The Pegasus, a Colonial vessel that had been missing and presumed destroyed, arrived back at the fleet, with Admiral Helena Cain aboard. Admiral outranked that of Commander, so Cain took control of the fleet away from Adama. Adama was fully supportive of the order, showing his honor as a military man.
Even after Cain reassigned Starbuck and Apollo, Adama followed the orders and did what he was told.
Things got complicated. When the Cylon interrogator from the Pegasus went to find out what Sharon knew, things got bad. He was going to rape her during the violent encounter, but Chief and Helo came to her rescue, inadvertently killing the man.
Cain ordered Chief and Helo brought for trial, but she decided their fate without a trial and planned on executing them for treason. Adama wanted them to be brought back to Galactica for trial but Cain denied him. Adama launched viper crews and a Marine team to go get his men back and Cain ordered her vipers to stop them.
Hence the tension.
Major issues unfolding among the humans. I was excited about the next episode and I was going to start to watch it, but I saw the next episode was a part one, and I did not want to stop in the middle of the two-parter. So I stopped the next episode and hope to get back to it later this weekend when I can watch the two of them together.
This episode was really hard to watch as this crew of Pegasus had really been rough to the Cylons that they had in their control. They showed that they had a Cylon copy of Number Six, but she had been beaten and raped by many of the crew. This showed the Cylons in a new light, giving them more human qualities and almost made them sympathetic.
I thought at first that the Pegasus crew would turn out to be Cylons themselves, but this is even better. They are humans and showing the dark side of the race.
It has been awhile since a film from the Alien franchise has really hit. Alien: Romulus, directed by Fete Alvarez, is the film that has broken that streak.
The best Alien film since the original two films with Sigourney Weaver, Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus is tense, frightening, full of action and amazing to look at.
Planning to escape their nowhere jobs, a group try and convince Rain (Cailee Spaeny) to come with them to salvage cryogenic pods from a derelict space station floating above the planet’s surface. With these pods installed in their own ship, they could afford to take the nine-year journey to find a new life.
Rain has a “brother” named Andy (David Jonsson) who was actually an android and the group needs him to override security aboard the space station.
Of course, they find more aboard the space station than they expected and it leads to some awesome action sequences, some of the most creative of the franchise. And it has a surprise connection to the past that is a wonderful bit.
I was unfamiliar with the entire cast of Alien: Romulus, however, I found they all did a really great job. A couple of the characters did not have much depth to them, but it did seem as if the film did its best with the time it had to give each character a hook in which the audience could relate to them.
The film does start a little slowly, but it picks up the pace extremely well and the third act is just completely thrilling and unbelievable. The third act is bonkers and filled with amazing scary imagery and situations.
The special effects are fantastic and the alien creatures look beautifully horrifying.
When this was first announced, I was not sure this was a film I needed. It felt like this franchise has runs its course. Then, a master filmmaker like Fete Alvarez gets his hands on the franchise and breathes life into it, bringing it back to the forefront of monster movies.
I will admit that some of the trailers may have given away too much. If you can avoid those before going in, the experience may be a richer one. Either way, this is a great film.
One of the big winners from the festival circuit continued its gradual release with the coming-of-age film Didi.
According to IMDB, “In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.“
Much like many independent films, Didi focuses on character development and not necessarily plot. It works very well with this film as we meet Chris (Izaac Wang), a thirteen-year old boy who is struggling through the world of teenagers, preparing to go to high school.
Chris, nicknamed Wang-Wang, lives with his mom (Joan Chen), grandma (Zhang Li Hua), and sister (Shirley Chen), dealing with issues with each of them. He is goin through the awkwardness of a crush and trying to be cool.
Much like many of the kids this age, Chris is not that likable, but you can see the heart of gold beneath his jerk persona.
The film is funny, touching, relatable in every way, and honest beyond reproach. Izaac Wang does a solid job and his grandma, Zhang Li Hua steals every scene she is in. Didi can be brutal to its characters with moments of heartbreaking angst. Dialogue is true to the source and early days of social media plays a role in the life of Chris.
