DJ Tony Drake Sits Down With MFR To Discuss His Animation “The Indies”

August 23, 2017

Watch out anime fans a new series is on the rise. The Indies created by Dj Tony Drakes takes us to a dystopian future where hip hop is still alive and well. What will one up and coming rapper do when he gets more than he bargained for? Read this exclusive interview with the creator to find out!

The Indies, is it a comic or cartoon?

It’s a little bit of everything. What I’m trying to do, the ultimate goal is to get an animated series green-lit, but what I’m doing right now for the kickstarter is doing an animated short to kind of introduce the characters to people. On top of that what I’m going to be doing throughout the kickstarter campaign is releasing a free web comic. The web comic is just kind of something to say thank you to everyone that’s been supporting me, and also i know that when other people do kickstarters you have to wait months and months to get something so i kind of just wanna say yo if you found out about The Indies here is a free reward already.

What is the comic about?

So it takes place in a post apocalyptic dystopian future, but hip hop’s still around. The main character Slick he really wants to be the universe’s biggest rap star and he’s willing to do anything to make that happen. So one day he winds up meeting a DJ who owns his own independent label and then the DJ says you know what if you sign this contract, i can make all your dreams come true. Slick doesn’t read the contract and come to find out not only did he sign up for a record deal, he also signed up to be a hitman for hire.So now he has to navigate being a hitman and releasing his debut album all at t he same time.

How did you come up with the name?

It’s because it’s really about independent labels and really in this world the different labels are really just fronts. Kind of like the mafia where you have a restaurant, but it’s actually the business joint that’s laundering money. So these labels kind of go to war against each other so that’s actually where the name comes from.

Are there any similarities between your real life self and the main character Slick?

Yeah. i think it’s not just me, but i feel as though a lot of people will be able to kind of have a connection to him, because he’s kind of at that point where he’s trying to figure himself out, and i kind of think that everybody has gone through that. And I want to say especially where Slick is at in his life he’s about 19-20 years old and I feel that’s the time where people are moving out of the house and pretty much coming into their own. They don’t have their parents there anymore to say what’s right and wrong, you’re kind of coming to that conclusion for yourself. So i definitely took my experiences from that and put it into the character.

Why is it important to you to get it out there and make sure everyone sees it?

Very important for it to be out there. I feel there’s not a lot of…whether it be cartoons or television shows that speak directly to the hip hop culture without exploiting it. And so I feel as though we need something on television that actually represents us. So I think that’s super important and there aren’t a lot of cartoons that are hip hop based. So if I’m able to get this out there and get people interested and show that people still want to see these cartoons… I feel as though that’ll help everyone else even after me to make it it a little bit easier. You have Samurai Champloo and Afro Samurai they did an amazing job. It was like super dope animations now all we hare are the re-runs they’re not on air anymore. There’s this void there and I’m hoping The Indies can kind of step in and fill that void.

How long have you been working on this project?

Around 2010-2011 That was when the idea came to me and then over the years it kind of grew because all the stuff that I’m doing right now I had to teach that to myself. I had to really go in and really study and learn and make sure that I was doing it the right way, because I want everything to be as quality is possible.

And I think around 2012 2013, That’s when we were able to go through and do the character design. And then we worked on animation for a year and a half. And then at that point we had enough to where we could use the art work actually influenced the music that we had.

And then after that it was like actually going out and pitching it to different investors , going to executives to get to this point where it was so good that we had enough momentum to successfully do a Kickstarter.

Speaking of the music, are there any artists who have influenced the characters?

Not actually, what I was doing was taking people in my real life and the different interactions that I’ve had with people and using that as fuel for the character design because I wanted to make the characters seem as real as possible so that hopefully when people watch it they can actually connect to the characters.

Are there any artists you would like to make music with for the series?

We actually we did record the E.P. and we do have some artists that are actually already on the project, and I don’t want to release that just yet, but some of the artists are signed into like Def Jam or Sony Universal.

