EYG Comic Cavalcade #7

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April 5, 2023

Spring break has sprung. Yes, it is just a couple of days around a weekend, but it is that time of year where any break from school is welcomed.

Of course, yesterday was NEW COMIC BOOK DAY at Comic World and I picked up a cavalcade of comics to read. Most of them were pretty decent and continues my enjoyment of the medium. A couple of series came to a close and there were a few new issues.

One in particular.. Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I also learned how to determine if it is the cover A, cover B, cover C and so on with variant covers. I feel like a super spy with this knowledge.

I am Iron Man #2. “Chapter Two: The Man with the Bleeding Heart.” This may have been my favorite book of the week (top couple for sure). This Iron Man book saw Tony searching the ocean’s bottom for a radioactive asteroid with the help of a giant, mutated, mind-reading sardine. Yes, I said that right. It sounded silly, but I’ll be danged if it wasn’t a awesome read. Congrats to Murewa Ayodele, who wrote this story that was so compelling with a giant fish and the art by Dotun Akande worked beautifully.

Love Everlasting #6. Written by Tom King and drawn by Elsa Charretier. Joan Peterson has gotten so used to the routine that when something different happens, she is not sure what to do. This issue features the actual marriage of Joan to a guy whom she clearly finds ‘meh.’ Yet, the killer cowboy does not shoot her this time. What is going on?

Stillwater #18. Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Ramon K. Perez. “Chapter Eighteen” brings us the finale of the Stillwater series as the conflict within Stillwater and the neighboring Coldwater comes to a head. I loved the ending of this series with the last few panels really putting a surprise exclamation point on the book. Chip Zdarsky maintains his place near the top of my favorite writers list.

Code Name Ric Flair: Magic Eight Ball #1. Written by James Haick III with art by Rafael Loueiro. Ruben Cubiles did the cover art. In this book, ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, is revealed to have had some special surgery after his infamous plane crash (which was real) and he became a special secret agent. This was pretty weird, with what seemed like a lot of stroking of Flair’s ego, but I had a lot of fun with it. My knowledge of wrestling and of Flair himself made it more enjoyable as I picked up on some of the jokes and traits that they were bringing into the story.

Amazing Spider-Man #23. Written by Zeb Wells and art by John Romita Jr. Peter finds himself back home, desperate to try and find his way back to MJ. Unfortunately, the FF and Captain America have some questions they want answered. Peter did not have the time. This is the continuation of the story about what Peter did that caused such a rift in his life and his relationships. I am still in on what is going down even if it is making me anxious.

The Approach #5. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley while the art of the book was done by Jesus Hervás and Lea Caballero. This is the second series coming to an end this week with this cool Boom! Studios book wrapping up with a huge blast. Now, there are several things that were not covered or dealt with in the series and I wonder if there will be more coming from The Approach eventually. It certainly left off on a cliffhanger.

Scarlet Witch #4. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Sara Pichelli. Russell Dauterman did the cover art. We get a back story on Darcy Lewis, who debuted as a character in the MCU Thor movies and met up with Wanda originally during WandaVision. Here, Darcy is being pursued by Hippolyta, who became the powerhouse Scythia. A powerful pair of females battling over Darcy’s life.

Joe Fixit #4. Written by Peter David and drawn by Yildiray Çınar. I finally determined that this book was taking place during the time frame when Bruce Banner was showing the Joe Fixit personality. Perhaps it should have been obvious to me, but I had not read Hulk books during the original Joe Fixit arc. I do love this series, especially since there is such a presence of Spider-Man in the book.

Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11. Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly with the art by Carmen Carnero. Cap and the returning Invaders fought against MODOC while struggling to try to stop the Outer Circle, including Bucky Barnes. The death of the Destroyer last issue set up some major implications here. Then, at the end, Ian is reunited with his ‘father.’

Hairball #1. Script by Matt Kindt with art by Tyler Jenkins. The new Dark Horse comic that immediately gave me Stray Dogs vibes, even though it sure appeared that the black cat, called Bestie, in this series is anything but our hero. In fact, who could have guessed that the cat hairball that as coughed up would be such a powerfully gross weapon? This was a cool start to a new horror series and I am here for it.

Planet of the Apes #1. Written by David F. Walker and drawn by Dave Wachter. Cover art was by Joshua Cassara & Dean White. The first ‘official’ book under the 20th Century Studios Marvel brand, we get a book that is set after the events of the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. When I started reading the Alien books (which will now fall under the 20th Century Studios banner as well), I really enjoyed number one, but slipped off my interest quickly. Here, even though I do like these movies, I found this comic to be…fine. Nothing that blew me away, but I was not actively hating it either. I kind of expect this will be another book that I just am not that into if I were to continue to buy it. Still, it was okay.

Spider-Man #7. “Part Seven: Spider-Genesis” Written by Dan Slott and drawn by Mark Bagley. This classic creative team has been bringing the End of the Spider-Verse saga and, to be honest, I was not overly interested. This issue debuts a mysterious new Spider character in the 616 universe, specifically one called Spider-Boy. I do find the initial design of Spider-Boy to be cool and I would like to know more about him. With Peter Parker back as the Amazing Spider-Man, I hope this one picks up.

Order & Outrage #1. Written by Jim Starlin and drawn by Rags Morales. My cover art (which was the B cover, which I now know thanks to my unofficial lesson by my friend Todd), was done by Jim Starlin. This was a book that ended up in my pull list because someone (ahem, Todd) thought I’d like it. He usually does a decent job of picking out books that I should give a go, but I just never got into this book. I like Jim Starlin but Order & Outrage just never piqued my interest. It was a beautifully illustrated book (although there may have been too many shots of a penis, just saying).

EYG Comic Cavalcade #6

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March 4, 2023

The last few days, I have been getting a few comics read here and there. As I mentioned last time, this weekend was Wrestlemania weekend so I was quite busy watching wrestling. There was some time to fill however.

Specifically, I had an oil change scheduled for Saturday morning down at Brad Deery’s Motors. I used that time to read two graphic novels that I had recently gotten on eBay. They were a couple of books that I heard discussed on the Fatman Beyond podcast with the writer Jim Krueger. There are The High Cost of Happily Ever After and The Runner.

I found The Runner as the better between the two. The Runner was a story about a man named Daniel who looked in the face of death and survived, only to have death chase after him forever. And he had to run from them.

