in the book where the main character plays the sax. As backgrounds, there are music sheets behind Erik. A simple, ingenious touch.
Anand RK often takes every chance he can get to use high angles to make the panels resemble a vinyl record.
The artwork oozes with uniqueness. It’s not an exaggeration to say that every page and every panel in this book can stand on its own as a beautiful piece of art.
Coloring
John J. Pearson definitely knows how to use colors to play with the readers’ emotions. Whenever there is daylight and Pearson wants us to feel safe and comfortable, the color tones are warm and friendly. They truly feel like cozy summer days in New York City. But whenever Pearson wants us to feel anxious and nervous, pink and purple colors are visible everywhere. They’re not colors which usually make us feel goosey, but it absolutely works here.
With a unique art style such as Anand RK’s, it would have been easy to play it safe and color the pages as realistically as possible, but Pearson bravely decided against it. The strange color choices compliment the dreamy art style and supernatural story perfectly.
Lettering
Aditya Bidikar‘s lettering is on par with the other amazing elements of this book. The balloons are rugged, crude. The font is hand-lettered and looks somewhat inconsistent, which works especially when the story takes its dark turns. Bidikar also chooses to remove the caption boxes surrounding the narration from time to time and blends the words with Anand RK’s art. He sometimes doesn’t even show us all the words, hiding them behind the art. By doing this, Bidikar makes the readers work a bit and lets us fill in the blanks for ourselves. Bidikar’s stylistic approach complements the art beautifully and elevates the story’s eerie, enigmatic vibes.
Conclusion
In years to come, Blue In Green will turn out to be one of those books art kids just won’t shut up about. It’s stylish, haunting, terrifying, and exceeds expectations on all accounts. If you like horror stories where the jump scares are the least important thing, Blue In Green is the graphic novel for you.
THAT TEXAS BLOOD #5, available from Image Comics on November 4th, takes Randy down a dark, bloody path as Sheriff Joe finds a clue to Travis’ killer. Written by Chris Condon and drawn by Jacob Phillips, this issue is the series’s bloodiest so far.
Cover Art
In the writer’s notes, Condon reveals the cover was unintentionally inspired by an iconic scene from Halloween (1978), but given the content of this issue, it works better as an inspiration from the film Misery (1990). Randy’s backlit outline stands out in blood-red contrast to the killing that occurred in the last issue. He wears a look of callous, malicious energy when he’s focused past the reader to whatever grisly scene lies at the bottom of the steps. It’s a powerful image from Phillips.
Writing
A good crime noir has to have a few key elements in it to make it work. One of those elements is an absolute low point for the main protagonist. Here, Randy is definitely at a low point with his own investigation into his brother’s murder, his relationship with his girlfriend, and his own moral standing.
Condon’s story is so effective because you feel bad for what Randy’s going through but are simultaneously repulsed by the callousness of his actions. Only through the progress in Sheriff Joe’s own investigation is the reader given any blessed relief from sharing in Randy’s downward spiral. Condon’s writing is as fascinating as it is painful.
Pencils/Inks
Phillips’ grounded style centers the realism of Randy’s actions, the aftermath, and the unwelcome surprise later in the issue. With every panel, you can see the burden of what Randy’s done weigh on his face when he looks in the mirror. The defeated way he slumps in a chair exudes defeat and surrender.
Randy’s spent years away from his home town, and Phillips expertly shows he’s visibly dejected by how quickly all his betterment is tossed away in just a few days. This issue is all about internal angst, and Phillips gives it to you in spades.
Coloring
This issue is effectively black and white, but Phillips wisely colors groupings of pages and panels with a specific filter to help aid the story’s visual flow. Each scene is cast in its own hue to separate the settings, giving the reader a trigger for the change in mood for what’s happening. It’s an excellent use of color for mood setting.
Lettering
Phillips’ lettering work is generally good. The conversation flows and leads the reader’s eye in the right direction. Word balloon placement is excellent, and the copious amounts of the dialog are broken up well, preventing it from becoming massive walls of texts. There could be some improvement in the leading (space between text lines) as some of the text tended to look very close to overlapping and crowded—other than that, a nice lettering job by Phillips.
