Author Archives: Doc

Love Hurts

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I think Ke Huy Quan is as charming and engaging of an actor as you are going to find. I loved him in Everything, Everywhere All at Once and the season two of Loki. Unfortunately, Love Hurts is a mess. I’d go as far as to say that this is not Love Hurts… but instead, Love Stinks.

According to IMDB, “A realtor is pulled back into the life he left behind after his former partner-in-crime resurfaces with an ominous message. With his crime-lord brother also on his trail, he must confront his past and the history he never fully buried.”

There were some fun fight scenes. The story, though, was about as dumb as it comes and there is not one real character in it. Because of all that, the film, even among the biggest action scenes, felt very boring.

1.5 stars

Dog Man

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With a day off school for weather, I had a chance to watch Dog Man on Fandango at Home (Vudu). Dog Man was a movie that I was avoiding at the theaters because it just did not look like something that would intrigue me. The trailers did nothing for the film in my opinion and, even after some positive reviews, I did not care to watch it.

So when I rented Dog Man, I was not especially anxious to see it.

I have to say, this was a movie that I found much more enjoyable than I ever expected it to be.

The film kicked off with the origin of Dog Man, and set up his rivalry with the evil cat, Petey (Pete Davidson). With pressure from Chief (Lil Rel Howery) and the Mayor (Cheri Oteri), Dog Man was chasing Petey, and every time Dog Man would catch him, Petey would escape from the Cat Prison. Everything changed when Petey decided to clone himself.

The script of this movie was pretty good, as it told the story of what was going on, but also reveled in a ton of meta filmmaking. There were tons of jokes about the movie, the style, the animation, and about the tropes that were actually quite funny. They were jokes that worked much better in context than they did during the trailers, which always seemed to be painfully unfunny.

The look of the animation was original and creative. I thought this looked really good and kept my focus on the screen.

I am sure that the target audience for this movie, of which I am not one, would find this incredibly entertaining. I would go as far as to say that I was entertained as well. This had some jokes for me as an adult mixed in with the jokes for the youth. They worked well together.

It is very sweet, maybe even too sweet at times.

I am happy that I was able to watch Dog Man. It was much better than I thought it would be. I would highly recommend it to any families out there looking for some funny family fare that everyone will enjoy.

3.6 stars

Daredevil: Born Again S1 E1, E2

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Spoilers

Daredevil is back.

The new MCU Disney + series debuted tonight with its first two episodes. I liked how the show feels like another season of the Netflix show while feeling like its own thing too.

The return of Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio brings their aura and talents in the roles of Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. The power of these two actors absolutely drive this series so far. These characters are complex and three dimensional. They are the opposite sides of the same coin. The discussion between Murdock and Fisk in the diner is such an amazing scene.

I kind of suspected the shocking death that happened in episode one. I had heard some rumors and that minimized it a little bit. It was still tough to see and was an emotional moment.

Yes, there was not a lot of Daredevil in the two episodes, but it made sense as to why we do not see DD much. We get plenty of Matt Murdock though and it really works.

I am very excited to see where the series heads after the first two solid episodes. It was extremely creative and original. Bringing the idea of Mayor Fisk into the storyline is amazing and gives D’Onofrio something special to play.

We are introduced to White Tiger in these episodes, but out of costume at first. I have always enjoyed the character, but I do not have much knowledge of him. I liked how his story worked into the overall arc of the beginning of the series.

We have not seen Muse yet (although I do think we have).

Daredevil: Born Again is on Disney + released on Tuesdays.

The White Lotus S3 E3

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“The Meaning of Dreams”

Big lesson to learn from this episode: don’t release a cobra.

Second big lesson: All the bald, white guys look alike.

Finally, voting for Trump can cause friction among friends.

The White Lotus had its third episode drop on MAX Sunday night, and, between the Oscars and RAW, I am just getting around to it tonight. It was a lot of fun as some weird and humorous things occurred. There also felt as if there were several biblical allegories happening.

Rick, stoned, released a bunch of poisonous snakes from the terrarium at a local snake show, including a cobra which just happened to bite Chelsea. She was rushed to the hospital, but she turned out fine. When asked why he let the snakes free, Rick just said that he felt bad for them. Chelsea said that snakes were evil, but Rick said that even evil things should not be treated badly. This was a weird sequence with these two.

Belinda went to speak to “Gary” because she had thought she had placed the face that she recognized. She was sure that he was Greg, who had married Tanya. He denied it, of course, but she clearly made “Gary” feel uneasy and could Belinda just put herself in danger? I really want Gary/Greg to get his comeuppance this season from his manipulations that led to poor Tanya’s death last season.