Meanwhile, The High Cost of Happily Ever After is about a princess whose recently married husband went off to war. She is captured and tortured mentally in a chance to break her.

Both were enjoyable and I have grown to enjoy Jim Krueger’s work. Zach Brunner was the artist on both of the two graphic novels. I thought the art worked very well with each book and it created a excellent tone. There are plenty of wonderfully beautiful images in his work.

The other books I have read…

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2. “Two Captains, One Country” Written by Tini

Howard and drawn by Vasco Georgiev. Erica D’Urso & Matthew Wilson did the cover art. The Captain Britain Corp arrive on the world of Captain Carter looking for that world’s Betsy Braddock. Morgan Le Fey continues to plan to try and destroy the Captain Britain Corp.

Frankenstein New World #1-4. Written by Mike Magnola, Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski with art by Peter Bergting. This Dark Horse limited series featured the Frankenstein character that was from the world of Hellboy. This was a neat little series with Frankenstein and a little girl named Lilja. There was a weird end to the series, but I liked it quite a bit.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #4. “Chapter Four: Restraint, Endurance, and Passion.” And then there was Supergirl. I had liked the first three issues of this series. I know that this limited series is going to be the basis for the upcoming Supergirl movie in the James Gunn run DC Studios. Unfortunately, issue four really came off the rails for me. I was bored throughout it. I had no connection or care about anything that was happening. I was truly disappointed in this issue. I certainly hope the remainder of the issues 5-8 turn out more interesting that this one did. I believe in Tom King so I will hold hope.

Where Monsters Lie #2. Script by Kyle Starks and art by Piotr Kowalski. We return to the place where a group of serial killers have been living and the police, on a tip from a young boy who had seen some of the killers and had managed to escape, come to find them. This all just led to a massive slaughter. We are introduced to a federal agent named Connor Hayes, getting a bunch of backstory on him. I have to say that I do not trust this guy. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but there is just something about him that makes me wonder. This limited series has been fun so far.

Sabretooth & the Exiles #5. “Station Five.” Written by Victor LaValle and drawn by Leonard Kirk. Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer and Frank Martin were the artists on the cover. This limited series came to an end as Sabretooth winds up battling and joining a group of multiversal variants of himself. This one did not wrap up quite like I wanted. It turned the series into an okay one, where it could have been very solid.

Thor #32. “Blood of the Fathers Part Two” Written by Torunn Grønbekk and drawn by Juan Gedeon. Nic Klein was the artist on the cover. Another Thor story that is involved in different time lines, making it difficult to follow. It was also a book that has a cover that really kind of misleads what is going on inside. Despite a cover where we see Thor and Dr. Doom fighting, that does not happen this issue. It does seem as if it will happen next issue though so perhaps it is a bit of a set up. Still, much of this recent arc of Thor has left something to be desired.

Tetris

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I spent literally hours during college playing the video game Tetris on Nintendo. I spent so much time that I realized that I had to be careful with my video game playing or else I could lose myself in them. Tetris was easily my favorite of the games we played.

Now, a new Apple TV + film starring Taron Egerton has been released telling the story of the high stakes efforts to bring Tetris to Game Boy and spread it to the consumers of the world.

One would not believe that a story about worldwide video game rights could be as gripping as this movie was. In fact, when I first heard about Tetris being in production, I pictured those other films that deal with the game in more youthful ways. Tetris is anything but. In fact, this has much more in common with a Cold War thriller than it does with Sonic the Hedgehog or Pixels.

Based on a true story, Tetris tells the story “of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to players around the globe. Businessman Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) and Tetris inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) join forces in the USSR, risking it all to bring Tetris to the masses.” (IMDB)

One of the most fascinating aspects of the film was the look at the pre-fall Soviet Union and how the government kept their people in control. The use of the KGB and the surveillance of foreigners was extremely intriguing.

Henk Rogers was portrayed as an honest man and one of the few people in the film that was being above board. Taron Egerton does an excellent job in this lead role, and, even though I knew Tetris was making it out because I played it so much, I was anxious to see how it actually came about. Henk was an easy protagonist to root for and there were plenty of opposing antagonists that gave a variety of conflicts for him.

There was a feel of “Argo” about this movie, especially the escape near the end. While much of the film had been exaggerated, things added were exciting and worked very well within the context of the narrative.

Toby Jones appeared as Robert Stein, who was attempting to get the rights from the Soviets as well. Jones is always great and he disappears into the roles.

Other actors involved in important roles in Tetris included Oleg Stefan, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Ayane Nagabuchi, Sofya Lebedeva, Rick Yune and Ben Miles.

This film kept my attention despite it basically being about video game rights and contracts and a solid performance helped sell the adventure. The mysterious culture and rules behind the Soviet Union kept this absorbing.

4.1 stars

Comic Cavalcade #5

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March 31, 2023

Tonight starts the big Wrestlemania weekend, which is one of my favorite times of the year. There is going to be a bunch of wrestling this weekend so I wanted to get some of these new comics read.

I could not get the books on Wednesday this week because I had the make-up parent/teacher conferences scheduled for that day which meant I could not get them until Thursday.

There were some terrible storms in the area with tornados and heavy rain that are just coming to an end so I waited to get on the computer. Here are the books from this week that I have read.

Strange Academy: Finals #5. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Humberto Ramos. I have really loved this series so far. The big showdown with the Strange Academy characters and Emily with Dormammu went into full throttle and there was a huge surprise at the end. The ultimate deus ex machina showed up to confront Emily. And they used her middle name too. It was Emily’s parents! I have to say I laughed heartily at that. I did not expect that twist coming.

It’s Jeff #1. Creative team: Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru. Um… what was this? This was a weird book with a bunch of shorts that involved a land shark named Jeff. There was nearly no dialogue and almost no words. Some of these shorts were funny and some were cute. That was about all I could say about Jeff.

Avengers Beyond #1. Written by Derek Landry and penciled by Greg Land. This basically is the continuation of the All-Out Avengers series from earlier this year (or late last year) when the Avengers realized someone had been messing with their heads and keeping them confused over situations. Apparently, it was the Beyonder. And he is the omen for something even worse. This was a lot of fun.

