Just wanted to touch on some things…

Most importantly, the ballot for the 2017 EYG Hall of Fame is up and active on the front page of the website.  We have a good list of potential HoF inductees again this year with people like Steve Irwin,  Stephen King, Josh Gates, and Billy Nye, characters such as King Kong, The Joker, Dick Tracy, Iron Man, C3PO/R2D2, BB-8, and Frankenstein’s Monster, movies and TV shows including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Wizard of Oz, Game of Thrones, The Six Million Dollar Man, Jeopardy and SNL, and other various items including the flux capacitor (from Back to the Future), Starlog Magazine, Mad Magazine, ghosts, Barbie, NASA, the Rubik’s Cube and YouTube.  Your votes do count and you may vote as many times as you would like until the poll ends on September 19th (Talk Like A Pirate Day).  I only ask that you vote responsibly. Do not just sit and vote over and over again to unbalance the poll.  You want to vote multiple times…please do so.  Just keep it in mind to be reasonable.

I am trying to continue to write the “classic” reviews but I do not want to just do reviews of all my favorite former films.  That was why I did Batman and Robin.  I want to try and space out those all-time greats (Princess Bride, Raiders, Star Wars, etc) so it doesn’t just look like the best of the best.  Any suggestions?  Next week, Bonnie and Clyde will be shown at Cinemark and I might make my way to see and review that one.  The Princess Bride is going to be shown in October at Cinemark, so I will probably hold off with that film until then.  If you haven’t guessed, The Princess Bride is my favorite film of all time.

I’m hoping to get to Detroit either tomorrow or early next week.  School will be starting up again very soon, so the time available is going to shorten.  I have a lot of curriculum to get ready for school as well.

I am so excited for It in September.  I hope that I am not disappointed in the film.  The trailers have looked just tremendous.  It is right near the top of my most anticipated remaining films of the year.  I would say that Thor: Ragnarok is number one right now and It is probably number two.  Others include Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Justice League, Annabelle: Creation, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Battle of the Sexes, Blade Runner 2049,.

I am not looking forward to Flatliners.  That reboot just looks dumb and unnecessary.  Maybe I am wrong.

I love the Gong Show.  It’s just surreal fun with some of the silliest to stupidest things you’ll ever see on TV.  Last year, I loved ABC’s reboot of the Match Game and this year, The Gong Show.

I am a Dodger fan and as of my writing today, they have won 43 of their last 50 games.  That is just insane.  I also just about peed myself when they made the big deal at the trading deadline and brought in Yu Darvish.  It was like the head office is all-in as well.  The Dodgers have not won the World Series since 1988, the year of Orel Hershsier and Kirk Gibson’s home run.  I will never forget that home run moment.  One of the greatest baseball moments in my life.

Okay, that will do it.  Remember, cast those votes for the EYG Hall of Fame.  Every vote matters.

Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“House of Cards” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
“Westworld” (HBO)

Comedy Series
“Atlanta” (FX)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Master of None” (Netflix)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
“Veep” (HBO)

Drama Actress
Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Claire Foy (“The Crown”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”)
Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)

Drama Actor
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)
Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”)

Comedy Actor
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”)
Zach Galifianakis (“Baskets”)
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”)

Comedy Actress
Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”)
Tracee Ellis-Ross (“black-ish”)
Jane Fonda (“Grace and Frankie”)
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)

Limited Series
“Big Little Lies” (HBO)
“Fargo” (FX)
“Feud: Bette and Joan” (FX)
“The Night Of” (HBO)
“Genius” (National Geographic)

Limited Series Actor
Riz Ahmed (“The Night Of”)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock: The Lying Detective”)
Robert De Niro (“The Wizard of Lies”)
Ewan McGregor (“Fargo”)
Geoffrey Rush (“Genius”)
John Turturro (“The Night Of”)