Timothy Ratliff finally decided to put his phone away, since it was constantly blowing up with people trying to contact him… specifically the FBI. The stress is beginning to get to Timothy and he took some sleep medication to get some rest. This looks like an arc forming around him and this drug.

Kate told Jaclyn and Laurie that her husband had voted for Trump and that she was an independent, dodging the question about whether she had voted for Trump. Jaclyn and Laurie were laughing about it later and Kate overheard them. I mean… Kate is from Texas after all.

I like where many of these stories are going and I hope for justice for Tanya!

Paradise S1 E8

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“The Man Who Kept the Secrets”

Paradise’s first season of episodes came to a close with an answer to the central mystery of the whole first chunk of episodes: who killed President Cal Bradford?

We see, not only, who the killer was, but also how it happened and where he had been since. It turned out that the librarian Trent was the killer of the President. However, it a plot twist worthy of this show, the librarian was not actually Trent. It turned out that the librarian was the man who attempted to assassinate the President in episode one. He had replaced the real Trent, who was a librarian on the list heading to the underground city. The assassin took his place and hid in plain sight the whole time.

He had wanted to finish the job, but he got comfortable and decided he wanted to live. When Cal had come to the library to make a mix tape for his son, it triggered Not-Trent and convinced him to finish the job.

We see the actual flashback to the murder and it is a dramatic end. Xavier chased Not-Trent as he tried to escape the city. Xavier had found directions to escape and Not-Trent smashed him over the head to take it away.

The end to Sinatra was not quite as satisfying, though Jane shooting her through the throat was not as good as Xavier blowing her head off. Jane did this to keep Sinatra alive and keep Xavier from killing her. Jane had been ordered to take care of Presley, but she did not do it. Xavier was happily reunited with his kids without knowing that Jane was behind the murder of his friend.

This is an awesome show and the show set up a great arc with Xavier on his way out of the city in an attempt to find his wife. Paradise has been renewed for season two so that is exceptional.

FYC: 2025 Oscar Reaction

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I have been very happy to share the FYC crew on EYG this year. I enjoy this show and love the hosts. They have wonderful discussion with intelligence and balance. They can disagree while still clearly being respectful and friendly.

I look forward to the next Oscar season for FYC to return once again!

Thanks to Perri, Scott and Jeff!

Oscar Winners

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Best Picture 
Anora
The Brutalist 
A Complete Unknown 
Conclave
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance 
Wicked

Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice

Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here

Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain 
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown 
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist 
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice

Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Animated Feature Film
Flow 
Inside Out 2 
Memoir of a Snail 
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 
The Wild Robot

Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane

International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl with the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow

Directing
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet,  The Brutalist
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance

Cinematography
Lol Crawley, The Brutalist
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two
Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez
Ed Lachman, Maria
Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora 
The Brutalist  
A Real Pain   
September 5 
The Substance 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing

Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked

Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late

Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot

Sound
A Complete Unknown 
Dune: Part Two 
Emilia Pérez
Wicked 
The Wild Robot

Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked

Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked

Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man 
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance 
Wicked

Costume Design
Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown
Lisy Christl, Conclave
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II
Linda Muir, Nosferatu
Paul Tazewell, Wicked

Best Animated Short
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candles
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Best Documentary Short
Death by Numbers
I am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Best Live-Action Short
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

The X-Files S8 E7

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“Via Negativa”

This was yet another Agent Doggett episode in season 8 that I found very engaging and entertaining. My memory of the 8th season was that I did not enjoy any of these episodes, but on this rewatch, I have found these to be hidden gems. Most of the first eight have been pretty good to awesome, with a few exceptions.

“Via Negativa” is one of those awesome episodes. Even with a limited amount of screen time for Scully, the tone and mood of the show was not lacking and gave a wonderful backdrop for a very strong performance from Robert Patrick.

It was cool to see more from Skinner in this episode and the initial team up with Doggett and the Lone Gunmen. The use of these other X-Files characters helped ease the absence of Scully.

The story itself was not the greatest script I had seen on The X-Files, but there were so many other positives in the episode that it helped create an exciting and eerie show.

Invincible S3 E6

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Spoilers

“All I Can Say is I’m Sorry”

This one was a tough episode to watch.

It started off with the Batman v Superman set up as the character who would become Powerplex lost a sister and niece in the battle of Chicago between Omni-Man and Invincible. He blamed Invincible for the loss and tried to get justice.

