Eddie Brock and his trusty symbiote are back together again. Venom got the early lead on legacy numbering but this is the first official Marvel Legacy release.
Venom gets back to their anti-hero ways, hitting the streets to put an end to crime and corrupt cops in a misguided effort to be a hero. Brock also finds himself with an underground tribe of dinosaur people in his debt and seeks their help in feeding his symbiote.
I can’t think of a compelling reason for this book to exist outside of 90s nostalgia.
This book does absolutely nothing for the character, it’s a story comic fans have read hundreds of times. Even with the legion of dinosaur people at their disposal, every turn of the page was an expected and boring sense of deja vu.
At least Venom returns to their former handsome 90s look, there are some satisfying panels that aren’t polluted by ridiculous dinosaur people.
Both Eddie Brock and his symbiote were on intriguing paths a few short years ago. This reunion is much less exciting than Anti-Venom and Agent Venom were.
I know there are plenty of people that will buy this series. Personally, I don’t think I want to read Venom outside of a Spider-Man book again.
Now that Marvel Legacy has begun, enjoy our extensive weekly coverage! We’ll let you know which comics aren’t worth your time and which are worthy of that Legacy banner. Comment below with your favorite Legacy book from this week.
That’s one week of Marvel Legacy in the books! Let me know what you thought about this first wave of comics and I’ll see ya next week!
Marvel Legacy for Jessica means revisiting her most prominent arc and villain. Bendis and Gaydos don’t have to alter much to earn that Legacy banner, they’ve pretty much already been trying to continue where the original Alias series left off in both script and art.
Killgrave is back and Jessica takes her daughter into hiding with Carol Danvers. Luke is on the outside, everyone is preparing for the worst as Jessica’s most feared enemy, The Purple Man, has returned.
Brian Michael Bendis is one of the big dogs at Marvel, that means he’ll most likely be staying the course he was already on with his titles. It remains to be seen whether or not that’ll help or hurt his books if he’s part of the problem or solution for Marvel’s comics.
One thing it does for sure is allowed Bendis to keep doing these obnoxiously wordy monologues at the beginning of his issues. Once you get through that the issue starts rolling and Bendis’ stronger traits appear. His dialogue makes or breaks every scene he writes, Jessica Jones #13 has some fantastic conversations and some that linger too long.
Jessica is one of the rare comic book characters that has found tv success that hasn’t forced a creator to alter their comic book version to better fit their “new audience.” Despite how much I love Kristen Ritter, I still don’t read Jessica Jones’ dialogue in her voice.
This first installment was pretty unfulfilling. After reading the issue, there isn’t a real sense of stakes or impending doom. The danger of Purple Man is implied but drowned out by dull conversation scenes that go nowhere.
This is a comic in which the art is so drenched in photorealism that it relies heavily on the script to make it pop. Unfortunately, this script was dull and the art never really gets a chance to go anywhere.
Jessica Jones #13 is the first Marvel Legacy book to fall flat for me.
Now that Marvel Legacy has begun, enjoy our extensive weekly coverage! We’ll let you know which comics aren’t worth your time and which are worthy of that Legacy banner. Comment below with your favorite Legacy book from this week.
That’s one week of Marvel Legacy in the books! Let me know what you thought about this first wave of comics and I’ll see ya next week!
It wouldn’t be New York Comic-Con if we didn’t giant robots and monsters destroying everything, and that is exactly what you get with the first trailer for ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising.’
Universal Pictures also released the first poster as well (at the bottom of the article).
About the film: The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.
John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.
Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ is directed by Steven S. DeKnight from a screenplay by Emily Carmichael, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin, and Kira Snyder. The film stars Scott Eastwood, Tian Jing, Adria Arjona, John Boyega, Burn Gorman, Charlie Day, and Rinko Kikuchi.
‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ hits theaters February 23, 2019.
What do you think of the sequel, could it be better than the original? Comment below.
DC/Vertigo was the revolutionary imprint that not only brought us Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Garth Ennis’ and Steve Dillion’s Preacher, Allan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Hellblazer and many more industry changing titles. Vertigo also brought in a different kind of reader with it’s more literary and mature take on comics and graphic novels.