Limited Series Actress
Carrie Coon (“Fargo”)
Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”)
Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”)
Jessica Lange (“Feud”)
Susan Sarandon (“Feud”)
Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies”)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
John Lithgow (“The Crown”)
Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”)
Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”)
Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”)
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”)
Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”)
Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowde (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”)
Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”)
Chrissy Metz (“This Is Us”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin (“Saturday Night Live”)
Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)
Matt Walsh (“Veep”)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Vanessa Beyer (“Saturday Night Live”)
Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”)
Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)
Judith Light (“Transparent”)
Katheryn Hahn (“Transparent”)

Variety Talk Series
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS)
“Real Time With Bill Maher” (HBO)

Reality Competition
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“American Ninja Warrior” (NBC)
“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (vh1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Television Movie
“Black Mirror: San Junipero”
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love”
“The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks”
“Sherlock: The Lying Detective (Masterpiece)”
“The Wizard Of Lies”

Variety Sketch Series
“Billy On The Street” (truTV)
“Documentary Now!” (IFC)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“Tracey Ullman’s Show” (HBO)

Structured Reality Program
“Antiques Roadshow” (PBS)
“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network)
“Fixer Upper” (HGTV)
“Lip Sync Battle” (Spike TV)
“Shark Tank” (ABC)
“Who Do You Think You Are” (TLC)

Unstructured Reality Program
“Born This Way” (A&E)
“Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
“Gaycation With Ellen Page” (Viceland)
“Intervention” (A&E)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” (YouTube)
“United Shades Of America: With W. Kamau Bell” (CNN)

Host for a Reality/Reality-Competition Program
Alec Baldwin (“Match Game”)
W. Kamau Bell (“United Shades Of America With W. Kamau Bell)
RuPaul Charles (“RuPaul’s Drag Race)
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (“Project Runway)
Gordon Ramsay (“MasterChef Junior)
Martha Stewart & Snoop Dogg (“Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party”)

Directing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Jamie Babbit (“Silicon Valley”)
Morgan Sackett (“Veep”)
David Mandel (“Veep”)
Dale Stern (“Veep”)

Directing for a Drama Series
Vince Gilligan (“Better Call Saul”)
Stephen Daldry (“The Crown”)
Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Kate Dennis (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland”)
The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”)
Jonathan Nolan (“Westworld”)

Directing for a Variety Series
Derek Waters & Jeremy Konner (“Drunk History”)
Andy Fisher (Jimmy Kimmel Live”)
Paul Pennolino (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)
Jim Hoskinson (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”)
Don Roy King (“Saturday Night Live”)

Directing for a Variety Special 
Paul Pennolino (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner”)
Glenn Weiss (“The Oscars”)
Jim Hiskinson (“Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going to Clean Up This S—?”)
Jerry Foley (“Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best is Yet to Come”)

Directing for a Nonfiction Program
Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens (“Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”)
Ezra Edelman (“O.J.: Made in America”)
Fredi Devas (“Planet Earth II”)
Elizabeth White (“Planet Earth II”)
Ava DuVernay (“13th”)

Writing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Stephen Glover (“Atlanta”)
Aziz Ansari & Lena Waithe (“Master of None”)
Alec Berg (“Silicon Valley”)
Billy Kimball (“Veep”)
David Mandel (“Veep”)

Writing for a Drama Series
Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields (“The Americans”)
Gordon Smith (“Better Call Saul”)
Peter Morgan (“The Crown”)
Bruce Miller (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”)
Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan (“Westworld”)

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama
David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”)
Charlie Brooker (“Black Mirror: San Junipero”)
Noah Hawley (“Fargo”)
Ryan Murphy (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Jaffe Cohen, Michael, Michael Zam & Ryan Murphy (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Richard Price & Steven Zaillian (“The Night Of”)

Writing for a Variety Series 
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Writing for a Variety Special
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” (TBS)
“Louis C.K. 2017” (Netflix)
“Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust” (Netflix)
“Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going to Clean Up This S—?” (Showtime)
“70th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)

Writing for a Nonfiction Program
Brian McGinn (“Amanda Knox”)
Anthony Bourdain (“Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown”)
Mark Monroe (“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”)
Prashanth Venkataramanujam, CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker & Flora Lichtman (“Bill Nye Saves the World”)
Ava DuVernay & Spencer Averick (“13th”)

The following blog post contains minor SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.  Proceed with caution if you have yet to see that movie.