So we do have like a lot of really dope artists that are on there now. But for like future seasons… I’m a huge fan of Cole Kendrick. My ultimate goal with this would be to work with really dope. Artists that are into animations and anime, and understand how important it is to be able to set the mood in a show like the indies and have the music influence what’s going on throughout the show.

So now I’m curious. When are you going to tell us who you worked on the music with?

When the first song comes out and we put it into the animated short you guys will see who’s on that track. But probably a little bit later I kind of want to see where the kickstarter goes and see when it’s the best turn to drop the E.P. but it’ll definitely be before we the before we release the animated short.

Do you have a date for when the short is going to be released?

July 6, 2018.

Where can we watch it?

That has yet to be decided. If you are a Kickstarter backer you’ll be one of the first people that gets to see it. The reason I say that I’m not exactly sure is because we are going to be doing a festival run. And so we want to go through do the festival runs. The first one will be on July 6. And then after that really going to the different festivals and hearing it there.

To find out more about the series and how you can donate to the kickstarter, follow the links below!

Instagram – http://instagram.com/bluegeekmusic
Facebook – http://facebook.com/bluegeekmusic
Twitter – http://twitter.com/bluegeekmusic
Website – http://bluegeekmusic.com

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“American Horror Story: Cult” Gets Real Political Real Fast

Jen Schiller

August 23, 2017

The opening credits sequence for American Horror Story: Cult went up on the show’s Facebook this week. There’s a lot to unpack in this one, so make sure you’re sitting down before hitting play.

Right off the bat we have: bees, clowns, bloody flags, and, perhaps most horrific of all, both Trump and Clinton masks. Is America split by two political cults? Should we be focusing more on the bees? Can clowns even scare us anymore, when reality has gotten more absurd by the day?

But it looks like the show has a lot more in store than just squeaky shoes.

American Horror Story: America

Monkeys Fighting Robots horror writer EJ Moreno dissected clues from early marketing for Cult. While pretty much everything we knew at that point was that clowns would be involved, this opening sequence gives us SO. MUCH. MORE. Perhaps the showrunners backed off the clowns a little once It was announced for the fall. Or maybe the clowns are more of a metaphor.

Creator Ryan Murphy confirmed earlier this year that Cult‘s plot pulls directly from the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, with both Trump and Clinton appearing during the series. Murphy told Hollywood Reporter that Cult will show both sides of the massive political divide. However, like previous seasons, most of the characters fall into marginalized categories, specifically those “ignored by the current [Trump] administration and who are afraid and feel terrorized that their lives are going to be taken away.”

American Horror Story has pulled from real-life events before. However, Cult is the first to pull directly from such current events. Season seven premieres September 5th on FX.

Created in 2011 by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck, American Horror Story is an anthology television series. Season Seven stars Sarah Paulsen, Evan Peters, Cheyenne Jackson, Billie Lourd, Billy Eichner, Alison Pill and more. The story arc begins the same night as the 2016 presidential election. Bring in the clowns.

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Comic Show Episode 10: Donny Cates Talks Thanos, Doctor Strange, and Demon Raccoons

Anthony Composto - EIC

August 23, 2017

Welcome to the TENTH episode of the Comic Show by Monkeys Fighting Robots! This week, we’re chatting with writer Donny Cates about his upcoming Marvel series, Thanos and Doctor Strange, as well as his creator-owned work at Image and AfterShock. Plus, Anthony has some reading recommendations for you based on what’s new this week.

Buckle up, True Believers! Episode 10 of the COMIC SHOW by Monkeys Fighting Robots is here.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

01:17 – Interview with Donny Cates

41:28 – Reading Recommendations & Follow-Up on Generation Gone

Thank you for listening!

Do you want to be our FAN of the week? All you have to do is comment on this podcast to be eligible.

Do you have a question that you would like answered during the show? Email your questions to matt@popaxiom.com.