Conclusion
THAT TEXAS BLOOD #5, available from Image Comics on November 4th, drives a man into a downward spiral of inner conflict and murder. The story is dramatic, and the art is brimming with mood. Issue five is another excellent entry in this series.
Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 is the beginning of an anthology series featuring the tragedies and complexities of Logan. Three stories by different creative teams display different sides to Wolverine. Writer Gerry Duggan, artist Adam Kubert, and colorist Frank Martin display Logan’s early days within the Weapon X program in The Beast Within Them. The second story, I Shall Be A Wolf by writer Matthew Rosenberg, artist Joshua Cassara, and colorist Guru eFX go into Wolverine’s days as a soldier during WWII with Nick Fury. The final story, Cabin Fever with Declan Shalvey in all three roles, shows Logan at his most feral but compassionate. Tying them all together is letterer Clayton Cowles of VC.
Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 (Tragedy, Sacrifice, & Foundation)
Throughout Wolverine Black White & Blood #1, the reader sees the title character in many walks of life. It’s an appeal that can serve as both an introduction of Wolverine to new readers, while older fans see bits of Logan’s upbringing without continuity getting in the way. Gerry Duggan shows Logan in agony as he is thrust into danger by Weapon X. It’s there that Logan struggles with the animal Weapon X wants him to be and the humanity beneath all of it.
The subsequent stories of Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 bounce off of these two conflicting aspects. Matthew Rosenberg shows the animalistic hunter willing to put himself at risk to kill similarly evil men. Say what you will about Hydra’s origins, but hunting down Nazis with Nick Fury sounds satisfying. But then there’s Declan Shalvey’s piece where Logan’s berserker rage contrasts with his humanity. Despite all the darkness Logan went through, he is still willing to come to the aid of a crying child.
Life In One Color
Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 lives up to its title by displaying different art styles in only three colors. Adam Kubert gives The Beast Within Them a shifting point of view. Half of the pages are in double-page spreading grids where the reader is in a similar position to Weapon X. Everything on that end looks like they’re in control of the situation while Logan is thrust into danger for their amusement; so dangerous the pages turn into splash pages. To further illustrate this, Frank Martin colors the Weapon X staff in dark grays but are safe within red spaces. Compare this to the white outdoors where Logan fights the Wendigo and the splashes of blood decorating the setting.
I Shall Be A Wolf has Joshua Cassara make most of the moments in the Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 stories feel like photographs. Considering most of the plot takes place in flashbacks, seeing each moment frozen in time gives the reader time to enjoy the carnage, complete with red coloring from Guru eFX to detail the bloodbaths. Finally, Declan Shalvey takes all illustrative duties of Cabin Fever, where he designs the emotions of everyone. But even the facial features mean little where red becomes a symbol of violence and sin. Not only from the men Logan fights but who he interacts with when the fight is over. Because who would dare bring a baby into the residue of carnage?
Lettering With Intention
VC’s Clayton Cowles acts as overall letterer of Wolverine Black White & Blood #1. Throughout the anthology, Cowles uses different techniques to display character and emphasize action. In The Beast Within, one of the Weapon X scientists has black word balloons, showing her detachment from everything else. Unlike her superior officer, who speaks with red word balloons to show his antagonism towards Logan. In I Shall Be A Wolf, several wordmarks like Wolverine’s signature “Snikt” look tailor-made to display his claws’ impact. Finally, Cabin Fever displays the emotions Logan goes through in battle. When reason fails in reaction to brutality, Logan’s captions turn red with hostility until he can calm down.
Start With Wolverine Black White & Blood #1
When it comes to characters with decades of history and complex characterization, Wolverine Black White & Blood #1 gives readers easy access. Great storytelling can be told if everyone involved can bounce off one another. With a character as complex as Wolverine, there is a lot of ways to do that. All without getting in the way of decades of character development.