In the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we have our next cameo from Stan Lee, the co-creator of so many of the classic Marvel characters such as Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange, X-Men to name a few.

Because of his stature, Stan Lee has made many cameos, most of them humorous, in Marvel movies over the years.  In fact, there are only a few Marvel movies featuring Marvel characters that Stan has not had a cameo in.

Fans have had fun speculating over the years that Stan’s cameos were more than just a nod to a classic man who provided us with decades of entertainment.  In fact, one specific fan theory suggested that Stan Lee was playing the same character in all of his appearances.  The said that Lee was playing a Watcher.

The Watcher is a character that was co-created by Stan Lee (along with Jack Kirby) who is a member of an intergalatic race of giants who record the history of multiverses by observing what would happen while never getting involved.  In Marvel Comics, we meet Uatu the Watcher in the pages of the Fantastic Four, who was not very good at staying out of the action.

And now,Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige has conformed the theory.  The following clip is from a story at http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/marvel-kevin-feige-stan-lee-cameo-guardians-of-the-galaxy-2-a7707101.html

Speaking at a Guardians press junket, Feige said, according to ScreenRant: “Yes, we always thought it would be fun. Stan Lee clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films.

“So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians was something very fun – James had that idea and we shot that cameo and loved it so much, you know, you see it a couple of times in the movie.

“It wasn’t in for a long time and we put it back in towards the end of the process where he references that time he was a Federal Express agent – we thought it would be fun to put that in there because that really says, so wait a minute, he’s this same character who’s popped up in all these films.”

Now, technically, Stan is only seen with Watchers and he is in a space suit, so it is possible that he is not actually a Watcher as much as an assistant or an informant (whihc is how he is actually credited in the end credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

But think about this for a minute.  What does this mean?  Stan Lee has had cameos outside of the MCU.  He was in the first X-Men film.  He was in the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies.  He was in Deadpool.  The first Hulk.  He was in the original Spider-man movies as well as the Amazing Spider-man movies.

All these films could meant that, regardless of studio, we now have a Marvel Movie Multiverse.

Imagine.  Sony.  FOX. Universal.  Marvel Studios. Disney.  All connected by one man.  Just like in the comics, the Marvel Movie Multiverse has endless alternate realities including several versions of the same characters.

Marvel Comics used to publish a series called What If where the Uatu the Watcher would tell a tale of an alternate reality involving Marvel characters.  It seems as if the movies and tv shows from The Trial of the Incredible Hulk to Big Hero 6 to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may be in the same situation.

Stan Lee has already shot his cameos for Thor:Ragnanok, Spider-man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity Wars so we have several Stan Lee cameos to look forward to.  Let’s get Stan into Legion!

Excelsior!

I had not collected Vision, the 2015-16 comic created by by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles, when it originally came out.  I purchased the first issue, but I did not give it much of a chance.  I have a lot of Marvel Comics that I get a month and a Vision series where he created a nuclear family did not interest me.

I had heard positive things about the series, but also heard it was ending with issue #12, so there was no reason to give it a try.

However, after it ended, particularly since Viv Vision is involved in the new Champions series which I am collecting, I did purchase the graphic novel compilation volume one and two of the series and gave it a read,.

Wow.

The Vision series read as an old maxi-series might have read, having a beginning, middle and end.  It was as compelling of a series as you could ever expect a group of robots to be involved in.  These characters were fully fleshed out and you felt these events that the characters go through.  Without spoilers, there were some of the most emotional moments in comics contained in the pages of Vision.

This makes me wonder why Marvel can’t do this more often.

Understand, I am a huge Marvel mark.  I collect multiple Marvel titles a month.  I am unapologetically a Marvel fan.  Still, there is no denying that the company gets themselves in ruts.

We wind up with way too many comics involving Deadpool, Inhumans, Avengers, Spider-man (yes I love Spider-man…still), Wolverine.  It is like once a character shows some success, they feel the need to drive it into the ground.