Many folks (myself included) feel that Vertigo lost a bit of its identity over the years, with less high profile titles being released. But a line-wide relaunch could really revitalize this hugely important name in comics and maybe bring back some readers that might have left.
What kind of books do you want to see from a new DC/Vertigo? And is there a place in today’s market for another imprint from DC (considering Young Animal has sort of filled the Vertigo hole for a year now). Comment and discuss below.
As always stay tuned to Monkeys Fighting Robots for more on this and other developing NYCC news!
The golden age of television has given us a lot of gems. Some, like the consistently genius Rick And Morty, provide intellectual conundrums, Easter eggs, and philosophical musings. Others, like Game Of Thrones, offer big spectacles, along with plenty of material ripe for fans to pick apart.
But my favorite series are those that are emotionally resonant. Mad Men never failed to make me feel, just as its spinoff Better Call Saul continues to do. You’re The Worst is one of a new breed of comedies that have emotional moments that are not cloying or contrived.
And into that mix comes Bojack Horseman, an animated series that never stops making me laugh with animal puns and visual gags, while continually punching me in the gut.
When the fourth season was released on September 8, I binge watched its 12 episodes. And although I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, my fears were unfounded. It’s the best season yet of a show that continues to surprise.
What’s most surprising is not that it keeps the jokes coming, including season-long setups that play out in the most satisfying way. Nor is it the fact that it remains emotionally resonant. Rather, it’s that its depth of feeling surpasses most – if not all – dramas. This Is Us,Big Little Lies, and The Handmaid’s Tale all impressed and were rewarded for it at the Emmys.
But for me, Bojack Horseman is second to none, and here’s why.
There’s no destination
Life has no destinations. We don’t live until we reach our goals and then calmly move on to the next world. But that’s how most TV portrays it. Everyone is working towards some sort of resolution. Whether it’s the destruction of a particular evil, a happy ever after ending, or the success or failure of a rebellion against an oppressive system. They all have a destination, even if sometimes the characters fail or the “bad guys” win.
One of the reasons Mad Men was so compelling is because you never knew where it was going. You could not know that because it was ultimately going nowhere. In that way, it was as true a portrayal of human life as we’d ever seen.
Bojack Horseman takes it even further. What goals its characters have changed along the way, often due to them realizing there’s nothing at the end of their respective rainbows. No one is going anywhere. They’re just trying to be happy.
Bojack epitomises this, with the character constantly aware that his fame means nothing, and that even when he gets what he wants, he either screws it up or finds that it doesn’t make his life better.
The other characters around him follow similar paths, never getting where they think they’re going, and only sometimes finding happiness along the way.
This is the only way art can truly reflect life. A story needs a plot – but that plot does not have to follow a pre-ordained route. That plot can simply be the things that happen to a character, sometimes interesting, sometimes shocking, but always painfully real.
For this reason, Bojack Horseman is more emotionally resonant than anything else on TV. As long as this does not change, it will never fail to connect us to the feelings at the foundation of a real life.
Image Comics Founder, Todd McFarlane is at New York Comic-Con teasing production details on his ‘Spawn’ film.
Back at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer, it was announced that Jason Blum of Blumhouse had partnered with McFarlane on the movie.
Now at NYCC, McFarlane went through every production detail with Monkeys Fighting Robots and gave a timetable for a release date and casting announcements.
“You know movies sort of move at a slow pace but the scripts in, and we just began budgeting it. From there will then go into Hollywood and make our predistribution deal. A release date will come with that deal probably. So that will be the next big sort of important piece of news that the Internet will care about. Gathering the money and doing some of the other stuff behind the scenes isn’t sexy and then once we make that predistribution deal, then we’ll hire the actors and then start going fast. We’ll hire the actors. We’ll jump into pre-production and then we’ll get into production probably five-six weeks after we start pre-production. So we’re hoping to be into pre-production which means everything’s lined up. We’ll have all of our actors in place by the beginning of the New Year. Which means will be shooting hopefully late to middle of February,” said McFarlane to Monkeys Fighting Robots Reporter Roger Riddell.
‘Spawn’ film timeline:
• Release date announcement in the next month
• Casting news the first of the year.