The Craft: Legacy is a new horror film directed by Zoe Lister-Jones (Band Aid, New Girl) about four young witches coming of age and coming to grips with their incredible powers.
The Craft: Legacy is a sequel to the 1996 film The Craft. It stars Cailee Spaeny (Devs) as Lily, a young girl moving into her potential step father’s house. Lily eventually meets three new friends at school: Frankie (Gideon Adlon), Tabby (Lovie Simone), and Lourdes (Zoey Luna). Soon, the quartet begins to experiment with witchcraft. From there, a lot of drama and thrills ensue. Capturing the colors and telling the visual story of the film is director of photography Hillary Spera.
PopAxiom spoke with Hillary about becoming a cinematographer, 70s cinema, and making The Craft: Legacy.
Images & Story
Hillary’s been in love with still photography for as long as she can remember. “My mom tells the stories of how I used to run around with a camera. It was my instinct to collect images at a young age.”
“That led to my interest in cinematography during college,” Hillary says, though that was, in part, due to available opportunities. “The school I was in didn’t have a distinct photography class, so I took a course in cinematography. I developed a love for telling stories through images. And I shot everything that I could that came my way.”
The instinct to take pictures has a definite through-line. “I see myself in those photos from when I was a kid with a camera, and the same instinct as I have now. in my profession. It’s almost eerie!”
“I feel fortunate,” she says, “I’ve always felt like I had a distinctive eye and view, and it’s something I can proud to see through my work, despite different types of projects.”
About The Craft: Legacy
The Craft: Legacy is a film with plenty of supernatural razzle-dazzle, but at its core, it’s about relationships. “Zoe and I made a movie a few years ago called Band Aid. It was a musical comedy that she wrote, acted in, directed, and produced. This project was so special to me because the entire crew was made up of women. We also made a pilot together for ABC called Woman Up, (likely shouldn’t say this: which didn’t end up going), but it was an amazing experience.”
“When Zoe called me for The Craft,” Hillary says, I fell out of my chair because it’s a movie that I’m deeply obsessed with and was such a fan as a kid. The fact that she was making her take on it and it was The Craft was a dream come true.”
The first discussion between Zoe and Hillary was a familiar one. “All of our work together has always been grounded. It’s something we’ve always tried to do. It’s important to keep the focus on character, story and identity.”
“We talked early on,” she continues, “about how to shoot a story that’s about magic and witchcraft, and make it about the characters. The magic and witchcraft is a nice element, but it’s more about the women and their connection, the power of their bond of friendship.”
The Craft: Legacy doesn’t try to mimic the 90s style of Andrew Fleming’s original film. Instead, it pays homage and draws inspiration from much older films. “We looked to classic thrillers and horror from the 60s and 70s like Rosemary’s Baby and Andrei Tarkovsky.”
“More elevated thrillers,” she dives deeper into the vision behind The Craft: Legacy, “as opposed to more modern takes. I think the juxtaposition of telling a modern story, grounding it, and some classic filmmaking works well.”
Hillary shares some of the little things you’ll spot in The Craft: Legacy. “There’s a lot of frames within frames that reference Rosemary’s Baby. Many shots through doorways, frames that contribute to composing the actual frame.”
“There’s a scene where Lily wakes up out of a nightmare,” she takes us into the process, “and she sees a shadow in the corner. That was a fun challenge. It’s a challenge to shoot perceivable darkness.”
Hillary continues explaining the evolution of this one scene. “Zoe had this awesome idea of seeing the shadow in peripheral vision, like your eyes barely adjusted to the dark. But how do you visually represent that? How do you shoot something that’s hard to perceive visually?”
The director and cinematographer put their heads together. “We went back and forth on a bunch of ways on how to do that. It was cool to see it come to fruition.”
Making The Craft: Legacy
Hillary’s work in The Craft: Legacy is visually mesmerizing, like a spell cast by one of its magically empowered characters. The colors pop while muted and so richly textured. “In collaboration with costume designer Avery Plewes and Hillary Gurtler, our production designer, there was a lot of intention with color. The girls all had their own color, tied to their element and sign.”
