Dread

Skeet Ulrich and Cuba Gooding Jr. right? I remember that being a mess.

Hell Sonja #1, 2: as far as multiverse stories go, and they are bountiful, this is pretty good from the Dynamite universe. I don't know where these different Sonjas come from, but they are certainly more interesting than the Vampirella variants in Vampiverse. Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1: oop! This was good, so now I have to track down all those FF issues. Geiger 80 Page Giant #1: this was good. Redcoat is a character right out of my notebook, so I'll be interested in his series. Justice League Incarnate #4: crazy shit. The first ten pages basically retells all of the sotry of reality through the crises. Interesting. Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land #1: Ka-Zar is Animal man now. How dumb... Newburn #3:fucking wild. Love this book. Nitro: euro graphic novel sci fi nonsense. Clearly influenced by Corben. Monkey Prince #1: this is pretty much exactly like American Born Chinese except it's set in the DCU. Primos #1: I'm out. Terrible. One-Star Squadron #3: pretty great. Sabretooth #1: hmm...I'll give it one more. I think Hickman basically ruined the X-Men, but this is Victor Lavalle and Leonard Kir on Sabretooth, so I'll give it one more. Savage Spider-Man #1: this is a follow-up to non-stop Spider-man? Not good. Suicide Squad #12: great! The Thing #4: fuck, this is good. I have my suppositions about the kid, but I look forward to the reveal. X-Men Legends #11: the Simonsons on New Mutants! Lovely. Devil's Reign #4: this is awesome. Apache Delivery Service #2: ok, this became something completely else. Great! Daisy #2, 3: Fucking wild. Good stuff. Evil Ernie #3: dumb fun. A little maudlin, but fun. Hellboy and the BPRD 1957: Forgotten lives: a lovely little oneshot. King of Spies #3: this series is fucking nuts. Life Zero #1: not sure I want to read anymore zombie books right now. Maestro: World War M #1: this is fun. Moon Knight #8: great issue Radiant Black #12: least liked issue thus far. Suicide Squad Blaze #1: ok, this is kinda crazy. The Fourth Man #2: the story is alright, but damn near every character is made to look like a Hollywood actor and it's incredibly distracting. I'm out. The Joker #12: great issue. Great reveal. The Secret X-Men #1: Jesus, this shit is almost unreadable. Titans United #6: Blackfire is a least favourite villain and I don't tend to enjoy cosmic Titans very much (unless the Greek Gods and Titans are involved) but this is fine. Seems weird that it ends next issue. Batman The Knight #2: ok, this is pretty damned good. Green Lantern #11: this is crazy wild cosmic stuff and I am here for it. Also here for the Tom Raney art. A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance #5: did not expect this to get crazier. So good. Devil's Reign: Superior Four #1, 2: Man...there has yet to be a misstep in the DR story. It's a PERFECT street-level event that includes the bigger heroes. They made it work! And then they had to inject some multiverse bullshit into it. I can't continue with this. Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #4: this is the best HB series in a long time. GI Joe: ARAH Saturday Morning Adventures #1: this was really fun. Drawn EXACTLY like the show (perhaps an idealized version) and while I may not read any more, I love the fact that Cobra Commander has found Aladdin's Lamp. Amazing. Hulk #4: fuck, this is nuts. Maniac of New York: The Bronx is Burning #3: crazy. My Bad #4: I have to say, Acid Chimp rules. Nyx #4: fun issue. Primordial #6: fucking mindblowing shit. Beautiful. Rain #2: incredible issue. Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body #4: it is entirely possible (if they stick the landing) that this could end up being the best piece of JFK conspiracy fiction ever told. Brilliant! The Crimson Cage #3: this is cool. The Sword of Hyperborea #2: this is fucking excellent. The Silver Coin #9: also fucking excellent. Vampiverse #6: ugh...this kind of sucked, but it's over. Venom #5: holy shit, this is nuts. We Only Kill Each Other #4: awesome. Edison Rex vol 1, 2: I think Mike and I reviewed the first issue of this back in a First Issue Special. I liked it then, but I never got around to reading more. Now I did. I see there's a third volume, so I'll have to hunt it down. Aquamen #1: nope, I'm out. Issues: 977 Trades: 14 Omnibus: 4 Graphic Novel: 13