In the end, Powerplex’s quest for justice cost him the life of his own wife and son.

Honestly, when I saw that, I immediately thought about Jay Schmidt from the YouTube show pReview’d, which I watch regularly and I know review this show. Jay is very sensitive to anything family-wise since he became a father recently. Seeing the after effects of Powerplex’s attack was devastating, even as an animated show. I had to go watch the pReview’d episode after this and, as I expected, he did not react well. I felt bad for him because he is such a sweet man.

The themes of the episode focused on the results of the loss of life around the fights of the superheroes and how much responsibility the heroes share in the deaths. This is an argument that some films and stories have made, including the loss of life in Man of Steel and, as I mentioned earlier, BvS.

I read a comment that this event in the comic book made a huge impact on Invincible and that it may be a needed moment for the character development of Mark.

Changing the subject for a sec, I just do not like the new black and blue costume. I miss the old one, but it looks as if there is a reason for that change as the tag at the end of the episode looks like something is coming.

Yellowjackets S3 E4

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Spoilers

“12 Angry Girls and One Drunk Travis”

I found this episode really great as some major events happened, despite the feeling that the story slowed down a bit.

In the wilderness, the girls placed Coach Ben on trial for arson and attempted murder. Natalie was the judge, Tai was the prosecutor and Misty was the defense attorney. Misty did a great job too. They had decided that it would require a 3/5 majority to convict Ben and that would come back in a major way later.

After a really emotional and powerful moment from Ben on the stand, Shauna had to intimidate several of the jury in order to get the 2/3 required to convict him. Wilderness Shauna is my least favorite of the Yellowjackets. She is vicious and cruel and filled with hate. It is strange because she is one of my favorite characters in present day, even when she is blaming Misty for all of her troubles or stabbing people in the gut. It is difficult to process the differences between the same character and how I feel about it.

The episode ended with a major cliffhanger, as it looks as if Lottie is dead at the base of some stairs. What happened to her? I have no idea, but Lottie had some strange moments in the episode. This is most likely the big mystery of this season, and it probably connects to the mysterious person who is stalking Shauna and locking her in freezers.

Next week’s episode is the halfway point already in the season and it feels as if the show is starting to ramp itself up.

John Cena Turned Heel

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Triple H had stated that the WWE’s PLC this weekend, The Elimination Chamber, would be an “industry-changing event” and he was wasn’t joking. The biggest shock came at the very end of the show, as John Cena, the ultimate of all good guys, turned to a bad guy.

Some set up. Dwayne Johnson had returned to the WWE as The Final Boss. A week before, he went to WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and asked him to give him his soul, and become The Rock’s champion. He gave Cody until the Elimination Chamber to make his decision.

John Cena had just won the Men’s Elimination Chamber match by forcing CM Punk to pass out to the STF. Cena was still in the ring when Cody Rhodes made his way to the ring. This was not uncommon. By winning the Chamber, Cena earned a match for the championship with Rhodes at Wrestlemania and there is a long tradition of people in the matches like this facing off with each other. In fact, earlier in the PLC, Bianca Belair had won the women’s Chamber and Rhea Ripley (and Iyo Sky) came out to confront her. So when Rhodes came down to the ring, it was expected to be a confrontation.

Then the Rock came down, and he told Cody that he wanted his answer. He told Cody that if he said yes, he would have everything, and if he said no, his dream would die, again. However, Cody said that he had already given his soul away to the fans and the ring, and that Rock could go “F-himself,” except he didn’t say “F.”

Cena was excited in the background, and he came over to hug Cody. That was when Cena’s face changed and he received the throat-slitting gesture from The Rock. He then attacked Cody Rhodes and bloodied him with the championship belt.

Cena and the Rock stood over top of Cody Rhodes posing together.

Fans have been wanting a Cena heel turn for years, but the WWE rejected the idea. Cena was the ultimate babyface, granted more Make-a-Wish requests than anyone ever, and was always a heroic figure, even if the crowd was half chanting that “Cena Sucks.” They had chances to turn him heel before, and they never took it.

Cena had announced that he would be returning to the WWE in 2025 to engage in a retirement tour. That at the end of 2025, Cena would retire from in-ring competition. He has become a successful actor in Hollywood so this would be the final run. He wanted to win his 17th world championship, which would break the record of 16, a total he shared with Ric Flair.

Turning him heel on his final run with the company and in such a grand manner was gutsy. It was an amazing decision, one that has immediately been compared to the heel turn by Hulk Hogan when he formed the NWO, largely considered the most famous heel turn of all time.