• Filming to start end of February.
With that schedule, look for ‘Spawn’ to hit theaters in January or February of 2019.
Are you excited for a ‘Spawn’ film? Comment below.
How To Talk To Girls At Parties was somewhat of a smash hit at this year’s Cannes film festival. Since then, the Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning drama has taken a back seat while Nicole Kidman is busy showing up in what seems like a dozen other awesome projects.
John Cameron Mitchell’s film is getting a U.K. release date, but still not one state side. Either way, here’s a trailer, and it looks like a blast:
Punk. It's a way of life. Watch the trailer for John Cameron Mitchell's film adaptation of @neilhimself's How To Talk To Girls At Parties. pic.twitter.com/jadvGZWLMG
John Cameron Mitchell, director of the acclaimed films Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus takes us to an exotic and unusual world: suburban London in the late 70s. Under the spell of the Sex Pistols, every teenager in the country wants to be a punk, including our hopeless hero Enn (Alex Sharp). Crashing local punk queen Boadicea’s party, Enn discovers every boy’s dream – gorgeous foreign exchange students. When he meets the enigmatic Zan (Elle Fanning), it’s love at first sight.
But these teens are, in fact, aliens from outer space, sent to Earth to prepare for a mysterious rite of passage. When their dark secret is revealed, the love-struck Enn must turn to Boadicea (Nicole Kidman) and her followers for help in order to save the girl he loves from certain death. When the punks take on the aliens, neither Enn’s nor Zan’s universe will ever be the same again.
A full trailer for Syfy’s Happy! has been released at NYCC. Based on the Image Comics title by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, it stars Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt. Check out the trailer below!
What do you guys think? If you have ever read anything by Morrison or Robertson you know they certainly bring in the twisted. And this looks like they absolutely didn’t hold back. It looks vulgar, original, hysterical and violent…in other words GREAT! Meloni and Oswalt are also fantastic actors and it seems like they are delivering the goods here.
As always, comment and discuss below. And stay tuned to Monkeys Fighting Robots for all your NYCC news!
As we enter a new era of Marvel Comics, I’ll be providing a weekly report on all Legacy titles. Your one-stop guide to what’s going on in the 616 universe from MFR’s resident Marvel fan. Above you’ll see Marvel’s report card for the week, then below we’ll dive into each book. Let’s get right to it!
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
X-Men: Gold #13 “Mojo Worldwide” Part One
Having already re-established their mission statement and focus with ResurreXion, the X-Men books have the smoothest transition into Legacy. X-Men: Gold has been getting better with each issue, this crossover has a ton of potential.
Even with the inevitable political commentary looming in a Mojo story during Trump’s presidency, this gets off to a great start. The massive roster of mutants is juggled flawlessly and there’s a lot of fun to be had with the X-Men facing their “Greatest Hits.”
I imagine, and hope, this crossover addresses some of the duplicate heroes (Jimmy Hudson, Bloodstorm) and finds them a new home. I did a full review of this issue here.
Avengers #672 “Worlds Collide” Part One
This lineup of Avengers is far from traditional. The Champions have struggled to grow on a lot of readers. This crossover between them sets the two teams on a path to find an audience.
Avengers mentoring Champions as they face an incoming meteor. Creative power collaborations are a true delight. There are a lot of interesting dynamics between these characters and their counterparts.
With Mark Waid having written both Avengers and Champions leading up to Legacy, he has a really great handle on both squads. This is the best they’ve been written. It’s as if this was the end game and the previous Marvel NOW! titles were kicking tires as a warm-up for this story.
Some of the issues readers had with both Avengers and Champions prior to Legacy had to do with the art. Personally, I enjoyed the different approach in Avengers but I see why people could be turned off.
The art in this issue is a nice middle ground for them both. A more traditional look without just looking like the superhero standard. Jesus Saiz does a wonderful job blending these two teams together in a new style that suits them both for new readers.
This may not feel exactly like the Avengers of old, but the enjoyment does. This certainly feels more like a classic Avengers title than the most recent handful of various Avengers titles.