The Pocket Film of Superstitions: my friend Greg Lamberson dissolved his joint film festival (Buffalo Dreams) and started his own called Amazing Fantasy Fest. Of course, I wanted along for the ride. This was the first submission. Kind of a pseudo-doc in the vein of a cheeky Haxan. Hinter-Land: an animated short from Canada. Slasher/Night Feeding: shorts for the festival Baby J: John Mulaney's post treatment special. Pretty funny. Features: 105 Shorts: 4 Documentaries: 9 Rewatches: 6

I think I only really remember part 2...that's the one with the guy hung upside down with a burlap sack of rats tied onto his head right? Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem - A Klok Opera: I finally saw it. As the title says, this is an opera, rather a rock opera, but it is a new thing in the world of Metalocalypse. There's always been death metal songs as part of the show, but it's never been a musical. What a fucking accomplishment from Brendon Small who composed the whole damn thing. Funny that they really limited the voice actors on this one to the regular show cast, Jack Black, Mark Hamill and Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse. I also get the criticisms, because it's a real departure from the show. Having the show end on this would be absolutely heretical. So... Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar: ...when they release a feature length Metalocalypse film that has the look and feel of the show, I should be happy right? No. Reused plots, hardly any jokes and the plot of a twenty minute episode stretched over an 80-something minute runtime make this the heretical ending. Too bad. Renfield: review forthcoming Features: 104 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

Dude. I feel like we should review it. Spiral: From the Book of Saw: my friend Mo put it best: "this is like a gore film version of Bad Boys." Chris Rock is great, but without him, this is a turd. Features: 102 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

Rejuvenator: review forthcoming The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster: review forthcoming, but wow. Pretty good. Features: 101 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

It's very much a "hey, the first one was successful in its brutality and stark, unrelenting nihilism. Let's make the sequel for kids! Then, they would continue that slide with a Saturday morning cartoon. I too enjoy "...The Destroyer" as well as "Red Sonja" (he's not Conan in that but he might as well be). But nothing in the sword and sorcery genre touches the first film. Also probably the best DVD commentary ever.

Just watched all six episodes of MONSTER FACTORY on Apple TV and I think I enjoyed it a lot more than Wrestlers. The character work is better. It feels realer. There isn't the spectre of "the business is going under unless we can..." in this and it works for the better. We have more character time. And their stories are compelling. This is the wrestling docuseries of the year, methinks.

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead: still action-y but gets the franchise back on track. Phantasm: OblIVion: now we're fucking talking. Phantasm: RaVager: hoo boy... V/H/S/1985: review forthcoming, but we have a franchise worst on our hands. Features: 99 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

My thoughts are pretty similar. Phantasm II: I'll save my thoughts on this, the action sequel, for the podcast I'm obviously covering the whole franchise on and just point out that though this is the only Phantasm film to be considered a studio film, it was still the lowest budgeted movie that Universal released IN THE ENTIRE 1980S. Features: 95 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

100%. It's actually impressive how much changed over the span of the show. Even though it lasted many more years than its 7 seasons, there was a shitload of change and character development over that period that one doesn't often find in animated series.

Probably four. I love the punch of 4, 5, 6, but without 4, they aren't as good obviously. The show is most itself the last two episodes of season 1 and all of 2, though. 4 is what it grew into.