Reviews are greatly appreciated – How to Rate and Review a Podcast in iTunes

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Review: ‘The Hard Place’ #1 Drives and Delivers Both Character And A Great Set Up

Manuel Gomez

After five years in prison, AJ Gurney, a legendary wheelman in Detroit, has decided it’s time to go straight. He returns home to work in his father’s garage and disappear into anonymity. But during a visit to the bank, AJ is recognized by two violent bank robbers, and they demand AJ be their getaway driver. To ensure his compliance, they take a young female hostage; unfortunately, she happens to be the daughter of a Russian crime lord. AJ now finds himself pursued by a bitter police department and hunted by every asset of the Russian mob. Without a doubt, he’s in a very hard place.

The Hard Place #1 (0f 5)
Written: Doug Wagner
Art by: Nic Rummel
Colors by: Charlie Kirchoff
Cover: Brian Stelfreeze

A 12 Gauge Comics Production
Published by: Image Comics

I knew nothing about this book going in (just a passing knowledge of Plastic, another Image series written by Doug Wagner which I haven’t read). But the art looked good, and as I have said around these parts before, a new first issue from Image ALWAYS deserves a look. Again I was proven right, as The Hard Place was another great entry in the growing crime-comics library Image has been publishing and a book well worth your time and money.

Writing

Doug Wagner writes what on the surface appears just as a simple “getting out of jail” tale but is filled with character development that bonds you to the characters. AJ is someone you immediately connect with on the virtue of how his relationship with both his father and his friend Don (a cop no less!) are portrayed. There is affection, humor, and history between him and Don; a warmness to their dialog and scenes that makes it clear Don cares and is glad to see his friend. The nature of their friendship is also revealed with clever exposition. Things are said that let us know these two are old friends, almost like brothers. It’s in the back-and-forth between these two that we learn that AJ is both an amazing driver, and indebted to a man named Maksim, two details that will play an integral part in kick starting this story at the end. The pages between AJ and Don held some of my favorite moments in this comic.

AJ’s scenes with his dad ‘Pops’ are equally well written and much is said in the way they talk to each other vs. what is said. There is some tension between father and son, a tension that goes both ways, but it’s not enough to snap their love for each other and sense of family loyalty.

And then there is the bad guy (this is after all a crime/action story). The introduction of Maksim Sidorov is pretty intense, with the heavily inked up gangster coming across as both methodical, intelligent, and ruthless. He kills a man by violently ‘curb stomping‘ him, yet the action never seems to raise his own pulse. It’s a great way to set up the big bad as a looming threat.

But the ending, the hook in the last few pages, is what really did it for me. And again it’s a testament to the subtlety of the writing that I didn’t see it coming. The “I was almost out but then they pull me back in” moment is a well-known trope of the crime genre, but it’s handled freshly here, with an element of coincidence that works as the kicker. It’s a cliffhanger that without a doubt makes me eager to keep reading.

Art

Artwise, the book also shines pretty brightly. Nic Rummel’s line work is stylized, with definite graffiti influence (think along the lines of Jim Mahfood), but it also doesn’t veer into that style so much that it becomes distracting. The thick, black lines give the pages weight and movement. I also really like the extra thick, black panel borders that makes the art contained within them very crisp; it helps you focus on the images.

The coloring by Charlie Kirchoff is also a big factor in this book’s success. The palette is surprisingly bright for an inner city set tale, with oranges, purple and burgundy hues giving it almost a Michael Mann type of atmosphere. It’s cinematic and fluid.

There is also a very clever use of sound effects lettering as transitions between scenes; it works for both the bookends and the flashback, adding to the cinematic quality of the whole thing.

Last but not least, the whole thing sits behind a slick and beautiful cover by industry vet Brian Stelreeze.

Conclusion

Image delivers yet another solid crime comic with The Hard Place #1. It’s deceptively simple in concept but not in execution. What we get is a tightly paced, plotted story with subtle character development and one hell hook ending that really grabs you. A lot of pieces are being set up here, and you can tell everything will be put in motion soon. Plus, it’s all so great to look at. Simply said, this book will not disappoint.

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Preacher Feature: Dirty Little Secret

Joshua Versalle

August 22, 2017

Preacher Feature is a weekly analysis of the AMC show Preacher based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. In this column, we will give a breakdown of the events from the previous night’s show, including how they relate to the comics, and speculate as to what’s going on and what might be coming up. This is to say that there will be spoilers, both actual and potential. If you have not yet watched the episode in question or are watching the show without reading the comics and don’t want to have any foreknowledge of what might happen to Jesse and company, then you would do well to stop reading this now.