Welcome back to the EYG Comic Cavalcade. This is the last Comic Cavalcade before I go back to school. I have, once again, truly enjoyed the summer break when I could head up to Comic World every Wednesday and spend time reading the new comics in the afternoon. I looked forward to every Wednesday and I will miss it.
One of my favorite parts of going to Comic World on Wednesday is seeing my friend Todd. He is a former teacher who has been collecting comics since the early 1960s. He was not at my last day this summer because he took off for Terrificon, a comic convention held in Connecticut. There are a ton of comic luminaries in attendance (from Walter Simonson to Chris Claremont to Jim Lee, among others). Todd and a friend was driving up to the convention that started on Friday. Good luck at the con, Todd. Drive safely.
Photo from Telegraph Herald, taken by Michelle London .
Comic World was featured in an article in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald this past Sunday, including a picture of Ben, Pat and Todd. The article was about graphic novels and it was a fun read. It also featured comments by Loras professor Kenny Loui, ho himself had written two manga-inspired graphic novels, which I purchased on Amazon after reading the article. The graphic novels included books called Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher: An Autobiographical Manga and There is No Shrimp… And Other Lies My Mother Told Me. Telegraph Herald article can be found online at the following link: https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/features/article_b24a7f7a-4f78-11ef-98ba-83149323b470.amp.html
So, here are the books this week:
Werewolf By Night: Red Band #1. Written by Jason Loo and penciled by Sergio Davila. Cover art was done by E.M. Gist. Marvel has been playing around with “red band” comics during the Blood Hunt. This issue came in a polybag to keep the gimmick going. The red band was just to draw more blood than you would see in a normal Marvel Comic, but you see more blood in an episode of The Boys or Invincible. I do like the character of Jack Russell so this was fun, but I see no major reason for the red band label.
Fantastic Four #23. “Johnny Storm Gets Choked By an Alien in this One.” Written by Ryan North and art by Carlos Gomez. Cover art is by Alex Ross. The best title of a comic this year. It was also a focus of the issue as Johnny Storm served as the issue’s narrator and told the story of the FF shrinking down and heading into a microscopic dimension with aliens of course. The FF is one of the most consistently enjoyable books of the year.
Amazing Spider-Man #55. Written by Zeb Wells and art by guest artist Emilio Laiso. Cover art was by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz (Silver Medalist). Peter Parker goes on a date, but we know the Parker luck means that that date was due to be interrupted by super villains. Peter takes an unconventional step. This was a fun, palate-cleanser after the Blood Hunt stuff.
Jonny Quest #1. Written by Joe Casey and drawn by Sebastian Piriz. Variant cover C art by Tom Raney (Bronze Medalist). I had not intended on picking this up, though I was somewhat interested in the book, especially after enjoying the take on Space Ghost this year from Dynamite Comics. So when there was an issue available at Comic World yesterday, I picked it up. And wouldn’t you know it, it was epic. I have never been a Jonny Quest fan, but this was truly fun and enjoyable and filled with a really compelling story.
Judgment Day #1. Written by Aubrey Sitterson and line art and cover art by Megan Hutchison. This book is 2024’s White Savior #3. What I mean by that is I had ordered this awhile ago, but it just never arrived or it went to other people or whatever. I got issue #2 and #3, but never this one. I was joking that this issue did not exist. Finally this week, Judgment Day #1 arrived in my pull box to a minor celebration. Archie Andrews in a world overrun by demons. Sounds right.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3. “Haunted Part 3” Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Federica Mancin. Mark Brooks did the cover art. Gwen is in universe 616 and an evil doppelganger is running around causing trouble, and Gwen is showing some new and unsettling powers.
DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1. Written by Matthew Rosenberg and art and cover art by Otto Schmidt. This was another book I picked up off the stands yesterday as DC has their very own Blood Hunt, I guess. Except, of course, this is not normal continuity. I was curious about issue number one, but I do believe I have had my share of superhero v. vampire for the time being.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23. “Birds of a Feather Part One” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Federico Vicentini. Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Miles struggles with his new bloodlust since becoming a vampire in the Blood Hunt. The new emotions are coming out of Miles in unexpected ways as he is becoming angrier and more violent.
Elric the Necromancer #2. Adapted by Julien Blondel & Jean-Luc Cano. Script by Julien Blondel and art by Valentin Secher. Elric and the Queen confront Arioch. Though this may be my least favorite cover of the year, the story inside is excellent and the tale of Elric continues on strongly.
Spider-Society #1. Written by Alex Segura and art by Scott Godlewski. Pete Woods was the cover artist. A group of Spider-men from across the Spider-verse join together to try and find Miguel O’Hara, who has been taken by someone. But beware, there is a traitor among the Spiders.
Spider-Boy #10. “Spider-Boy Versus the Spider-Verse!” and “A Bailey Reminder” Written by Dan Slott and art by Nathan Stockman and Paco Medina. Cover art was done by Median & Edgar Delgado. Miles is still lost among the Spider-verse as Madame Web is trying to find him and bring him back. There is a funny one-page “ad” as Miles gets caught in a Mostess ad (a parody of the old Twinkies ads from comics).
X-Factor #1. Written by Mark Russell and drawn by Bob Quinn. My goodness, what an unexpected issue this was. They introduced the new team of X-Factor working for the government, but, at the end, killed off some of them. I had to read over it a couple of times just to make sure I saw what I saw.
Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1. Speaking of surprises, this anthology issue featured the final story for Danny Rand. At least, it sure looked like the final story for Danny Rand as they killed him off on the final page. Then the waxed about the character at the very end with the writers and editors. I know Danny has not been Iron Fist for awhile now, but this was still an unexpected and not necessarily happy result.
The Butcher’s Boy #1-3. Story by Landry Q. Walker and Pannel Vaughn. Script by Landry Q. Walker and art by Justin Greenwood. Greenwood with Brad Simpson did the cover art. This Dark Horse book was one that I missed earlier, so they all arrived yesterday. It is the story of a group of friends and their trip to a ghost town, plagued by a serial killer. I was surprised how much interaction there was between characters and I certainly found this fascinating.
Sensation She-Hulk #10. Written by Rainbow Rowell and art by Andres Genolet. Dee Cunniffe did the cover art. The final issue of the Sensational She-Hulk saw Jen decide about her career as an Avenger and her relationship with Jack of Hearts. I have enjoyed She-Hulk over the last few years and I am sorry to see her book go.
X-Men #2. “Invasion” Written by Jed MacKay and penciled by Ryan Stegman. Stegman, JP Mayer & Marte Gracia did the cover art. Scott, Magik and Psylocke head after a new mutant whose powers are developing much later in life, a trend that they had been seeing lately. This group of X-Men do work well together, especially with the Juggernaut-cannon. It was like the ultimate fastball special.
Wonderland: Return to Madness #2. Written by Alec Worley and art by Giulia Pellegrini. Cover art was by Guillermo Fajardo (Gold Medalist). The adventures inside Wonderland continue with Violet, in search of a way to resurrect her mother. Can Violet protect the human girl Bonnie, who has some connection to the fate of Wonderand?
The Ultimates #3. Written by Deniz Camp and art by Juan Frigeri. Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. This was my favorite Ultimates book so far as Iron Lad, Thor and Sif go to an island that had been devastated by Gamma radiation, the site of the Ultimates Hulk. The issue was more emotional than I expected and is setting up an awesome confrontation.
Geiger #5. Creators Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. Frank & Brad Anderson did the cover. Another unexpected emotional issue with the glowing man and his dog. Very powerful. In fact, the cover of this book was really missed during the cover of the week contest. It probably should have placed among the medalist, if not actually won it. This one was really strong and the entire book is one of the best of the week.