Image Anthology #8. This was recommended to me by Todd because there was a short, introduction to an upcoming book by James Tynion IV called WorldTr33. The short story was interesting, but Tynion has my trust. Since most of the rest of these stories in this anthology were in part 8s, I did not read them. Maybe I want to look for the other books here.

Local Man #2. The creative team on this series is Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley. This book has caught my attention quickly. I have really enjoyed this so far. I love the idea of the fallen superhero trying to just get his life on track, but having to deal with a negative image.

Daredevil #9. “The Red Fist Saga Part 9” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Manuel Garcia. Zdarsky’s Daredevil run is coming to its end soon, and this was amazing again. Zdarsky has been so consistently sensational in the Daredevil series for the last few years that I can not imaging what the book will be when his run comes to an end. I would venture to say this run by Zdarsky rivals, if not exceeds, the run of Al Ewing on The Immortal Hulk.

Something is Killing the Children #30. “The Girl and the Hurricane Part Five.” Written by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Werther Dell’edera. Things are ratcheting up again as Erica tries to plan to save Gabi and Riqui from Cutter. Tis series has a great way to make even the transition or filler issues seem just awesome.

Deadpool #5. “Render Reveal Party” The Carnage symbiote exploded out of Deadpool’s guts, bringing Cletus back to the book. However, that was a short return as another horror arrived. There are plenty of moving pieces here, but I have liked this Deadpool series more than some of the other variations over the years. The character Valentine is fascinating and might wreck Deadpool.

Invincible Iron Man #4. “The Autobiography of Tony Stark Chapter Four” Feilong has taken over Stark Industries and Tony Stark is not happy. Iron Man dominated this issue’s confrontation with the new CEO but there are some things that straight physical power can fix. This series has really started to work over Tony Stark even more. and I am here for it.

The Neighbors #1. Written by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and art by Letizia Cadonici. An unlikely family move to a new home with some, let’s say, bizarre neighbors. This new horror series from Boom! Studios had an intriguing first issue. I am curious to see where this comic heads.

Clobberin’ Time #1. Story and art by Steve Skroce. This was a team-up between The Thing and the Hulk. And I have to say, I did not like this one much at all. It looks like this series will be Thing teaming up with other heroes because next issue looks to include Wolverine. I’m just not sure that I’ll be buying that issue.

The Ambassadors #1. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Frank Quitely. This is a cool concept, where someone is deciding which six people will receive super powers. Only six people. This is off to a good start. I enjoyed Millar’s book, King of Spies, and I think this could be a great book.

Wasp #3. Written by Al Ewing and with art by Kasia Nie. Janet Van Dyne and Nadia Trovaya wind up in worlds where they never have connections to Pym. Watching these characters who we know become different people, but still the same, is great. Al Ewing is one of my favorite writers working today.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #4

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March 26, 2023

Welcome to the one and only ‘Comic Cavalcade’ in the 21st century!

Today, I’m going to look at a specific title that came out in 2019 called The No. Ones. It was a six-issue series from Cave Pictures Publishing, which is a comic company that I had never heard of before.

I was introduced to this series during the pandemic as I was watching the YouTube show Fatman Beyond with hosts Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin. They were doing their show live, but on Zoom, as many YouTube shows were forced to do at the time. One of the features of the Zoom was they were able to get guests easily.

Kevin and Marc, both of whom were comic fans and comic creators at one time or another, had invited writer Jim Krueger on their show. Kevin and Marc interviewed (The interview begins around the 45 min mark) Krueger about his background, how he got into comics, and his work on Marvel’s Earth X.

During the interview, Kevin asked Krueger about a book he had created called The No. Ones. I was intrigued when I was watching the interview and I went over to Amazon and found the series. I ordered it and it arrived, but I never really read it. When I came across it in the piles, it went on the list to read. Today, I finally got to it, and I enjoyed it.

The No. Ones was a series about this super hero team that was celebrities and world renowned when something happened and they wind up being forgotten by the world at large. Literally one day later.

This was a difficult job in my opinion because it is a challenge to introduce an entirely new group of superheroes with powers and personalities and to get them connected to the audience in a short series, but Krueger does a very solid job of bringing the characters to the forefront. The book is truly a character piece and you find these characters very relatable. There are some great ideas in this series and it worked quite well.

The rest of the books involved in EYG Comic Cavalcade #3 are…

Sleeping Beauties #2. Based on the novel by Stephen King and Owen King. Adapted by Rio Youers and art by Alison Sampson. The sleep sickness continues to strike females and a few people discover the tragic results of what happens when they remove the cocoon-like coating from the women.

The Silver Coin #6. “High Score” Written by Joshua Williamson with art by Michael Walsh. What happens when the mysterious cursed silver coin winds up being used in a video game? Major fatalities! I liked this issue quite a bit, though it came up short and they had a backup story that was not quite up to par as the first one.

Black Panther 13-15. Written by John Ridley with art by German Peralta. Cover art on all three by Alex Ross. I am now caught up with Black Panther only to discover that issue 15 was the final issue of the series. Ha. There looks to be another Black Panther #1 coming out soon (of course). This arc continued the T’Challa downgrade as he is exiled from Wakanda, thanks to Namor and the Atlanteans who made a deal with Wakanda to aid in the war against Jhai. Not going to lie, the ending felt a little anti-climatic and I am still not a fan of the way Steve Rogers was written in the book. Still, there are some intriguing ideas here and I like how they filled out the supporting cast and other characters (such as Buffalo Solder, whom I love).

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #3. “Chapter Three: Modest, Calm and Quiet.” Written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely. I have to say, this was a weird issue, with Supergirl and her alien compadre Ruthye. They are on a planet with aliens called Purples and blues and it deals with a lot of class levels. They are continuing to unsuccessfully look for Krem.

I Walk With Monsters #4-6. Written by Paul Cornell with art by Sally Cantirino. Wrapped up this series, but I was not too fond of this conclusion either. Some of the areas that the early part of the book seemingly focused on were not what was wrapped up. They did go into more specifics about Jacey and David’s relationship and his power to be a weird dog like monster (among other things). I was into the first issue, but this one did not finish off strong for me.