Looking to get caught up? Here’s a link to last week’s article.

Which Coming Is This?

Last week we found out that the Grail is keeping the descendant of Christ in a hidden location, this week “Dirty Little Secret” kicks off with a flashback to the conception of Christ’s first descendant. Not a lot of shows have the balls to show Jesus Christ laying pipe (as far as I know, just Preacher and I Love Lucy, but Lucy had to show them in separate beds) but Preacher finds a way to make it funny. Eventually, we find out that Jesus’ “25th great grandson” is alive, goes by the name Humperdoo, and is decidedly inbred.

Dirty Little Secrets of the Grail

The main plotline of the episode focuses on Herr Starr and Jesse Custer. Starr, as we’ve seen before, seeks a world of perfect order and joined the Grail to achieve this vision. After 13 years, he is disillusioned by the Grail’s plans to unleash Humperdoo as the messiah. Starr wants to take over the Grail and introduce Jesse as the messiah, in order to control the world’s population. In an effort to get Jesse on board, Starr tricks Jesse into using Genesis on him, then shows him two of the Grail’s biggest secrets: that even the Pope doesn’t know where God is and that the Grail’s messiah is an inbred half-wit. By the end of the episode this plan has failed, but Starr still has other tricks up his pristine white sleeve, like turning Jesse’s friends against him.

To that end, Starr has ordered Featherstone and Hoover to break up Jesse and Tulip. Featherstone does so by making Tulip question whether Jesse has told her the truth about the Saint of Killers and leading her to find the Saint of Killers’s weapons, which Jesse hid in the bathroom floor. Cassidy and Denis, meanwhile, spend some age-mismatched father/son time, playing Twister with prostitutes and getting tattoos (“Shemp, for Christ’s sake”).

Easter Eggs/Connections to the Comics

Denis is a big fan of the Three Stooges, watching them in an earlier episode and now getting a tattoo of Shemp, one of the original stooges. If you’re interested in comic books and the Three Stooges, be sure to check out Dave Sim’s classic Cerebus storyline Latter Days.

While Tulip and Featherstone are playing Rock Band (before Tulip goes Roger Daltrey all over Hoover’s head), they play the song “Dirty Little Secret” by All-American Rejects

Questions/Theories

What’s the connection with the dog/man? I was curious about this when they released the trailer. The crew encounters the dog/man in the third episode, but that alone wouldn’t have warranted showing it in the trailer and opening credits. So, we are led to believe that Humperdoo has spent some time with it in New Orleans, but still don’t know what that means for the future.

Jesse had a bullet belonging to the Saint of Killers in his jeans pocket when entering the headquarters of the Grail. No doubt this is foreshadowing something to come (in addition to letting us know Jesse doesn’t do laundry very often). Did he just let the Grail know about the existence of the Saint?

Best Line

“Judas is meeting us at midnight with the getaway donkeys” – an apostle

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Breaking News: Martin Scorsese Is Bringing Us A ‘Joker’ Origin Film

Manuel Gomez

August 22, 2017

In what has to be one of the most left field reports in recent pop culture history, Academy Award Winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese is involved with a standalone ‘Joker’ film. The news comes via Deadline Hollywood, who broke the story. Scorsese will be working along Todd Phillips (Old School/The Hangover/War Dogs) with a screenplay by 8-Mile writer Scott Silver. According to Deadline, the film will be a “gritty and grounded hard-boiled crime film set in early-’80s Gotham City that isn’t meant to feel like a DC movie as much as one of Scorsese’s films from that era, like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or The King Of Comedy.”

This film will also reportedly relaunch the character with a new actor and not be a part of the DCEU (Jared Leto is reportedly still attached to both the Suicide Squad sequel and the Harley Quinn solo movie as well).