Spirits Of Vengeance #1 “War At The Gates Of Hell” Part One
One of the biggest wild cards of Marvel’s Legacy lineup, this could potentially be their Justice League Dark. Combining the supernatural appeal of Johnny Blaze, Blade, and the Hellstrom siblings, this was a blast.
There’s a mysterious and demonic threat that drops itself into Johnny and Daimon’s lap. The two begin investigating the supernatural world before starting to assemble their team of occult-based characters.
I really dig the atmosphere of this book. Being geared towards the weird, dark corners of the 616 without taking itself too seriously, this may scratch an itch Marvel fans didn’t know they had.
The cartoon-style art has pros and cons, it doesn’t do Ghost Rider any favors but Blade sure as hell looked badass. While I would prefer a darker look, it helps maintain the looser tone of the book.
Spirits Of Vengeance #1 provides a spectacular jumping-on point for a book sporting some underused fan favorite characters. It even provides quick profile pages for the four members in the back of the issue.
Royals #9 “Fire From Heaven” Part One
Cosmic Marvel has been quietly coming back in a big way. Black Bolt, Royals, All-New Guardians, and Mighty Thor have all been pulling their weight across the galaxy. Royals puts the Inhuman royal family back into orbit, and for the better.
Led by Maximus, the former Attilan residents trek across the galaxy following a Kree prophecy concerning their precious Terrigen. The Inhumans are are getting more fleshed out than ever before. The biggest difference now is that they’re back to being off Earth and not being forced into replacing the X-Men.
Aside from Gorgon and Medusa’s uncomfortable relationship, there’s a lot of growth throughout the cast. The Inhumans are sporting a much different look, starting with the king and queen not being together.
Al Ewing is one of the best cosmic storytellers right now, he’s been consistently delivering top-notch sci-fi comics for Marvel. His trajectory for this cast is one full of mystery on a grand scale.
Royals has had a distinctly fresh visual appeal. It’s not what you expect coming into an Inhumans book, but it works superbly. The art is cold and dark with some strikingly sharp moments and a vibrant neon glow.
It’s almost Kirby-esque in how colorful and complex these cosmic layouts are. That alone makes it worthy of the Legacy banner.
Iron Fist #73 “Sabretooth: Round Two” Part One
Writer Ed Brisson comes into Marvel Legacy on an Iron Fist series that has been everything we all wanted from the Netflix series. It’s one of the books that have quietly been great, merely getting a Legacy facelift.
Danny Rand seeks out Victor Creed’s help finding another classic Marvel character after discovering they’ve robbed him. The two work out their differences before joining forces while a dark force approaches New York to destroy Danny.
As much as I enjoy this series, Danny housing Shou Lao in a New York City apartment is absurd. So is feeding it like the T. Rex from Jurassic Park, also in his apartment.
Brisson writes Sabretooth well, it’s a refreshing palette cleanser after only having him and his “sub-tweets” in Weapon X recently. His relationship with Danny provides a satisfying chemistry built on good old-fashioned hate between a hero and a villain.
This story is a testament to Marvel leaving behind the “hero vs hero” obsession that had been plaguing their comics for years. We’re getting back to the days of heroes fighting villains, and reluctant team-ups with anti-hero murderers.
Gritty and dark with explosive action and detailed sequences, Mike Perkins draws a very convincing Kung-Fu comic.
Jessica Jones #13 “Return Of The Purple Man” Part One
Marvel Legacy for Jessica means revisiting her most prominent arc and villain. Bendis and Gaydos don’t have to alter much to earn that Legacy banner, they’ve pretty much already been trying to continue where the original Alias series left off in both script and art.
Killgrave is back and Jessica takes her daughter into hiding with Carol Danvers. Luke is on the outside, everyone is preparing for the worst as Jessica’s most feared enemy, The Purple Man, has returned.
Brian Michael Bendis is one of the big dogs at Marvel, that means he’ll most likely be staying the course he was already on with his titles. It remains to be seen whether or not that’ll help or hurt his books if he’s part of the problem or solution for Marvel’s comics.
One thing it does for sure is allowed Bendis to keep doing these obnoxiously wordy monologues at the beginning of his issues. Once you get through that the issue starts rolling and Bendis’ stronger traits appear. His dialogue makes or breaks every scene he writes, Jessica Jones #13 has some fantastic conversations and some that linger too long.