Middlewest #4. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel and his friend the fox arrive at the carnival in search of the ‘mystical Magdalena’ only to get into trouble with the carnies and the little girl in charge when he was pickpocketing people for money to buy a funnel cake. Hey, you need a funnel cake. That just goes without saying. This continues to be fun and beautiful to read.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

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I was an former D&D player from back in the day and so when I heard they were doing a new version of the game in live action I thought… meh. The reason I thought that was there have not been any good versions of Dungeons & Dragons on the screen, live or animated, big screen or small one, yet. The closest it came was the old animated TV show from the 1980s. There have been some just horrendous adaptations since.

The early trailers looked okay, but then a few weeks ago, I saw a trailer at the theater with a voice over and that trailer was just terrible. It made me not want to go see the movie.

Despite positive word of mouth, I went to the early access event at Cinemark to see Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves a week before it was officially released and I had my doubts.

I am happy to say that my worries were unfounded and that this movie was a lot of fun and presented the audience with one of (if not the)best versions of the role playing game we have ever seen. It was a great adventure and it gave us a fantastic spirit and feel of being in a group going through an adventure.

Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) were in a prison camp, hoping for a pardon for their crimes. They had been captured during an attempt to steal a relic that Edgin could use to raise his wife from the dead. Unfortunately, this meant that Edgin had to leave his daughter Kira (Chloe Coleman) with his con man friend Forge (Hugh Grant).

When the pair escaped from their prison, they discovered that Forge had assumed a position of power and had been behind them being captured.

Edgin and Holga formed a team, which included their friend, the insecure sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and the shapeshifting tiefling druid, Doric (Sophia Lillis), and they came up with a series of plans to try and re-steal the artifact and free Kira.

The cast is excellent here. Chris Pine is so over-the-top that he fits this role beautifully. He just feels so genuine in his performance that I believed everything he said and did. And he was extremely funny. Hugh Grant was also a hoot as the slimy Forge. Both Sophia Lillis and Justice Smith gave their characters just enough traits and heart to make them easy to root for and they displayed some definitive chemistry not only with each other, but the entire ensemble.

The story absolutely felt like a D&D adventure, with the side adventures and the confrontations with the creatures of the world. The special effects looked real solid. I believed they were fighting a dragon when they were fighting a dragon (even though one of the dragons they fight is not the typical dragon you are used to seeing).

The film’s comedy worked very well, reminding me of the type of comedy one would see in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. There was an absolute Marvel flair in the humor (in the good way). I could not help but get a few reminders of Monty Python and the Holy Grail during the questioning scene in the graveyard. It was easily the funniest moment of the movie.

I was not as fond of the Red Wizard, Sofina (Daisy Head) character as it reminded me too much of the Enchantress from Suicide Squad. Still the third act with this character went much better than the third act of that movie.

This may have been a touch too long and could have benefitted from cutting maybe one side encounter, but it was truly an overall fun time at the movies and, by comparison to other D&D properties, this was a massive home run.

4.2 stars

EYG Comic Cavalcade #3

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March 25, 2023

It is fairly awesome that I am almost caught up on all of the current books that I collect. I am still working on Black Panther and, technically, I have not started Nocterra yet. But other than that, I can read whatever new book comes out that Wednesday.

Of course, I have read all of the books from last Wednesday and next Wednesday I have parent/teacher conferences so I will have to wait until Thursday to get them.

This issue of EYG Comic Cavalcade features a couple of new independent books that are cool.

Black Panther #11-12. Written by John Ridley and drawn by German Peralta. The downfall of King T’Challa continues in these issues as we find out the person behind everything and it was a bit of a shock for T’Challa. He is also tossed from the Avengers because of his actions. I have a bit of an issue with the way Captain America Steve Rogers has been written in this series so far. It just does not feel like Steve. That is a minor complaint. I do like how they are deconstructing T’Challa to, hopefully, build him back up.

The Approach #2-4. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley while the book is illustrated by Jesus Hervás and Lea Caballero. This new horror short series has been cool. I did not know this was still active and that #5 was coming out very soon. This has a big “The Thing” vibes (as in the John Carpenter film) as some kind of monster arrived on the plane that had arrived that had been missing for years. I do not know if we are getting that answer next issue about what happened with that plane. I hope to find out.

Ant-Man #4. “Ant-Man Forever” Written by Al Ewing and drawn by Tom Reilly. I finally picked up the fourth issue of this series that I had started way back when. I read issues #1-3, but had missed #4. Now that I got it, it was a decent story with multiple versions of Ant-Man battling a futuristic version of Ultron. The story was fine, but getting the issue was more about completion than anything else.

Moon Knight #20-21. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Alessandro Cappuccio. Cover art by Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg. This caught me up to the place where Moon Knight is currently at and I continue to truly enjoy this book. Moon Knight is being portrayed as a real bad ass and I believe that he is going to take anyone that comes against him. I am also enjoying the supporting characters that are being included in this series. Everything is going great here.

Moon Knight Annual #1. “Homecoming” Marlene makes a return when her (and Moon Knight’s) daughter is kidnapped in a play to get Marc. And the culprit behind the kidnapping… Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night. Hunter’s Moon plays a huge part in the story as well. I found the interaction between Moon Knight and Werewolf by Night to be excellent and I would love to see more of these antagonistic duo.

Primordial #6. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The tale of the outer space monkey and his dog friends comes to an end. I really do not know how to feel about this issue, let alone the entire series. It is far from my favorite Lemire-Sorrentino book. Still, it is a beautiful looking book and I was happy to give it a chance.

Local Man #1. “Heartland” Created by Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs . Seeley, Fleecs, along with Brian Reber, did the art for the cover. I loved this new Image book. A down on his luck super hero, Crossjack, returns to his hometown to live with his parents after something happened with the super team he was on. It had created quite the controversy and gossip among the hometown population. There was also a backup story about the super team, Third Gen (which was the team that Crossjack was on, looking very much like a team created by Rob Liefeld. I am very intrigued by this book and I am excited to see the next issue.

John Wick: Chapter 4

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I was a big fan of the first John Wick film. However, if I am being honest, while I remember liking the next two in the franchise, I can’t remember anything specific about either one outside of the fact that John Wick just went about killing fools. They really just blended together into the films that followed the first John Wick film. Chapter 4 is not going to have that trouble because this is the most memorable and, arguably, the best entry in the entire franchise.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is still in all kinds of trouble with the mysterious Table as he is trying to stay alive. New threat, Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) is looking to take down John for his trespasses against the Table and he has hired/blackmailed John’s old friend, blind assassin Caine (Donnie Yen) into taking John’s name and killing him. There is also another assassin, Tracker (Shamier Anderson) and his dog coming after John. John kills a ton of fools trying to stay alive (did I mention that already?).