I noticed a lot of gold and brown towns. “The gold is interesting,” Hillary responds, “Lily’s character has a lot of warmth to her. So, it’s fascinating that you picked up on that. I love that.”
“For Zoe, the use of elements and colors and their connection with the characters was at the forefront of what was motivating our use of color and and how we represented all that.”
The Craft: Legacy‘s connection to real-life Wiccan practices was something the filmmakers took seriously. “Zoe was very into the authenticity of witchcraft. We had three witch consultants on the film. We even participated in ceremonies before we started filming. Ceremonies where we state our intention with the film and what we’re setting out to do.”
“I’m a huge fan of the original, and that was a very intimidating part of making the film,” Hillary says of a particular moment in the film that this article will not spoil, but you’ll know it when you see it.
The Craft: Legacy is a sequel, though it doesn’t require viewing the original to understand. “It’s a very new take; it’s not like the original in a lot of ways. But it’s got the energy, the blessing, and the vibe from the original.”
Hillary’s final word on The Craft: Legacy: “It was such a powerful film to make. I am very grateful to have been a part of it. At the heart of it, the film is about the bond between the women and the importance and power of friendship among women. There couldn’t be a better time for it, and I think it will occupy and represent a unique space.
Wrapping Up
Hillary’s IMDB credits include 50 entries as a cinematographer. What’s something she’s learned since her first project, The Dresden Dolls? “That’s a deep cut!” she laughs, “The Dresden Dolls are this awesome band out of Boston. I worked on their live show/film when I lived in Boston out of college. I just saw yesterday that they’re doing a 15th-anniversary show from that first credit of mine on IMDB that we shot.”
“Trusting your instincts,” she declares as advice to up-and-coming directors of photography. “For me, it’s taking on the projects that will challenge me the most. Something that will keep me on my toes and force me to find new ways to tell stories visually. And have fun. It’s such a gift to have this job and do what I love every single day.”
Hillary’s passion for photography began as a child and is alive and well to this day. “Whether it was my job or not, I’d be shooting.”
“I love and am most inspired always by films of the 70s,” she says when asked about other work that she admires. “Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter) and Robby Müller (Paris Texas, Repo Man, Dead Man). Films that took a risk and had something to say. Often, small stories that weren’t big blockbusters. I pull references from those films all the time. Also, photographers like Saul Leiter and Mary Ellen Mark have humanistic eyes. I pull a lot of inspiration from her.”
“There’s something to be learned from watching.”
What’s a dream remake for Hillary? “I would love to make a western, so Once Upon A Time In The West or Butch Cassidy. But I feel that it’s sacrilegious to say, those films are perfect.
The Craft: Legacy is now available on VOD. So, what’s next for Hillary? “In November, a movie I shot called Run, a thriller, will be on Hulu and starring Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story, Ratched). And a TV show called The Flight Attendant is coming out on HBO Max.”
Is The Craft: Legacy on your watch list?
Thanks to Hillary Spera and Impact24 PR
for making this interview possible.
Released October 7th from Dark Horse, writer Cullen Bunn and illustrator Miguel Valderrama continue their four-part series in the second issue. Providing colors and lettering are Jason Wordie and Frank Cvetkovic, respectively.
Valderrama’s kinetic and expressive style complements Bunn’s economical writing. The result is an evenly-paced, enticing issue that builds upon Nadia’s (the protagonist) struggle with survivor’s guilt and PTSD.
Issue two begins with a short continuation of the interview from issue one, which acts as a teaser. From there, the action picks up right where it left off. One of Nadia’s teammates, Gordon, gets hit in their firefight. Unable to resist, Nadia immediately goes into rescue mode to save her teammate.
Trigger
But the firefight and recognition of the client trigger a flashback in Nadia. At that moment, Wordie’s color palette warms and brightens while Valderrama builds on a visual motif set by the cover art. The flashback reveals that she was actually dating Dobbs, the teammate killed by her current client.