The WWE is upside down and the Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena match suddenly has so many more stakes involved besides a Cena record. The industry is totally changed and will be for the foreseeable future.

The time is now.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #141

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March 2

It is Sunday morning and the EYG Comic Cavalcade is a little bit late. That was because much of Saturday was taken up for me with watching Last Breath, the Animated and Live-action Oscar nominated shorts, and the Elimination Chamber, where John Cena turned heel. It was an epically busy day and so, while I was able to finish reading the books Saturday morning, this write-up had to wait.

One of the things I received in the mail this week was a graphic novel that I had supported through Kickstarter. It was called Oxymoron, and I actually got two graphic novels. The second one was the most recent book entitled Oxymoron: Killing Time. The book is edited by Tyler James and he was the driving force behind the Kickstarter. Oxymoron is a killer clown type character going through time to wipe out those who deserved it… in his own warped opinion. It was a fun book that I am happy to have supported.

Still a pretty big week at Comic World this week. I had to take two trips up to Dubuque because of the shipment problems facing Diamond, but it was worth my time for sure.

Books this week:

Black Canary: Best of the Best #4. “Round Four.” Written by Tom King and art and cover art by Ryan Sook. I love this series so far. I have never been a fan of Black Canary. I mean, she was always fine, but she was never anything special to me, but this series has taken her and made this book one of the first ones I read when it comes out. Black Canary takes a turn in her battle with Lady Shiva. Tom King is excellent at these story arc type series.

Amazing Spider-Man #68. DEATHS. “Cain is Able.” Written by Christos Gage and art by Mark Buckingham. Buckingham & Richard Isanove did the cover art. Spidey is dead, and the Juggernaut steps up. I still do not understand why Marvel wants to do these dot issues (.DEATHS). Why do you just make this #69 instead. I have not been a fan of the 8 Deaths of Spider-Man arc and I will be pleased when it comes to a close in a few issues.

The Department of Truth #28. Written by James Tynion IV and art and cover art by Martin Simmonds. Tynion’s conspiratorial series continues with a shocking return of Hawk at the end of another trippy episode. It is always difficult to know what is going down with the Department of Truth, but it is a lot of fun to try and figure it out.

Behemoth #2. Written by Grant Sputore & Ryan Engle. Art and cover art was done by Jay Martin (Bronze medalist). This Dark Horse comic has been awesome so far. Who knew the dangers that could be found after your bus has been swallowed by a monster. I mean besides digestion. There are all kinds of shocks in this book and I am here for it.

Ultraman X Avengers #4. Written by Kyle Higgins & Mat Groom. Art was done by Francesco Manna. This special crossover comes to a conclusion as the Avengers and Ultra Guard match up with Galactus in an attempt to save the universe. All of which ends in a karaoke party. Yup, that is true.

Sentinels #5. “Factory Settings” Written by Alex Paknadel and art by Jason Mason. Cover art was done by Jason Mason and Federico Blee. This mini series ends with this issue. Sentinels has been an okay book, but I am not sure that it will be a memorable one. Will I remember anything about it in a month or so? Not sure. I’m glad I own it though.

Silence #2. Written by Evan K. Pozios and art and cover art by Alex Sanchez. It has been awhile since issue number one came out and so it required some recollection on what was going on. A famed comic artist is in a small town called Silence and weirdness is going on. I do like the art style in this book, as it feels different than what I am used to. There is only one more issue remaining of this book from Afterlight Comics.

Hello Darkness #8. This anthology book continues to be highly entertaining from Boom! Studios. I do enjoy a horror anthology. This issue featured the continuation of James Tynion IV’s Erica Slaughter story has has been in three other issues prior. It also saw the end of the Garth Ennis story, “The War.”

Justice League Unlimited #4. Written by Mark Waid and art and cover art by Dan Mora. Tefé Holland is recruited by Mister Terrific to do what she can to stop the inferno and save the Green. Batman and J’onn J’ones interact as well. The Justice League continues to be a solid read each issue with so many possible guest stars.

Ripperland #2. Written by Steve Orlando and John Harris Dunning with art and cover art by Alessandro Oliveri (Silver medalist). The mystery of the serial killer that has some ties to Jack the Ripper continues in the distant future.

Green Lantern Dark #3. “New Camelot.” Written by Tate Brombal and art by Werther Dell’Edera. Cover art was by Werther Dell’Edera and Giovanna Niro. I really enjoyed the Elseworld version of Green Lantern. This has been a fun and engaging series so far, even if the book reads like what if Erica Slaughter had the power of Green Lantern.