Ultraman x Avengers #1. Written by Kyle Higgins & Mat Groom. Art was by Francesco Manna and cover art was by Dike Ruan & Neerja Menon. I got this because it was a Marvel #1, but I found myself unexpectedly enjoying this issue a lot. Perhaps because it focused on Miles Morales and included Peter Parker Spider-Man as well. This was fun and I want to see more.
Transformers #11. Written by Danie Warren Johnson and art by Jorge Corona. Cover art was done by Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer. Optimus Prime launches a rescue mission to save Cliffjumper and Jazz. Things do not go well.
Immortal Thor #14. “The Wheel” Legacy number 775 for Thor. Written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Jan Bazaldua. Alex Ross did the cover art. Thor vs. Zeus. ‘Nuff Said.
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #8. “Three Moments” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Devmalya Pramanik. Davide Paratore did the cover art. Marc Spector returned to the Midnight Mission after his resurrection in the Blood Hunt.
Other books this week: Anansi Boys #2, Domain #2, Napalm Lullaby #6, Gilt Frame #1, Wolverine Annual #1, and Venom War: Spider-Man #1
We are back with the EYG Favorite Comic Covers from this week. Being honest, this week’s covers were, at best, okay. None of them really jumped out at me. I did find three decent ones and a handful of pretty solid ones. That is okay. We have a returning cover artist and a couple of new ones.
Bronze Medalist
Jonny Quest #1
Variant Cover C
Cover art by Tom Raney
I picked this up off the rack today because I so liked the Space Ghost book from Dynamite. This was the only cover out of a bunch that was remaining. I liked this one a lot. The variant has some great action and excitement.
Silver Medalist
Amazing Spider-Man #55
Cover art by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz
Comic World owner Ben was checking my order out and he stopped at this issue saying that this was one of John Romita Jr.’s best recent covers. He said the cover was filled with action, emotion and that it was more than just a pic of the characters. He’s right. This is an excellent cover showing off Spidey’s determination and heroism.
Gold Medalist
Wonderland: Return to Madness #2
Cover art by Guillermo Fajardo
A brutal looking cover with bloody bodies all over the place on the cover of this new Zenescope book. It really gives a message about what to expect inside this book.
I have been waiting to watch this Indian Hindi-language movie for awhile now. It has been on Vudu for several weeks, but the timing just did not line up well. I am very pleased that I was able to get this one in the schedule because “Kill” truly was an experience.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, “When army commando Amrit (Lakshya) finds out his true love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) is engaged against her will, he boards a New Delhi-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves led by the ruthless Fani (Raghav Juyal) begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, Amrit takes them on himself in a death-defying kill-spree to save those around him — turning what should have been a typical commute into an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.“
What a thrill ride of a film. Take John Wick (without guns) and toss in some TheRaidRedemption action and set the whole thing aboard a claustrophobic train and you have got Kill. A film where the title does not pop up on screen until the forty-five minute mark.
Lakshya as our lead commando is just awesome and they make him relatable as well. He goes through the proverbial wringer during this knock-down battle with knives and hammers and anything else that could be construed as a weapon. The switch in Amrit was cold, changing from the heroic type to a cold-blooded monster that had even the villains sobbing in grief and anguish.
The fights on this train are amazing. They are brilliantly laid out and they are perfectly shot. You believe in each of the moments and every minute of these fights are earned among the characters.
Once the beginning exposition is through, the action is non-stop until the very end. It is truly one of the most violent action films I have seen in quite a while.
Kill has some surprising moments of emotion among the brutality and it helps to make the film more relatable and understandable than it should be. It is a real bloodbath and thrilling film.
A big chunk of the mythology of the X-Files gets wrapped up in this two-part story, with pieces that have been major parts of the show for years.
It started off with the return of Cassandra Spender and ended with the deaths of the Syndicate, except of course for CSM. Mulder and Scully discovered much of the truth behind the Smoking Man, as Jeffrey Spender’s father.