What do you guys think? Scorsese is, of course, a master of cinema. Todd Phillips certainly knows how to entertain, and Silver’s script for 8-Mile was definitely grim, gritty and hard-hitting. It is WAY early, but the ingredients are there for at the very least an interesting take on the material. Comment and discuss below!

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‘M.A.S.K.’ #9 Limps Towards The End

Anthony Wendel

In the penultimate chapter of M.A.S.K., Matt Trakker and his allies battle massive mutated creatures in the bowels of the Earth as an internal power struggle threatens to tear the team apart. The secret infiltrator continues to sow distrust. If M.A.S.K. survives the monsters, can they survive each other?

Writing

With the promise things are going to change for M.A.S.K. after the events of First Strike, the issue is heading towards what has been dubbed its “Season Finale.” Frankly, an ending just can’t get here fast enough.

This issue feels rushed, which may have something to do with the crossover event. Still, a drop in the quality of storytelling is apparent. The team is fighting against a massive Dire Wraith (the alien enemies of ROM), dealing with a mole in the operation, saving people, and their arch enemies VENOM also decide to show up. Despite all these events happening in the issue, everything feels bland and less than thrilling, which is the opposite effect you want to elicit from the reader with an action book. It almost feels like the writer was changed, but it’s still Brandon Easton behind the wheel, but his driving leaves something to be desire.

Artwork

The art by Drew Moss with colors by Jordi Escuin is less than satisfactory to say the least. It feels as if the art is being done by different people not just page to page but panel to panel. Characters look inconsistent, architecture is represented by crude shapes, and the facial expressions are off putting. This is the lowest score given in the artwork category by this reviewer in a while.

Conclusion

What happened to this series? It feels like it jumped the shark, but given how this is a universe with aliens, giant robots, and transforming vehicles, this seems hard to do. Given the series is about to end and the characters will soon be under a G.I. Joe title, this may be just one poor issue which came from an accelerated production schedule. Hopefully this is only a hiccup and not a prologue of what level of quality to expect in future issues from IDW publishing.

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Charlie Cox Talks ‘Daredevil’ Season Three; “Born Again” To Be Adapted?

Aric Sweeny

August 22, 2017

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Daredevil & The Defenders star Charlie Cox and asked him about what’s in store for the character post The Defenders. If you are a reader of the comics, it’s likely that the phrase Born Again rings in your ear when thinking of Matt Murdock. Lucky for us, it seems as though season three will be adapting that storyline to some extent.

“Everyone who loves Daredevil loves Born Again. You can’t not. And if that’s the case, then the implications of that would be very exciting to me. That would be great. Having said that, I know we don’t tend to follow any story blueprints too closely, because if you do, then you become a foregone conclusion. There may be elements from Born Again, but I’m sure there will be elements that are unfamiliar and surprising and different in order for the show to be compelling to fans who know the comics very well. If we start making Born Again page-for-page, then the people who have read it and loved it — the hardcore fans — they won’t have too much drama.”

This is my favorite storyline in all of comics. It tells the story of Matt Murdock at his lowest point; Karen Page is a heroin addict after pursuing an acting career, and sells Murdock’s identity as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Wilson Fisk systematically destroys Murdock’s life, and it’s an incredibly emotional journey to experience on paper. If they truly bring it to Netflix it has the potential to make Daredevil the greatest comic book show of all time.

Are you looking forward to Daredevil season three? How much of Born Again will be, or should be, brought to the small screen? Comment below, let us know.

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Who Do You Want In Justice League 2?

Don Draper

August 22, 2017

As everyone is well-aware, Justice League comes out this November, and it is likely one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The film will feature five major heroes: Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and the Flash. Superman will also be making an appearance, as evidenced by the fact that Warner Bros. has to digitally remove Henry Cavill’s mustache for the film. Since the movie doesn’t come out for a few more months, let’s go ahead and jump the gun and daydream about who might be in the next Justice League movie. As this is DC, there are plenty of options.

Justice League plus Harley Quinn" by Julian Fong — Justice League plus Harley Quinn” by Julian Fong

More Than One Team?