The Human Fly #3. Written by Christopher Sequeira and Jason Franks. Art and cover art was done by Jan Scherpenhuizen (Silver Medalist). This IPI Comics book is very intriguing so far. I like the superhero/super spy type feeling the Human Fly gives us and there are some interesting mysteries of what is going on.

Red Hulk #1. “Think Tank.” Written by Benjamin Percy and art by Geoff Shaw. Variant cover B art by Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg. Hot off his appearance in Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus Ross is back as the Red Hulk, under control of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom. There is an eclectic band of other characters in the same Latverian prison as Ross, so we will be seeing a team up mving forward.

Captain America & Volstagg #1. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and art by Bernard Chang. Terry & Rachel Dotson did the cover art. This is the latest issue in the whole Marvel teams up some characters that you would never expect to team up series of books. Cap and Warriors Three member Volstagg would not have been my first choice, but they worked together nicely. It made sense, which is an important factor.

Hellhunters #3. Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and art by Adam Gordon. Cover art was done by Jonas Scharf & Alex Guimaraes. Back in World War II, welcome to the Hellhunters… Bucky Barnes. Young Bucky is out to prove his worth and he joined up with Fury, Ghost Rider and the rest. Fun WWII action in this series, with plenty of supernatural flow as well.

Iron Man #5. “Destroy the Machines.” Written by Spencer Ackerman and art by Jeremy Pina. Cover art was done by Yasmine Putri. Iron Man, Ironheart and Melinda May battled Lucia Von Bardas and her Stark Sentinel.

TVA #3. Written by Katharyn Blair and art by Pere Perez. Cover art was done by Pere Perez and GURU e-FX (Bronze medalist). Thankfully, Mobius survived his attack from last issue, even though he looked really dead, in a pool of his own blood. I have enjoyed the grouping of these characters in this issue so far.

X-Men #12. “Work Release.” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Netho Diaz. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Marte Gracia did the cover art. Helping out with the X-Men in this issue… it is Alpha Flight! I always loved Alpha Flight so it was cool to see so many of their classic characters back in the pages of the X-Men where they were originally born.

Ultimate Spider-Man #14. Written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Marco Checchetto. Cover art was done by Marco Checchetto and Matthew Wilson. I also picked up the variant (1:25) with cover art by Carmen Carnero. With Richard and Black Cat growing closer, there is a shocking death at the hands of Kraven. I did not expect this death, so maybe there will be some shenanigans coming with it.

Fantastic Four #29. “The Dream Team.” Written by Ryan North and penciled by Cory Smith. Cover art is by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. Welcome back as a special guest star this issue… She-Hulk! Jen, Ben and Sue team up to try and save some vampire children. There is a weird sentence.

Uncanny Valley #8. Written by Tony Fleecs with art and cover art by Dave Wachter. Oliver is still in the world of cartoons, and he is trying to find his way back to his mom and grandpa, while avoiding the First. There are a group of purple creatures that may bear some resemblance to the Smurfs (only not blue) that Oliver meets. Uncanny Valley is an entertaining and creative book every month.

Nights #13. “Viva Las Gray-gas.” Written by Wyatt Kennedy and art by Luigi Formisano. I thought Nights was done, but then I was surprised by issue #13 in the previews. I wonder how much the continuation of this series was based on the animated series that is in the works from Titmouse, the company behind Netflix’s Big Mouth. I’m sure Image is not above using the publicity to sell more comics. It is a smart idea. And this issue was a nice one to jump on to if you were unfamiliar with the first 12 issues.

Absolute Wonder Woman #5. “The Last Amazon Part 5 of 5.” Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Hayden Sherman. Cover art was done by Hayden Sherman and Jordie Bellaire. Diana takes some drastic steps to defeat the giant monster… she turned herself into Medusa. I do like how this series ties Diana to Greek mythology even more than before.

Metamorpho #3. “The Man from J.A.V.A.” Written by Al Ewing and art by Steve Lieber. Steve lieber & Lee Loughridge did the cover art. This issue is heavily including Java, who was once Rex Mason’s second hand. Java is now a secret agent. Oh and Metamorpho and Sapphire split up. And then there is Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java, Java and Java (Happy Todd?)

Hornsby & Halo #4. I started to read this issue from Image’s Ghost Machine imprint, but I was really confused. It felt as if I was missing something from this story because Hornsby and Halo were together and they both were using their powers together. I did not remember that so I went to my CZL app and found out that I was missing issue #3. So I stopped reading this one and put it aside until my order from eBay gets here.