Jessica is one of the rare comic book characters that has found tv success that hasn’t forced a creator to alter their comic book version to better fit their “new audience.” Despite how much I love Kristen Ritter, I still don’t read Jessica Jones’ dialogue in her voice.
This first installment was pretty unfulfilling. After reading the issue, there isn’t a real sense of stakes or impending doom. The danger of Purple Man is implied but drowned out by dull conversation scenes that go nowhere.
This is a comic in which the art is so drenched in photorealism that it relies heavily on the script to make it pop. Unfortunately, this script was dull and the art never really gets a chance to go anywhere.
Jessica Jones #13 is the first Marvel Legacy book to fall flat for me.
Iceman #6 “Champions Reunited” Part One
One of the quieter ResurreXion titles goes through the Legacy filter. Bobby Drake reunited with his former Champions comrades to mourn the death of Black Widow.
I’m invested in Bobby’s search for happiness and understanding. However, this book quite often reads like a depressed teenager’s attention seeking Facebook timeline. There’s not a clear sense of direction or anything of real interest in six issues.
Iceman is kind of a downer and over-shares every detail of his life. None of the supporting cast seems to find his struggles interesting or important and readers share the sentiment. It’s a book that thinks it’s as cute and charming as Hawkeye but hasn’t come close.
The movie prop designer activating a bunch of sentinels to get footage of them fighting Iceman is a monumentally lame conflict.
Bobby coming out and learning how to act on his true feelings should be the emotional core of this book. Instead, it’s a chore to get through. Instead of Bobby discovering the real him, the series can be summed up so far as “Iceman is gay, and that’s weird, right?”
Venom #155 “Lethal Protector” Part One
Eddie Brock and his trusty symbiote are back together again. Venom got the early lead on legacy numbering but this is the first official Marvel Legacy release.
Venom gets back to their anti-hero ways, hitting the streets to put an end to crime and corrupt cops in a misguided effort to be a hero. Brock also finds himself with an underground tribe of dinosaur people in his debt and seeks their help in feeding his symbiote.
I can’t think of a compelling reason for this book to exist outside of 90s nostalgia.
This book does absolutely nothing for the character, it’s a story comic fans have read hundreds of times. Even with the legion of dinosaur people at their disposal, every turn of the page was an expected and boring sense of deja vu.
At least Venom returns to their former handsome 90s look, there are some satisfying panels that aren’t polluted by ridiculous dinosaur people.
Both Eddie Brock and his symbiote were on intriguing paths a few short years ago. This reunion is much less exciting than Anti-Venom and Agent Venom were.
I know there are plenty of people that will buy this series. Personally, I don’t think I want to read Venom outside of a Spider-Man book again.
At the end of each issue, there’s a primer written by Robbie Thompson and illustrated by Mark Bagley. They are absolutely crucial, and perfect for any new reader jumping in with Legacy. Even the origins you don’t need catching up on are fun refreshers drawn in classic Marvel style.
That’s one week of Marvel Legacy in the books! Let me know what you thought about this first wave of comics and I’ll see ya next week!
As New York Comic-Con kicks off, the founding father of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee has a message to deliver about diversity and bigotry in the comic book industry.
Does this make the 94-year-old Lee a social justice warrior? I certainly hope so.
“Hi, heroes, this is Stan Lee coming at you. I just want you to know Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window. That world may change and evolve but the one thing that will never change is the way we tell our stories of heroism. Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race gender, religion, or color of their skin. The only things we don’t have room for are; hatred, intolerance, and bigotry. That man next to you is your brother. That woman over there. She’s your sister. And that kid walking by. Hey, who knows he may have the proportionate strength of a spider. We’re all part of one big family, the human family and we all come together in the body of Marvel. You’re part of the Marvel Universe that moves ever upward and onward to greater glory. In other words: Excelsior!” said Stan Lee.
It’s funny that 74 people on Youtube don’t like this video. I wonder if those 74 people are going to burn their comics now? Sad little snowflakes. Marvel was also very smart to disable the comments on the video as well. You can still comment on the Facebook version of the video.
What do you think of Stan Lee’s statement? Comment below?