The story is straight-forward. John Wick is trying to stay alive while bunches of people are coming after him. They gave the antagonists hunting John Wick their own motivations here (as well as a ton of cannon fodder to die). Caine was a complex individual who had a motive that you could understand, though that did not make him a good guy. I kept wondering if John, Caine and Tracker were going to eventually team up as an all-star assassin team at some point because they all had a strange connection.

The key to this movie is the action. It is absolutely insane. I do not know how many times I gasped or laughed out loud or dropped my mouth open in utter shock at the amazing set up for each of these action set pieces. The car chase/fight in traffic in Paris was perhaps the most outstanding sequence among all kinds of exceptional scenes. The way these scenes are choreographed and designed are brilliant, as the precision of each moment required knowing what was happening with every shot (or stab or blast etc.). There was also an awesome shot of John Wick moving through a building killing fool that gave us a bird’s eye view of the events. It felt very much like a video game in all the best ways possible.

After all the action leading up to the final act, I thought what they had set up might not deliver the goods, but I was so wrong. No spoilers, of course, but the ending sequence was tense and filled with so much suspense while taking everything to a more low key moment. It was done exceptionally well and felt perfectly satisfying after the huge battle scenes.

The film is long, but you do not feel that length. It is well paced and there are so many action beats that you are grateful for those few breaths that you get throughout the run time.

RIP Lance Reddick, who passed away just recently. His scenes as Charon were quite bittersweet and it was sad to know that this unique presence would no longer grace us with his acting skill.

I was unaware that John Wick’s suit was made of Kevlar. I do not remember that fact bein introduced in prior films, but, if it was, it goes to show you how I have found these middle two films not that memorable. I definitely got that idea from this film.

It was good to see Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne once again and the addition of Clancy Brown is always welcome. Three LOST alumni appeared in Chapter 4: Clancy Brown, Lance Reddick and Hiroyuki Sanada and I love seeing these talented character actors.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is full of fun, excitement and ‘holy s**t’ moments that I found thrilling, funny, completely engaging and worth every second.

5 stars

Shrinking Season 1

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Harrison Ford’s name attracted me to start watching Apple TV +’s series, Shrinking. I knew practically nothing about it going in except that Ford was on it and that he had said some great things about the scripts that he had read.

It was a few episodes into the season before I started watching, but once I started, it became my Thursday night go to show. I loved how funny, heartwarming and emotional the show was.

Shrinking starred Jason Segal as Jimmy Laird, who was in the process of grieving the loss of his wife. Jimmy was a therapist in the practice run by Ford’s character, Dr. Paul Rhoades. Jimmy was a mess through most of the season, trying to deal with his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell), his patients like Sean (Luke Tennie), his neighbors Liz and Derek (Christa Miller and Ted McGinley), his best friend Brian (Michael Urie) and his co-worker and wife’s best friend Gaby (Jessica Williams).

I thought these characters were outstanding. It was brilliantly written and was always funny, outrageous and thoughtful.

Not only was the series about dealing with grief, it also focused on Harrison Ford’s character and his Parkinson’s diagnosis. This side storyline was one of the bests on the show because Harrison Ford was epic in the role. Dr. Paul Rhoades was grumpy, mean, and completely uncomfortable… meaning Harrison Ford was perfectly cast. If Harrison Ford does not receive an Emmy nomination for this series, it will be a crime.

I have seem some criticism of the show by people claiming that the therapy shown on the show is not accurate and that these characters would never be effective psychiatrists. None of that bothered me. The therapy helped us dive into characters and give us an insight into Jason Segal’s character. I have never had therapy nor have I studied anything about it, but it did not give me any problems. He was certainly unconventional about therapy and he does get called out about some of the things he does, especially with Sean.

Along with Ford, Jessica Williams played a therapist at Paul’s practice and she was absolutely awesome. She was funny and brought an attitude that helped carry several moments throughout the season. She had lost her best friend when Jimmy’s wife died and she had her own arc of grief to go through.

The show was ten episodes and the season finale aired tonight. I feel that Apple TV + has now a second excellent comedy (dramady) to go along with Ted Lasso. If you have not watched Shrinking, give it a try. It is a lot of fun.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #2

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March 22, 2023

Welcome back to the best ‘Comic Cavalcade’ of the 21st century. For issue two of EYG Comic Cavalcade, we are diving into NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

Women of Marvel #1. This was a number one that I got today that, at first, I wasn’t going to bother with, but, after looking at the cover and seeing some of my favorite female characters involved, I decided to give it a shot. And you know what, I liked this. There was a framing device of Jen Walters in court somehow representing a group of female heroes who had teamed up in various pairs for adventures. It included Silk & Black Cat, Kate Bishop and America Chavez, and Photon and Ms. Marvel. I liked the light stories and Jen was a fun break between.

Clear #1. Written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Francis Manapul. I have been buying many more independent books recently as I have discovered a fondness for many of them. That is why I grabbed this new book from Dark Horse Comics. Unfortunately, this one did not interest me much. I have not been a huge fan of those futuristic type independent books (and there seems to be a bunch of them).

Amazing Spider-Man #22. Written by Zeb Wells and penciled by John Romita Jr. The story of ‘what exactly has been going on with Peter and MJ’ continued in this issue. I like the design of the god being that Spidey was fighting here, but I am not sure I like where it is heading. We’ll have to see what is next.

She-Hulk #11. Written by Rainbow Rowell with art by Andres Genolet. Jen Bartel did the art for the cover. We see She-Hulk existing within the Marvel Universe as she fights on with her Fight Club with Ben Grimm, Volcana, Titania and Luke Cage. She also helps out the Fantastic Four. Some of the best parts of this issue was the interaction with Jack Hart, aka Jack of Hearts, and his attempt at feeling normal since his powers returned.