How many different Deadpool series are going right now?  There is Deadpool, Spider-man/Deadpool, Deadpool & the Mercs for Money, Deadpool the Duck, Gwenpool, Deadpool: Too Soon, Spider-man/Deadpool Monsters Unleashed, and Uncanny Avengers.  There would probably be even more Spider-man series out.  And forget about the number of Avengers.

There are currently three Doctor Strange series out as well.  I loved the Jason Aaron run on Dr. Strange, but that should not mean that suddenly the Sorcerer Supreme needs to be in more than that one title.

To me, this oversaturation is a huge problem for Marvel.  I am so tired of seeing the same characters each month in multiple books that I don’t read several of the titles I buy.

Plus, then series that are completely original and brilliant get lost in the muck.  Vision was a transcendent series.  Mockingbird last 8 issues but it was my favorite comic series of 2016 by far.  Moon Knight has been doing some remarkably original stuff.  Mosaic is a brand new series that shows promise (even though he is just another Inhuman).

These series do not receive the chance they need when they have tons of other Spider-Deadpool-Avengers-Inhumans-X properties taking up space on the comic rack.

Marvel has been struggling in the comic market lately as well.  DC Comics has been dominant lately with their Rebirth reboot and had 8 of the 10 spots in comics sold last month.

What I wouldn’t give for an original super hero story from Marvel.  How about a new character who is not either an Inhuman, or a different version of a classic hero (Sam Wilson as Captain America,  Ms. Marvel, female Thor, Miles Morales, two different Iron Man characters etc).  Someone who is not brooding, someone who has a secret identity, someone who is not an agent for SHIELD etc.

Or taking an established character and creating an interesting and well-developed story with those characters (like Mockingbird, Moon Knight, Dr Strange) without letting that series die a death stuck between Deadpool and Inhuman books.

I want a more variety from Marvel.  Great Lakes Avengers is a great new series that is a lot of fun.  How long will that last?  Hellcat, Mosaic, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur that are original and that I enjoy every month.  Still Mockingbird gets 8 issues and is cancelled.  Vision gets 12 issues.  Nighthawk gets 6 issues.

I wish there was some changes in Marvel Comics because they have a great group of heroes that could really revitalize the company.

I always do a theme for the Christmas Tree.  I started this tradition a few years back with my Spider-Man tree.  I have done a WWE tree, a Star Wars tree, and a Lord of the Rings tree.  But I must say that I struggled with the concept for this year’s tree.  Nothing was popping into my head.  I thought about a Marvel tree, but I was not feeling that one.  I did not want to do something like I did with Star Wars last year where I went out and spent a mint getting ornaments for the tree.  I was flummoxed.

And then it hit me.  One of my favorite things this year has been Loot Crate.  I even have a little song I sing when the Loot Crate box arrives at the house.  I can actually remember a couple of times when seeing the black box took a bad day and made it so much better.

So, the 2016 EYG Geek Christmas Tree is in honor of Loot Crate.

The Golden Globes ceremony is to be held on January 8, 2017

Best Motion Picture, Drama

“Hacksaw Ridge”

“Hell or High Water”

“Lion”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Amy Adams, “Arrival”

Jessica Chastain, “Miss Sloane”

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Ruth Negga, “Loving”

Natalie Portman, “Jackie”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Casey Affleck, “Manchester By the Sea”

Joel Edgerton, “Loving”

Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”

Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”

Denzel Washington, “Fences”

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

“20th Century Women”

“Deadpool”

“Florence Foster Jenkins”

“La La Land”

“Sing Street”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Annette Bening, “20th Century Women”

Lily Collins, “Rules Don’t Apply”

Hailee Steinfeld, “The Edge of Seventeen”

Emma Stone, “La La Land”

Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Colin Farrell, “The Lobster”

Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”

Hugh Grant, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Jonah Hill, “War Dogs”

Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool”

Best Motion Picture, Animated

“Kubo and the Two Strings”

“Moana”

“My Life as a Zucchini”

“Sing”

“Zootopia”

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language

“Divines” (France)

“Elle” (France)