Once again, Mulder had Smoking Man dead to rights with a gun to his head and did not kill that MFer. I want Smoking Man dead so badly. Again, the performance of William B. Davis as the Smoking Man is tremendous as he brings out the bloodthirsty nature of the audience.
Smoking Man also shoots and kills his own son in the offices of the X-Files at the end of “One Son.” Speaking of betrayal, CSM indicated that between Bill Mulder and him, only one of them had a son they could be proud of. What a dirt bag. This two-parter does a decent job of giving Spender a respectful, if not heroic, send off, as he spoke to Kersh about getting Mulder and Scully back to the X-Files, taking the responsibility for the deaths of the episode.
The alien story, which included alien invasions and colonization, hybrid human/aliens, rebel aliens, black oil, vaccines and sacrifices. It is fairly convoluted and I am still not sure exactly whose on the right side. However, it does set the show up to move in a different direction after this major piece of the mythology is brought to an end.
I hate Diana Fowler too, though I am not sure I am supposed to hate her. For now, I find her to be a rotten character who is in cahoots with the Smoking Man.
According to Wikipedia, this two-parter was written in part because Chris Cooper expected season six to be the final season of the show and was designed to give some answers to the series’s show-long mysteries.
The Chief, tormented by the events of going on with Sharon and Helo, decided to take his situation into his own hands and built a stealth plane from spare parts.
It was met, at first, with division and sarcasm, but as the episode progressed, more and more of the crew began to buy into the hope that Chief was selling, and joined in on the project.
Meanwhile, a Cylon virus started taking over the Galactica technology and was in danger of sending a signal to the Cylons to attack a defenseless Galactica.
This dangerous threat forced Adama to bring Sharon into the mix and give her a chance to help right the ship.
I am starting to buy into Sharon’s redemption arc, so I sure hope the show does not pull the rug out from under it. I’m still not sure what the long range story is here with Sharon, but I have bought into it.
Chief and his stealth plane was a brilliant way to help build up morale on a ship that was lacking patience. Of course, Starbuck can fly anything. Even a slapped together dream.
Things are looking bad for Laura and I wonder if the show is actually going to have her die from the cancer that she has. I can’t believe that there will not be some last minute save for her, but I have no idea where that would come from.
It was yet another top line episode in a series that has been filled with them so far.
It is a day for wrapping up season finales for the TV shows I am watching. I just watched season three finale for Bates Motel, and now I finished season one of Greatest American Hero with the oddly titled “The Best Desk Scenario.”
The first season of this show has been a lot of goofy, cheesy fun as Ralph struggled to learn how his super suit worked. This episode he tried for a pyrokinetic power, which did not go exactly how he thought it would.
You would also think that at some point, all the crooks brought to justice by Bill Maxwell who claimed were brought in by a guy in red long johns might start to add up and someone might question what was going on instead of just shipping them all off for mental checks.
Bill was having his own trouble here as colleagues of his were dying and it was making him look at his own mortality and question if he had lost his own step. It was an interesting idea for Bill, but it is not really dealt with during the story. It is there, but not with any real depth.
Ralph and Pam’s career successes were causing Bill to be jealous and to doubt his own career. A new head at the FBI, a really young guy, also brought Bill’s insecurities to the surface.
Season two is the longest of the three seasons for Greatest American Hero so we’ll get started on that one soon. Season one was fun and quite a flashback to the 1980s.
Season three finale of Bates Motel continues Norman Bates’ decent into madness as he finished off yet another young woman, the believed-to-be-dead Bradley in a frighteningly violent scene. Admittedly, it was Vera Farmiga who acted out the actual murder, Norman has slipped back into the multiple personality that has caused him to be such a dangerous young man.
I do find it fascinating that Bates Motel has been able to create two couples that are some of my personal favorite couples of all time on their little show depicting how Norman became a murderer.
First up this episode, we see the pairing of Dylan and Emma take a big step forward as they shared a kiss after Dylan was trying to get her to accept the lung transplant. Her reasons to be afraid of the transplant are understandable and relatable. She just wanted to live and was afraid that the transplant was too big of a risk. Dylan was understanding and sweet as he softly convinced her to take a risk.