Doctor Strange #1. “The Life of Doctor Strange.” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Pasqual Ferry. I have enjoyed Jed MacKay on Moon Knight so I am excited to see what he can bring to the Master of the Mystic Arts. This issue did two things really well. One, it sent us on little interludes with Doctor Strange across the Marvel Universe and we see him help out (or just interact with) Spider-Man, Black Cat, Daredevil, and Doctor Doom. Two, it looked like it was setting up a murder mystery by making Clea look like a killer. Aggamon is slaughtered at the end of the book after Clea was angry about him killing one of the refugees that she and Doctor Strange were trying to save. I wonder if this is meant to mislead or if it is more straightforward that I think. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Avengers: Rage of Ultron – Marvel Tales #1. Written by Rick Remender with art by Jerome Opeña. This is a reprint of an Avengers original graphic novel from 2015. It is a good story involving Hank Pym and Ultron. I have original hardcover book in my classroom library.

Joe Fixit #3. Written by Peter David and drawn by Yıldıray Çınar. I have been enjoying this series with Hulk in his Joe Fixit persona, even though I am not sure where in continuity this story takes place. A big part of that is probably how Spider-Man has been a major supporting character (some might even see him as a protagonist in the book). Kingpin is here causing trouble as well.

Monica Rambeau: Photon #4. Written by Eve L. Ewing with art by Luca Maresca. Lucas Werneck did the art on the cover. Photon is jumping around the universe as reality is shifting everywhere. Things of Monica’s life is different every second and she has to defend herself against Dr. Karla Sofen (aka Moonstone).

Grim #9. “Chapter Nine: Sympathy for the Guardian” Written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Flaviano. This issue introduces us to a character that is implied to be the Devil and we see the past and the ultimate fate of Marcel.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #1

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March 21, 2023

Welcome to the brand new post series called Comic Cavalcade, the reboot of the Comic catch-Up series that has been running on EYG since the end of January. Since there was not a lot of “catch-up” happening right now, I thought this the perfect time to reboot and change things up.

I recounted the whole title drama that I went through in Comic Catch-Up #50, and I thought I was in the clear with Comic Cavalcade. However, my friend Todd, who works at Comic World & Games and is a recurring fixture in these columns, dropped a surprise on me.

Here is a screen shot from Facebook…

Todd made a comment about nothing being original. It was sad that there was a previous Comic Cavalcade already in the world. I considered calling it Comic Cavalcade 2.0, but I decided against that.

I figured, why do I have to change my column title because there was a comic titled the same thing in the middle part of the last CENTURY! Something that I had never heard of before. Sticking EYG in front of it adds all the more.

With the title of the column settled, all that is left is to kick off the first issue!

Iron Man & Hellcat Annual #1. “What Fresh Hell” Written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Ruairi Coleman. Logan Lubera & Rachelle Rosenberg did the art on the cover. As I was reading Hellcat #1 last week, there was a footnote in the issue referring to this issue, and I knew I had seen it during my searches through the piles. I decided to find it, hoping that it would give me more background for the new Hellcat series. It did too. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Middlewest #3. Written by Skottie Young and drawn by Jorge Corona. Abel’s father, who we last saw as a tornado, reappeared and started looking for his missing son. Of course, Abel is nowhere to be found as he is off to look for help from The Marvelous Mystic Mind of Magdelena. This series feels like a present day fairy tale as we also got a troll in this issue.

I Walk With Monsters #3. Written by Paul Cornell and art by Sally Cantirino. We saw what happened to the father of Jacey. A massive heart attack freed her from a fate of being the ‘next thing on the menu’ and sent her out to the rest of her life. Of course, she is following after a politician of some kind whom she wants to kill. There is still a lot of mysteries in this series.

Moon Knight #18-19. Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Federico Sabbatini. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. Moon Knight has been a great series and these two issue were no exception to that. Moon Knight had a kick ass confrontation with the New York vampires that showed off how dangerous Moon Knight actually was. Then, Zodiac returned to the series, and Marc learned about something that would change his life.

Primordial #4-5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. I have loved the Lemire/Sorrentino team, but, if I am being honest, I have no idea what is going on in this series. It has been fun to read, but you can’t ask me what is happening. It deals with three animals that had been sent into space on unmanned space missions by the US and USSR governments. After that, it is weird and I am both confused and enjoying it.

Newburn #2. “Chapter Two: Everything I Told You was True.” Written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Jacob Phillips. Newburn continues in his job as problem solver for organized crime families, showing that he has no specific loyalties and that everyone understands that. This issue deals with Emily and her position as an assistant to Newburn. Newburn has been an intriguing book so far. We’ll see how it continues.

The Silver Coin #5. “Covenant” Written by Michael Walsh and art by Michael Walsh with Gavin Fullerton. Interestingly enough, this issue turned out to be a basic origin story for the mysterious silver coin that has been finding its way into the hands of the victims of the past stories. Curses. Black magic. Horrible betrayal and vengeance. This one may have been my favorite issue of this series so far. It also announced that it was going to continue with a rendition of Michael Walsh at the end of the book.

Black Panther #10. “Range Wars” Written by John Ridley and drawn by German Peralta. Alex Ross continues to do the coves for this series. Buffalo Soldier, who arrived at the end of last issue, proved to be a serious threat to T’Challa. This series seems to be humbling T’Challa and putting him in conflict as the leader of the Avengers.

Comic Catch-Up #50

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March 19, 2023

FINAL ISSUE!

Good afternoon. Welcome to the final issue of Comic Catch-Up here at EYG.

I know… it’s an odd thing, but I have been waiting to do this for awhile now. I made the mention of not starting over at a #1 a couple of times during this run, but now the time is ready.

Truthfully, I started this ‘Comic Catch-Up’ to inspire myself to work on reading a bunch of these comics that I have in piles around my room. I would be buying comics every week at Comic World & Games, my comic shop I attend in Dubuque, Iowa, but I would put the bag down and not even take the books out of them. I would read an Amazing Spider-Man every once in a while or something big, but I was so far behind on the books that I was just ashamed.

Honestly, I still have piles around the room, but they are all smaller and there are many of them that have been read, just not organized into boxes yet. In fact, of the books I buy on a weekly basis, I am nearly caught up with everything. I can ALMOST read everything that comes out on Wednesday and not be confused. I am still working on catching up with Moon Knight and Black Panther, but the rest of the pull list is up to date.

Really, this column has not been about ‘catching-up’ now for a bit. I have been picking up other series such as Gideon Falls, Middlewest, That Texas Blood, Primordial, to name a few, that I found an interest in during this time. I’m not catching up with those. I am adding to the read list with those.