The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart: I watched this twice last night. Still thinking about it. Will probably review it on the podcast. Drag Me To Hell/Oz the Great and Powerful/Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: yikes. Phantasm: stone cold classic. So innovative. Features: 94 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 6

Barry Windsor-Smith Storyteller #1-3: In the late 90s, Dark Horse BWS his own oversized anthology book. He started three stories in the first issue, Freebooters, Paradoxman and Young Gods. A sci fi Conan, a sort of Blade Runner style sci fi, and a riff on Kirby's New Gods. None of them are particularly good, even though the art is top notch. It was cancelled after 9 issues, but I'm not sure I'll bother finishing the rest of the issues. Green Lantern annual #3: this is for my patreon-exclusive podcast on the Elseworlds anthologies. Perfect example of one right here. X-Men Legends #9: absolutely goddawful. I am the audience for Larry Hama Wolverine stories and not even Silvestri on art could bring that vibe for me. World of Krypton #1: fucking terrible. I'm out. Batman The imposter #3: fuck this was a great series. They've done the Batman Imposter story several times, sometimes successfully, mostly not. This is a successful one. Perhaps the most successful one. Defenders #4: fuck this is so good. Feels like classic Defenders. Lots of wild lore being written here. Eternals #8: ehhhh...not sure I'll read more. Hulk #2: wild fun. Mazebook #4: good stil. Newburn #2: really good still. My Date With monsters #2: I have to quit on this. Noir Burlesque 1 of 2: this is a Europe comics graphic novel series (of two) that has a pretty typical story, but gorgeous art. I'll read part 2. Out #3: slow-moving, but right up my alley. Primordial #4: least enjoyable issue yet, still good. Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body #2: fucking fantastic. Savage Avengers #27: fuck me, this series is the best thing Marvel has done in ages. Robin & Batman #2: great issue. Teen Titans Academy #9: great issue. Really thought we were going to have the Red X reveal here, but sadly no. The Heathens #2: really fun. The Joker #10: great issue. Explores the aftermath of The Killing Joke and early Jim Gordon Jr. psychopathy. The Thing #2: fucking great. Titans United #4: great issue. Great reveal. The Eye Collector #1-5: indie series with a similar premise to a WIP I have. It's different enough. Vampirella/Dracula Unholy #1: no thank you. We Only Kill Each Other #2: this is fucking great. A Jewish cop on the sly convincing the mob to beat and kill Nazis in New York. So cool. Justice League Incarnate #1, 2: this is a fucking great little series. Really funny how Grant Morrison's wink at Erik Larsen is a pretty (Dinocop = Savage Dragon) substantial character. I particularly like The SuperDemon Etrigan, the Superman of Earth 13 or whatever. So fun. Batman One Dark Knight #1: if you'd tell me that Jock would be writing and drawing a three issue prestige series of Batman in a footrace from one end of Gotham to the other with zero reliance on electrical, motorized or communicative technology, I would have said "Well, that's my most anticipated series." The first issue stunk though. So I'm out. Disappointed. Night of the Ghoul #3: classic modern horror grossest moment in this one. Fun little series. Refrigerator Full of Heads #3: still so good. Avengers Forever #1: this seems fun. A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #3: fuck, this is the best issue yet. So tense. Black Panther #2: not as good as the first issue, but that's not uncommon. I'll give it at least one more. Eat the Rich #5: this is the most obvious ending that I called on like page fifteen of the first issue. Oh well. It would make a good six episode tv series on a streamer. Not the greatest comic. Iron Man #15: this is fucking crazy. House of Slaughter #3: I don't enjoy this series as much as SIKTC, but I guess it was published during a break from that series. But I swish it was just more of that series. Kang the Conqueror #5: fucking nailed the landing on the end. Great little mini. I'll check out that Timeless series now. Moon Knight #6: man, this might be the best MK run ever. This is solid. Maw #4: a real slow reveal here, but I'm in. Radiant Black #11: this is easily the best superhero comic