And you can see the beginnings of what is one of my absolutely most favorite couples of all time with Norma and Alex Romero. I remember loving this couple when they got together and you can see how these two are being built.
However, on this rewatch, it is hard for me to consider Romero a hero. My memory from the first time through was that he was a good guy, but he clearly is not as he murdered Bob. Now, he did it to protect Norma and Bob was a really bad guy, but Romero outright murdered him. And it was not the first time that he had done this. It might have been for the greater good, but still…
Norma definitely needs to work on her knot tying as Norman got out of those binds in seconds.
I enjoyed this episode of the X-Files for all the ways it turned the typical formula on its head.
First, Scully was out in the field, assigned to a case with a different partner, and she would call back to FBI headquarters to talk to Mulder and he would do the background stuff. Lots of time, this was flipped, with Scully doing info searches or autopsies. Poor Mulder was like a sad puppy the whole time too.
This also felt like an opposite of “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” as we had an older man who could see death. This episode, the man himself could not die and he was determined to take a picture of death with the hope of being able to do what everybody else would do. This episode was played much more serious than “Clyde” was, which had some of the funnier moments in the early days of the X-Files.
The old man, Alfred Fellig, was played by character actor Geoffrey Lewis and he does a great job playing against Gillian Anderson.
At the very end of the episode, after Fellig had taken Scully’s place and had died from the gunshot wound, Scully was in the hospital from the same gunshot wound. Scully said “You know Mulder I don’t even know why I entertained the thought. People don’t live forever.” I think that was a reference, in Scully’s mind, back to Bruckman who had told her that she would never die. This brush with nearly dying herself from the gunshot wound made her question her own mortality in a very different way. At least, that is how I took it.
Norman and Norma have an uncomfortable conversation. Norman was upset from what Finnegan had said to him and he had to talk to Norma because he was afraid it was true. Norma reacted in such an understanding and honest manner that it completely put Norman at ease. It was really sweet.
That made the end of the episode, where Norma winds up screaming at Norman that he was going to kill her, all the more horrible. The juxtaposition of the two scenes were stark.
The whole Dylan and Caleb gun running scene was rough. The budding relationship between Emma and Dylan is cute. Alex is dealing with his own issues with Norma and he is told the truth about what happened to Norman’s father.
And what a shocker. Bradley is back.
Caleb and Chick have a major conflict and a fight. This is leading to something more explosive. It gave Dylan the money to help Emma get bumped up the transplant list. He gave it to her father with the caveat that Emma did not know it was from him.
Norma is unbelievably impulsive in a destructive way. Taking the shovel and starting to refill the ‘swimming pool’ in anger was shocking. She is a truly contradictory character. Sweet at times, insane at others.
And speaking of insane, Norman is really getting to that place.
A new horror movie came out this weekend written and directed by Tilman Singer. There were several moments inside the movie where I found myself literally with chills from the events.
According to IMDB, “Reluctantly, 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Arriving at their future residence, they are greeted by Mr. König, her father’s boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen’s mute half-sister Alma. Something doesn’t seem right in this tranquil vacation paradise. Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family.“
There were a ton of really creepy moments in this film and they do a fantastic job of building the tension of the mystery for the audience. As I mentioned, there were multiple moments where I had chills through my whole body. The music was a great help here too as it was wonderfully done.
Dan Stevens is excellent as always as the creepy and suss Mr. König. His performance is top notch and really helps sell the strange story that is going on.
Hunter Schafer is also excellent as Gretchen, the 17-year old girl at the center of the story. She had to carry a ton of the film and she does a tremendous job.
I will say that the resolution of the movie’s main plot is confusing and I am not 100% sure if I know what had gone on. I think I have a general idea, but there are still several issues that may keep the film from being awesome.
Still, I found this to be very tense and suspenseful and I was happy to have seen it.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 