So I decided that it was time to bring the Comic Catch-Up to an end and, with #50, coming up, I thought that was a perfect time for a reboot.

I made the choice to replace the Comic Catch-Up with a newly titled post. At first, I was going to call this EYG Comic Corner. I had done the banner for it even. However, then I found out that Coy Jandreau, Internet personality, had a YouTube/TikTok video/show that he called Coy’s Comic Corner, and I did not want to copy it. I mean… there’s no reason I couldn’t, but I just wanted something more original for EYG.

I went about looking for a new name and what I have come up with is EYG Comic Cavalcade. I do like it and I fixed the new banner and so everything worked out as it should.

EYG Comic Cavalcade is not going to change format much. It will be pretty much the same as what I have been doing. I will be reading new books. There will be books from the last few years that I have not yet read out of my piles that will be discussed. New independent books that I discover will be on the read list. I will be doing 3-4 EYG Comic Cavalcade posts a week, depending on how busy I am.

I just never want to go back to having piles of bags filled with unread comics from that week again.

EYG Comic Cavalcade will debut some point next week. However, we have one more Comic Catch-Up column to finish before that happens…

The Approach #1. Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley with illustrations by Jesús Hervás and Lea Caballero. The cover was done by Jeremy Haun. This was an issue that I looked into because the premise sounded intriguing. It had a LOST flair to it, mixed with some mysterious Stephen King book. A plane that had been missing for years, suddenly reappears in the middle of a snowstorm at an airport. Surprises abound. This limited series sounds like it is right up my alley. I enjoyed the first issue.

Home #3-5. Written by Julio Anta with art by Anna Wieszczyk. Cover art was done by Lisa Sterle. This wrapped up the story of a young immigrant boy who had attempted to seek asylum in the US, but discovered he had super powers and wound up being chased by the government. Turns out a bunch of his family members had powers too. This was extremely political but comics have always been political. I did enjoy Home. It felt like it could have used another issue or two to space things out. It ended with a cliffhanger that made me think that they are not completely done with the book.

Moon Knight #17. “Home Game.” Written by Jed MacKay with art by Alessandro Cappuccio. Stephen Segovia & Rachelle Rosenberg did the cover art. As I mentioned in the intro, I am still working on catching up with Moon Knight. I am just a few issues away and this was another banger. Moon Knight showed off what an advantage he has now with the Midnight Mission.

Ten Thousand Black Feathers #4-5. Written by Jeff Lemire and drawn by Andrea Sorrentino. The first series under the Bone Orchard Mythos drew to a close with these two issues. While I did not love these like I did Gideon Falls, I did enjoy the story of Trish and Jackie. The ending was a tad weird, but that is okay. I am looking forward to where this shared horror universe goes next.

Black Cloak #3. Written by Kelly Thompson and art by Meredith McClaren. Phaedra continued her investigation into the death of her old flame, and royal family member, Frey. The book came to a close with Phaedra diving into the water to discuss things with the mermaids. Hmm.

X-Treme X-Men #3. “Things Get Worse.” Written by Chris Claremont with art by Salvador Larroca. I liked this issue much better than I did last issue. This battle with Ogun has been solid and I have enjoyed this group of mutants at the core of the team. And it looked like some of these X-Men may have to try and move on sans powers. I am interested.

Hulk #13. “Hulk Planet Part Five.” The creature Titan has taken over the body of the Hulk and he has brought the fight, practically wiping out the entirety of the Hulk Planet. Doctor Strange has been recruited to help, and he discovered that it was the villain, D’Spayre that was behind the magic to split Banner into separate beings. Why did he want to do this? He said that he was a servant, meaning that someone else was behind this. Everything is concluding, apparently, next issue. It is kind of sad that I finally start to become engaged with Hulk and it is ending.

Middlewest #2. Story by Skottie Young and art by Jorge Corona. Abel is out and about, traveling on a train before he come across a frightening creature that looked to eat him. He looked very much like Khonshu from the Moon Knight Disney + series. Abel met and followed an old man named Jeb. Turned out that Jeb was sent to retrieve the boy… by whom is the question. The art in this series is awesome, making me think of fantasy stories.

Captain America: Symbol of Truth #11. Written by Tochi Onyebuchi and drawn by R.B. Silva. Sam Wilson/Captain America comes face to face with the White Wolf in a final showdown over Mohannda. And Captain America kicks his bloody ass. Sam showed the brutal side of his personality and he had to be stopped by Nomad or else he would have killed White Wolf.

Avengers: War Across Time #3. Written by Paul Levitz with art by Alan Davis. This series continues to feel like an old throwback, with a story and art that seems to have come right out of the 1960s. There is the King of Dwarves, Lava Men and, of course, Kang. This was actually my least favorite issue of this series so far. I hope this one gets a touch better next time.

I Walk With Monsters #2. Written by Paul Cornell and drawn by Sally Cantirino. This book keeps flashing back from current day to the past with Jacey, looking at the horrific childhood she had with her father. She has also been talking with the strangest looking dog around. This has been very odd and I still think there is cannibalisms going on here. We’ll have to wait and see.

And with that, Comic Catch-Up comes to a close.

Comic Catch-Up #49

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March 19, 2023

As I have continued my catch-up column, I have plunged into the world of independent comics. I very rarely read independent books, sticking mostly to Marvel. However, there have been some outstanding books that I have been very happy to have read that I missed because of my market isolation. Starting off with Something is Killing the Children to Black Cloak.

However, along the way, I came across a book that has now become one of my absolute favorite comic book series of all-time!

Gideon Falls.

As I was getting into the Black Orchard Mythos series of books from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, I started looking back at some of the previous work from these two. I have been getting more into horror comics over the last few years and I discovered Gideon Falls. I was able to purchase the entire series on eBay and I started reading it, two-issues at a time.

I was completely hooked.

This series was just sensational. The story flowed easily, making each issue a breeze to read. The art was horrifically beautiful, with the tone built right into it. The images throughout Gideon Falls’ run was so memorable, so spectacular, that there were plenty of times when I would be taken aback by what I saw. The art was not like what most comics are. It was a psychadelic horror movie come to the page.

I decided this morning that I would go ahead and do today’s Comic Catch-Up as an excuse to sit down and finish off the entire series. I had read up through issue #10 as of yesterday and I took #11-27 and spent a couple of hours engulfing myself in the wild world of Gideon Falls.