Other books this week: In Bloom #3, FML #4, Women of Marvel: She-Devils #1, The Seasons #2, Rogue the Savage Land #2, Ultimate X-Men #12, and Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #4.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #6

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Spoilers

“Bastogne”

As we start the second half of the season, the soldiers of Easy Company are in bad shape. The defense of the Belgium city of Bastogne was part of the Battle of the Bulge and was one of the most important moments of the war.

One of the key parts to this episode was the focus on the character Eugene Roe, the medic with the group. The horrors he had to endure in an attempt to keep the soldiers of his company in one piece was devastating. I was always a fan of the TV show MASH, but this took the realism to an all new level with the injuries and the blood. It truly gave a portrait of a man trying to hold his own self together to do what he could for the wounded.

Eugene met up with a nurse in the town of Bastogne, Renee. They connected over their efforts to save people and their wartime moments were the sole peace in this episode. Sadly, I knew what was destined to happen here, as Renee appeared to have died in a German bombing run on Bastogne (although no body was found).

Eugene went through the mental wringer in this episode, but the final moments with him seemed to indicate that he was going to make it through. He had slowly been starting to become like a zombie, but the final moment in a foxhole with Heffron, who he calls by his nickname “Babe” which was significant because Eugene did not use the nicknames before.

One of the more haunting moments of the episode came when there was a lull in fighting and the Germans could be heard singing “Silent Night” in German from out of their locations in the woods. Since it was Christmastime, this little bit of singing humanized the Germans, reminding us that they were just people fighting for their side, even if the Nazi Party was completely evil.

Another brutally powerful episode of this mini-series. Just four more weeks to go for this series in the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

2025 Oscar Live-action and Animated Shorts

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I was able to see the five Academy Award nominated Live-action shorts and the five animated shorts today at Cinemark. I look forward to this every year, getting the chance to see these well deserving films. I was under a time constraint today thanks to the WWE Elimination Chamber, but it was able to fit nicely in.

Live-Action Shorts.

I am going to list these in order of my favorite. I will also give you which one I think will win the Oscar. Spoiler, my favorite animation short is not the one that I am predicting will win the Academy Award.

#5. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. From Croatia. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the films I saw today. It felt like it was doing something special, but it just seemed to end and I did not like the conclusion of the film.

#4. Anuja. India. I liked this short. The actress playing Anuja does a great job with the talented young girl, but the ending of this one was left fairly uncertain and I wanted more closure.

#3. I’m Not a Robot. Netherlands/Belgium. This sci-fi short was very clever. Started off with some good humor, but developed into an obsession. I did not know that the CAPTCHA could identify robots in other ways. This was an enjoyable short.

#2. The Last Ranger. South Africa. A remarkably powerful short film detailing poachers targeting rhino horns. There are some really emotional moments in this short and the performance by Liyabona Mroqoza is riveting. I just about put this at number one, but…

#1. A Lien. USA. Man this was a tough short to watch. A young couple and their daughter heads down to have the husband’s green card meeting and ICE is there. The emotion, the fear, the anger and frustration jumps off the screen in this short.

A Lien gets my pick as the winner for the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short.

Animated Shorts

I did enjoy the Live-Action shorts overall more than the Animated ones, but these were all pretty decent too.

#5. Wander to Wonder. Netherlands/Belgium/France. This was such a bizarre short. Wander to Wonder was a kiddie show at one point but things have become really dark. It was truly disturbing and weird.

#4. Beautiful Men. Netherlands/Belgium/France. Three brothers who were hoping to get a hair transplant surgery, have to face their problems and their insecurities. I thought this was a good short with some solid characteristic development.

#3. Magic Candies. Japan. This one felt like it was just too long. There was a scene in this film, where the young boy had some magic candy and it led to a nice moment with his father. That should have been the end, but then the short continued on. It just went too long for me. The first fifteen minutes or so were really great.

#2. Yuck!. France. This is the sweetest of the animated films as the whole thing was based around a first kiss. This was a nice animated short.

#1. In the Shadow of the Cypress. Iran. This was my favorite animated short. I loved the animation and I thought this story was the deepest. There was a lot of emotion. The father, daughter and a whale. I loved this whole thing.

However, my pick to win the Oscar is Magic Candies. I just have a feeling this is what the Academy will do. I hope In the Shadow of the Cypress wins, but I do not think it will.