A flashback to a normal date gets interrupted by a bullet to Dobbs’ head in the middle of the issue. Valderrama drew the page as a shattered mirror, parsing out each action and reaction in a broken shard. In effect, the page captures how devastating and world-changing the violent death of a loved one is.
Heightening the drama and dreamy quality of the page is dead Dobbs continuing to speak. Nadia and Dobbs’ preceding conversation was about the importance of their job. So Dobbs continues, expressing his view that it’s more than a paycheck while Nadia seems not to be taking it as seriously. Thus, within this visceral mosaic, we understand the root of Nadia’s personal and professional pain.
Point Blank
Nadia is a medic, a healer working to save people who may not deserve it for the profit of a corporation. For Nadia, Dobbs represents the higher purpose of the job. All this to say, the stakes for her are high in being forced to save the killer of her boyfriend.
Now, with Gordon’s death, Nadia has been pushed to an emotional breaking point. But just as Nadia raises her sidearm to the back of the killer’s head, the issue ends. Bunn’s cliffhangers would be infuriating if everything weren’t so well set up. At this point, the satisfying balance of shocks and slow character reveals make you wish the series were longer than four issues.
Killadelphia #9, out now from Image Comics, reveals the backstory of one of the most mysterious characters in the series and features some absolutely outstanding art.
Ever since John Adams, the leader of the vampires, was killed, his wife has taken over. Abigail Adams is even more ruthless and has plans to enslave all of humanity. The vampires have already murdered the governor and a famous rapper as they inform the public that they are still around. Abigail also has a new ruthless monster on her side, a vampire known only as Jupiter, whose past has been shrouded in mystery until now.
Rodney Barnes’ choice to wait until Killadelphia #9 to reveal Jupiter’s past was a smart way to pull in readers. For the past few issues, Jupiter has been a dreaded monster that Abigail unleashes to do her bidding, and it is exciting to see when he is in action. By leaving the fans to wonder what his past was, this issue is more engaging for them since they can finally get the answers they wanted. The backstory is an interesting tale featuring historical figures and is sure to leave readers who wanted to know satisfied.
Killadelphia #9 is full of many captivating scenes. Whether it be as simple as a conversation or as intense as a scene resulting in a bloodbath, Rodney Barnes’ writing keeps the reader engaged. The issue features a discussion between vampires that shows that not everyone may be on board with Abigail’s sinister plan, which adds another dimension to the evil vampires’ character and shows that they are not all mindless monsters. The issue also had some intense action that will leave you in shock at how bold the vampires’ strategy is.
Jason Shawn Alexander provides astonishing work in Killadelphia #9. Every character’s face and form seem so lifelike that it is stunning that Alexander can provide such high-quality art in every issue. The realistic faces he draws adds a lot to the story, especially during the vampires’ carnage. When their face is showing genuine fear, a person being attacked is a horrific image to see, and Killadelphia is full of it. Alexander’s art style is incredibly unique, and every page in Killadelphia is a pleasure to look at.
Luis NCT’s coloring pairs wonderfully with the art of Jason Shawn Alexander. Just as in previous issues of the series, Killadelphia #9 has a dark color palette that fits nicely with the story’s tone. This technique also has the added effect of making blood stand out when it appears since the bright red pops out against the dull colors of everything around it. This low saturation has the lasting effect of making the issue more terrifying.
Killadelphia #9 features the lettering of Marshall Dillon that allows the story to progress seamlessly. Speech bubbles never have an odd placement that interrupts the story’s flow, and captions are stylized depending on which character is speaking, so there is never confusion. The only downside to the lettering is the lack of sound effects in the story. There are no places where bold or interesting lettering is used, so Dillon’s talents are never fully shown.
Killadelphia #9 is another entertaining issue of the series that is full of violence and brilliant dialogue. The art is gorgeous, and the coloring pairs with it incredibly well. The story unfolds more and more each issue, leaving the reader always waiting to get their hands on the next issue.