I loved the characters in the series. Father Fred, Daniel, Norton Sinclair, Doc Sutton, The Bishop, The Laughing Man, Joe Reddy, Sheriff Clara and Dr. Angela Xu.

I was completely captivated by the Black Barn. It gave me feelings of the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. Jeff Lemire confirmed that the idea of the Black Barn was inspired by the dimension from Twin Peaks, but it was most definitely its own thing.

The story was both complex and simple at the same time. It was easy to follow while challenging the ideas and the concept the entire time. What did not feel like separate stories, suddenly became clear that they were. That was the first wild twist of the series, and then it went about taking these group of separate characters in storylines and smashing them together in the most unexpected ways. It was a wonderfully plotted series that never felt predictable but never lost me in the complexities.

Issue #27 was an 80-page epic that brought the series to a remarkably satisfying conclusion while still dangling that carrot indicating that everything may not be over.

Gideon Falls is one of my all-time favorite comic series as of today. I found it completely riveting and expertly told. I am going to miss having another couple of issues of Gideon Falls to read moving forward.

Boston Strangler (2023)

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I have always been intrigued and fascinated by serial killers so when I saw that Hulu was having a film based on the Boston Strangler, I was looking forward to seeing it. I was not that familiar with this case heading in and, now that I have, I was unaware that this case may not have been the slam dunk that it seemed.

This film reminded me of David Fincher’s Zodiac. I will state right now that Zodiac was one of my favorite movies and Boston Strangler is not close to that masterpiece. However, there are distinct similarities between the two films.

This film follows the journalistic investigation from the newspaper the Boston Record American into the serial killer. Reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) was the first reporter to link the different Strangler victims together to indicate that they were connected. Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), a more experienced reporter, was assigned to work the story with Loretta by their editor Jack Maclaine (Chris Cooper).

Loretta and Jean faced not only the challenges of investigating these murders, but also the reigning feeling of misogamy among the police and in general during the early 1960s when this case was going on. Seeing how these reporters faced the sexist thoughts and words of the police was a fascinating layer added to this movie.

Albert DeSalvo (David Dastmalchian) became one of the leading suspects in the Strangler case and then wound up confessing to all 13 murders Some of the tricks pulled in this case by DeSalvo’s attorney F. Lee Bailey were really slimy. Bailey was not cast in this movie, as they simply spoke about the things that Bailey had DeSalvo do.

Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon worked extremely well together and they had a chemistry with one another. Knightley gave a Pitbull-like performance as Loretta and we got a chance to see (much like Jake Gyllenhaal’s character from Zodiac) how this case/investigation took a toll on the marriage.

The tone of this film was decent, but it was not as tense as some other films of this irk. The music was lacking on the soundtrack and that took away from the overall feel of the crime movie.

While this may not reach the epic levels of Zodiac, Boston Strangler is a fascinating watch and provided me with parts of this story that I was unaware of. I did not know that some believe that Albert DeSalvo did not murder all 13 of the women and that there were multiple people who committed these crimes. It may not be the greatest film of this subgenre I have ever seen, but I was engaged fully and anxious to see how the film would end up.

3.8 stars

Shazam: Fury of the Gods

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I really enjoyed the first Shazam movie so I had some excitement for the follow-up, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, starring Zachary Levi as the Big Red Cheese. It’s too bad he can’t just keep the name Captain Marvel as he originally had because calling the character Shazam, which is the magic word that transforms him, means he can never introduce himself to anybody. Anyway…

Zachary Levi returned as Shazam, who is trying to keep his Shazam Family as a group, preventing them from flying off (literally) and doing their own things. Shazam said that they needed to be all together and never alone.

That did not sit well with the others who had plans of their own. When three sisters, the Daughters of Atlas, arrived looking to reclaim the power that Shazam had gotten (and shared), the family was put into a dangerous situation and have to try and survive, even without their powers.

This was fine.

That is about the nest review I can give. There were several parts that bothered me about the film, but overall, I had a decent theater experience with it. The film was paced nicely, and never felt like it was a 2 hour and 10 minute film. It moved at a brisk pace and kept me interested in the overall story. That story was simplistic, but it worked more than it did not.

The special effects of the film were pretty solid. The look of the dragon that was summoned was cool and the fight with Shazam was well done.

I especially liked Jack Dylan Grazer (most of the time) as Freddy Freeman. I thought he had the best arc of any of the Shazam family and got to show off his range. He did act too hectic at times, but that felt like something that was common for the film. Zachary Levi did the same for most of the film. It felt like Shazam was too immature for too much of the movie. As Billy Batson (Asher Angel) he was almost 18, but he felt nowhere near that.

And I always love Helen Mirren, who played head villain, Hespera. Her very presence gives the film a bit of gravitas that it might not have had with another actor in the role. However, the villains of the film (which also included Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler) felt very inconsistent character wise. Rachel Zegler, who was amazingly beautiful, was intended to be connected with Freddy, but I never believed or understood why she was so taken with him that she would do the things that she does. Hespera made some switches in her character in, what felt like, a real sudden manner.

One of the biggest issues I had was the Shazam Family. Outside of Freddy, the rest of this group of characters were underdeveloped and lacked anything more than a character trait here or there to define their characters. None of them were interesting or felt like anything but background characters in colorful suits. Even Mary (Grace Caroline Currey), who is a major player in the DC Comics, was regulated to a scene or two that did not display anything more than surface level characteristics.

Djimon Hounsou returned as the not-so-dead Wizard who had given Shazam his powers in the first film. This was another character that did not feel well written and bounced all over the place between seriousness and comedy.

Sadly, I would say that a lot of the comedy did not work for me. There were some good laughs, but most of it just felt flat. Too much of the comedy was based on the hectic dialogue from Zachary Levi that I just was not a fan of.

Then, there was a special cameo that was SPOILED for me by a TV ad that really wasted a good moment. I won’t spoil it here, but I was actively mad when I saw that TV spot wondering why they wouldn’t have left it a surprise.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods had some definite high moments while there was plenty of mess too. Again, I think the theater experience was good enough to recommend Shazam: Fury of the Gods. The positives outweighed the negatives, but I wish it would have been more focused and written a little less chaotic.

3.4 stars