“Neruda” (Chile)

“The Salesman” (Iran / France)

“Toni Erdmann” (Germany)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Viola Davis, “Fences”

Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”

Nicole Kidman, “Lion”

Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”

Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”

Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”

Simon Helberg, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Dev Patel, “Lion”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, “Nocturnal Animals”

Best Director, Motion Picture

Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

Tom Ford, “Nocturnal Animals”

Mel Gibson, “Hacksaw Ridge”

Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

Tom Ford, “Nocturnal Animals”

Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Taylor Sheridan, “Hell or High Water”

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Nicholas Britell, “Moonlight”

Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”

Johann Johannsson, “Arrival”

Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka, “Lion”

Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch, “Hidden Figures”

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” — “Trolls”

“City of Stars” — “La La Land”

“Faith” — “Sing”

“Gold” — “Gold”

“How Far I’ll Go” — “Moana”

Best Television Series, Drama

“The Crown,” Netflix

“Game of Thrones,” HBO

“Stranger Things,” Netflix

“This Is Us,” NBC

“Westworld,” HBO

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama

Caitriona Balfe, “Outlander”

Claire Foy, “The Crown”

Keri Russell, “The Americans”

Winona Ryder, “Stranger Things”

Evan Rachel Wood, “Westworld”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama

Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”

Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”

Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”

Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

Billy Bob Thornton, “Goliath”

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

“Atlanta,” FX

“black-ish,” ABC

“Mozart in the Jungle,” Amazon

“Transparent,” Amazon

“Veep,” HBO

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Sarah Jessica Parker, “Divorce”

Issa Rae, “Insecure”

Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”

Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy

Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”

Gael García Bernal, “Mozart in the Jungle”

Donald Glover, “Atlanta”

Nick Nolte, “Graves”

Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

“American Crime,” ABC

“The Dresser,” Starz

“The Night Manager,” AMC

“The Night Of,” HBO

“The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” FX

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Felicity Huffman, “American Crime”

Riley Keough, “The Girlfriend Experience”

Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Charlotte Rampling, “London Spy”

Kerry Washington, “Confirmation”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Riz Ahmed, “The Night Of”

Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”

Tom Hiddleston, “The Night Manager”

John Turturro, “The Night Of”

Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Olivia Colman, “The Night Manager”

Lena Headey, “Game Of Thrones”

Chrissy Metz, “This Is Us”

Mandy Moore, “This Is Us”

Thandie Newton, “Westworld”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager”

John Lithgow, “The Crown”

Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”

John Travolta, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Today, on National Comic Book Day, I finally got around to reading Marvel Comics’ Mockingbird #7.

And I just loved it.

I had wanted to buy the Mockingbird series, but I missed number one at my comic shop and several issues had come out when I finally saw the fourth issue.  I grabbed it and snagged the previous three issues.

And they were so brilliant.

Each issue since has been better and better.  The comic is the most intriguing, original and fun series that I have read in years.

The story told in Bobbi Morse’s POV and it is so wonderful.  There are great comedic bits throughout the whole series and the imagery is perfect.

In Mockingbird #7, Bobbi and Hunter are on board a ship entering the Bermuda Triangle, hoping to find some information that would help Clint Barton in his murder trial (the Civil War II tie-in).  They wind up investigating a murder and discovering that the whole thing was connected to her background.

Chelsea Cain is the writer on the Mockingbird series.  She is a first time comic book writer but she has been a successful novelist for several years having written Sweetheart, Heartsick, and Evil at Heart.  She has brought a freshness to the comic that I have not seen much.  Her creativity is off-the-chart.  The first five issues is written in a “puzzle box” format, where you are able to read the issues in any order and get something new out of it.

The title page is another amazing new feature, using health reports, memos and other items to provide a lot of laughs.

Mockingbird has been my favorite Marvel Comic since I started reading it.  I have enjoyed many of the unlikely Marvel Comics (Moon Knight, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Ms. Marvel, Hellcat) but Mockingbird is at the top of that list.