There are plenty of great heroes and villains that could make an appearance in the Justice League sequel. In fact, we could see entire groups of characters come into play. For instance, it was established in Batman vs. Superman that at least one of the Robins is already dead. That means we aren’t likely to see the Boy Wonder in any forthcoming films (but you never know). However, that doesn’t mean we won’t have an appearance from the Teen Titans (possibly led by Cyborg himself?). The Teen Titans are normally led by Robin and often include Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, and the previously mentioned Cyborg. With the absence of Robin though, we could see add-ins such as Firestorm or Blue Beetle. Firestorm and Blue Beetle would be great additions because they are unique personalities, and would bring even more diversity to the cast.

It’s also possible we will see some characters from the Gotham City Sirens, since there is already a standalone film lined up for that group. The Sirens include famous female villains such as Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman.

One final team possibility is the Suicide Squad, which also includes Harley Quinn. While the movie got less-than-positive reviews, some great characters came out of it that would be great for other films. Will Smith as Deadshot would be a welcome return, as well as El Diablo and fan-favorite Harley Quinn.

Whoever is included, it would be epic to watch various teams of different alliances coming together to stop a greater threat.

A Bigger League

With a sequel, we will likely see several more heroes added to the lineup. With a new Green Lantern movie in the works, we will no doubt see him added to the team. We could also see the likes of Supergirl and Green Arrow, since they are running their own successful TV shows at the moment. It’s also possible we will see Shazam in the next Justice League, as there is already a movie in the works.

Villians All Around

The DC heroes are great, but they have even better villains. Aside from the Sirens and Suicide Squad, there are great villains like Deathstroke, who is likely to appear in the new Batman movie, as well as other great Batman villains like Clayface, Two-Face, and Ra’s Al Ghul. The recently released Injustice 2 showcased some other great villains that could make appearances, such as Gorilla Grodd and Atrocitus. The game also established that Brainiac is a terrifying villain, and would make an excellent addition to the villain roundup.

Make It a Battle Royale

Ultimately, what I (and hopefully many others) hope to see from the next Justice League movie is a full-on clash between all kinds of heroes and villains. Doing so would be tricky, but if Warner Bros carefully places their releases and build up to it, they could make something great with a ton of great characters and a lot of memorable set pieces.

If you can’t wait to see all kinds of heroes clash, though, we recommend playing some of the DC games already out there. One is Injustice 2, but there are dozens more, including the MMORPG DC Universe Online or, if you like retro titles, Superman: Shadow of the Apokolips, which came out in 2002 for the PS2 and Gamecube. DC has even reached niche gaming sectors such as slot machines, with ere are plenty of options out there. You could even play some DC-inspired slots games, such as the ones at Sky Bingo. You can even download Sky Bingo’s mobile apps so you can take your superhero gameplay on the go, while you’ll find the dedicated DC Comics reader app on the Play Store and App Store, if mobile is your platform of choice.

Let’s Wait and See

It’s hard to speculate right now what we can expect from the next Justice League movie, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream. The movie comes out November 17^th, and the new trailer has got us all more pumped than ever. Once it drops, that’s when the real speculating will begin.

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‘Doctor Who’: Has Jodi Whittaker’s Doctor Found Her First Companion?

Michael Fromm

August 22, 2017

Doctor Who has reportedly cast Bradley Walsh as the first companion for Jodi Whittaker’s Doctor, according to the Daily Mirror. The BBC has yet to officially confirm the casting.

Walsh is an actor and television personality, most notably starring in Law & Order UK (where new Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall served as a writer and executive producer). He is also a host on the English game show The Chase. Walsh also appeared in the Doctor Who spinoff The Sarah Jane Adventures in the episodes Day of the Clown: Parts I and II.

The Doctor’s companions have typically been younger females (see: Billie Piper, Karen Gillan, and Pearl Mackie). This casting would continue the brave trend of trying something new with this incarnation of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who will return this Christmas with Twice Upon a Time, which will show Peter Capaldi’s Doctor regenerate into Jodi Whittaker’s Time Lady.

What kind of dynamic do you think Bradley Walsh’s companion will have with Jodi Whittaker’s Doctor?

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