It is here, true believers!  Once again, the big blue bug of justice is stomping his heel of heroism across the rooftops of The City, searching for evil and all that it does.  Only through destiny can the nigh invulnerable super hero say to all…”Knock off all that evil!

The Tick is one of the pilots up for vote on Amazon Prime.  A live action super hero comedy that turns the genre on its ear.  Created by Ben Edlund, The Tick makes a triumphant return.

The Tick started as an independent comic book.  That led to a FOX animated series that ran for three years and brought us some of the best comedic episodes you could hope for.  Finally, the tragically short-lived live action The Tick, starring Patrick Warburton, was on FOX for its 8 episodes.

Then, word came that Amazon was working on a new version of the Tick.  English comedian Peter Serafinowicz was cast in the lead role, a role that would be a challenge because of the great work of Warburton, as well as voice actor Townsend Coleman.  However, I see a lot of promise in Serafinowicz.  He delivered several of the classic Tick lines with a great gusto (such as “You’re not going crazy! You’re going sane in a crazy world!”).

But even more.  The new version of The Tick is grittier.  More grounded.  More realistic.  That sounds wrong.  But, it works.  It works so great!

We get a new background for Arthur, the Tick’s sad sack sidekick.  He had always been portrayed as an accountant with a poor self-image who wished to be a hero.  Here, Arthur is a damaged young man who had a dark and sad background, and who has been suffering with mental illness since.

Arthur is played perfectly by Griffin Newman.  He embodied this new Arthur so well and I found myself really feeling for the young boy whose encounter with the Terror (Jackie Earle Hayley).  His hero’s journey is a key to this first episode, and, hopefully, for many more to come.

There were some good characters introduced as well.  Dot, Arthur’s sister, looks to be the most interesting version of this character that we have seen.  The Terror looked to be a pretty awesome big bad.  The Terror has been the singular obsession for Arthur, and the reason he has been as damaged as he is.

Wally Pfister helmed this pilot. Pfister was the cinematographer behind “The Dark Knight Trilogy,” and he does a wonderful job here.

I wasn’t sure what to think, but when the Tick ends up in Arthur’s apartment, everything felt familiar, and it also feels new.

Spoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!

Please go see The Tick at Amazon and vote for the pilot.  I want to watch years of The Tick!

This time of the year is nirvana for Geek culture as the annual San Diego Comic Con is well underway.  And the companies and creators save their most squeal-inducing reveals for this convention.  This is the highlights from the first two days of the EYG Hall of Fame member, San Diego Comic Con.

The Walking Dead

Showed a trailer for Season 7

In the trailer, we get our first look at the new character King Ezekiel (played by newcomer Khary Payton) and his pet tiger Shiva.

Marvel-Netflix

There was a ton of news coming from the Netflix-Marvel pairing including new trailers from Luke Cage (debuting on Netflix on Sept. 30), Iron Fist, and a teaser trailer of The Defenders.

They also confirmed that there would be a Daredevil season three on Netflix and they had Frank Castle himself, Jon Bernthal, stop by the Luke Cage panel as a surprise.

Jon Bernthal and Jeph Loeb at SDCC.  Photo from comicbook.com

Marvel had more news though.  They confirmed that, in Agents of SHIELD season 4, we would see Ghost Rider.  This version of the Spirit of Vengeance would be played by Gabriel Luna (True Detective, Matador) and would be Robbie Reyes, the most recent version of the Ghost Rider.  They also unveiled the Ghost Rider’s car (the honors going to car enthusiast Clark Gregg).

photo: screenrant.com

DC Comics

Although we did not get much DC news on the first two days of SDCC (there should be a ton on Saturday when the WB panel takes place) there were some special nuggets.  First Wonder Woman’s first movie poster was released and it is spectacular.

The R-rated animated adaption of Batman; The Killing Joke debuted at SDCC.  The film is set for a special two-night Fathom Event release on July 25th and 26th in select theaters around the nation.

Injustice 2, the new video game featuring Wonder Woman and Blue Beetle, released a trailer for the game scheduled for release in 2017.

Other Television News

Rihanna was cast in Bates Motel’s fifth and final season as the iconic character Marion Crane.  Crane is the character that dies at Norman Bates’ hand in the shower scene in the original Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho.  Marion was originally played by Janet Leigh.

Mr. Robot held a special panel at SDCC and they had to be very cautious with what they revealed.  Mr. Robot star Rami Malek did specifically call out season 2’s episode number 10 as a major episode that will make huge development plot-wise.

Friday night’s Preacher panel was two-hours long, which allowed the cast to do a live script reading for the penultimate episode of the AMC series, to be seen on July 24.

Not The Woods….

For horror fans, there was a surprise announcement from Lionsgate that the upcoming movie “The Woods” by Adam Wingard was, in reality, a secret sequel to The Blair Witch Project and would from now on be entitled “Blair Witch.”  This surprise caught everyone off guard as the film is due out September 16th.

Cosplay

Entertainment Tonight’s website has a great gallery of images from SDCC of the best cosplay outfits.  This includes cosplays of Harly Quinn from Suicide Squad, Rick from The Walking Dead (with zombie and Judith), and Vulture.

John Barrowman (Arrow) cosplayed at SDCC as Squirrel Girl among many others… while he was hosting the Eisner Awards.

Eisner Awards

The Eisner Awards were once again given out Friday night at SDCC.  The Eisner Awards are named after EYG Hall of Famer Will Eisner and are given to the best in comic books from the past year.  The list of winners can be found here.

 Toys

Hasbro revealed several new Marvel figures, including the first ever Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel figure.  We also saw a Benedict Cumberbatch Dr. Strange.  There was also a replica Captain America shield.

 Screen Junkies

The Screen Junkies had several panels with great guests, but they also had several live movie fights judged by Kevin Smith and Max Landis.

I have always enjoyed the mysteries of true crime.  In particular, I have enjoyed the unsolved crimes.  I used to enjoy “Unsolved Mysteries” on NBC.  One of my favorite books was “The Dairy of Jack the Ripper.”  I loved the HBO series The Jinx and the movie documentary The Imposter.

I am fascinated by the mystery of the cases.  The mysterious deaths of Bob Crane, who played Col. Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes, and George Reeves, who played Superman, are intriguing.

The last few years have had a ton of these stories.  I am watching the History Channel’s series D.B. Cooper: Case Closed?  It was a two part, four hour total documentary focusing on the mystery of what happened to a man who stole $200,000 dollars in 1971, hijacked an airplane and jumped from the plane, never to be seen again.  It was a story that I had a passing knowledge of, but had never really deep desire to find out more.  This documentary was very compelling and grabbed my attention.

Of course, this year has been the year of O.J. Simpson.  With the brilliant People vs. O.J Simpson from FX’s American Crime Story and the remarkable documentary on ESPN called OJ: Made in America, this case has been brought the spotlight back into the world’s attention and refocused onto “The Juice” and the case of the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

One of my favorite books is “Mindhunter” written by former FBI profiler John Douglas. Douglas would profile tons of cases and give an insight into the mind of these killers and rapists.  One of the most astounding things about Douglas was how much it took on him as an individual by putting himself into the mind of these sick and evil people.  It is also pretty impressive how these profilers can look at a crime scene and know so much about the perpetrator.

Jack the Ripper and The Zodiac Killer are personal “favorites” of mine.  I have always found serial killers to be fascinating, and these two are the top of the list, probably because they were never caught.  I have my own theories of who they were, and I have read several books on both of them.  They feel more like super villains than serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy.

I teach a lot of Edgar Allan Poe in my class.  His mysterious cause of death is one of the more interesting aspect of this famous author.  We do not know how he died.  Alcohol poisoning?  Rabies?  Brain Tumor?  Cooping?  Murdered?  There are so many possible solutions and we will never know.  That mystery makes me, as a writer, want to figure it out.

When I was a child, I would watch the TV show In Search Of… which was narrated by Leonard Nemoy.  This was a great show that really inspired by curious nature.  These mysteries helped mold me into the person I am.  I am always fascinated by these unsolved mysteries and I love the opportunity to try and figure out what had happened.