going right now. Really well done with some really cool world-building. Search for Hu #4: of the two Asian character-centric crime comics I'm reading A Righteous Thirst For Vengeance is way better. That Texas Blood #13: fucking great single issue story. Telepaths #4: decent issue The Darkhold Spider-Man #1: meh...not great. Venom #3: so good. DC vs. Vampires #3: Still decent. Task Force Z #3: Haven't been beaming about this series, but this issue had my favourite moment in it. Good shit. Swamp Thing Green Hell #1: Holy shit! This is great. Mahnke's art is top-notch here. Teen Titans Academy #10: This was ok. The Human Target #3: the worst of the series thus far, but still fucking excellent. Seriously makes most Big 2 comic books look like pieces of shit. Black Hammer Reborn #7:This was...fine. The Complete Torpedo vol 1: crime comics with Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet art? Yes please. This collects several GNs so I guess it's a trade paperback. Death of Doctor Strange #4: really good mystery. Highly weird and slyly written. One more issue to go. And maybe a tie-in? Devil's Reign #2: ok, this rules. Hellboy The Silver Lantern Club #3: overall, a pretty boring mini. I guess that was somewhat the point? I don't know. My Bad #1, 2: not a bad little comedy superhero anthology series. Timeless #1: man, before the last Kang miniseries, I really didn't give a shit about Kang. Not in the comics, and certainly not in the movies, but that mini made him interesting to me. This issue broke it all open. I'm excited to read more. Dark Knights of Steel #3: I'm looking for something next issue that will keep me reading more. Justice League Infinity #7: such a crazy good little series continuing on the DCAU JLA. Really enjoyed it. Justice League Incarnate #3: the spoof of Youngblood is hysterical. One-Star Squadron #2: solid issue. Suicide Squad #11: same Apache Delivery Service #1: good first issue. I'll give it one more. Basilisk #6: pretty solid. Captain America/Iron man #2: great issue! Bylines in Blood #1: pass. Elektra Black White and Blood #1: decent. Two good stories, one skippable. Evil Ernie #1, 2: ok, this is fun. Hellboy The Bones of Giants #3: this is great. Classic Hellboy. Monkey Meat #1: hell no, thank you. Pantha #1: kind of a full reboot here. I'm with it. The Darkhold Omega #1: great ending. The Fourth Man #1: I'll give it one more. Two Moons #8: still solid. King of Spies #2: still pretty solid. The Complete Torpedo Vol 2: all Bernet art on these ten page stories. Torpedo is a heel, a racist and a misogynist, but he looks good while smoking a cigarette and pistol-whipping some rube. Maniac of New York: The Bronx is Burning #2: fantastic. A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #4: still awesome. Mazebook #5: fantastic ending. Animal Castle #2: woof! Nowhere near as good as issue one. Might drop this. Nyx #3: fun issue. My Bad #3: funny Batman The Knight #1: JUST what the world needed: How Batman became Batman! Again! But it's pretty good. Blue & Gold #5: great. Man, Ryan Sook's art is top-notch. Rain #1: based on Joe Hill's brutal and beautiful novella. Solid first chapter. Rewild: Devin Grayson's climate change meets faeries GN. Pretty good. I feel like it just ended though. Bolero #1: this is a crazy first issue. Feels like a Sejic book story-wise. Wild. I'll read more, if only to figure out why it's named after a spanish love song. Defenders #5: fucking aces. Savage Avengers #28: the best run of comics put out by Marvel in probably twenty years. Fucking AWESOME. Robin & Batman #3: great ending. Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight #1: great issue. Devil's Reign X-Men #1: Mayor Fisk versus the X-Men in New York. Kind of fun. The Joker #11: solid. The Sword of Hyperborea #1: awesome. Right up my alley. Devil's Reign: Villains for Hire #1: this is great. Green Lantern #10: this is fucking nuts. Don't really know what's going on but some of it is cool. The Scorched #1: a team made up of various Spawns. This kind of sucked. I'm out. Hulk #3: fucking wild and really cool. The Thing #3: oh shit, The Champion showed up! I love it! Last Book You'll Ever Read #5: weird that it was always heading this way. Making a unique and intriguing premise more and more obvious. Titans United #5: decent. Maw #5: fucking crazy... Vampiverse #5: here's another that makes me wish I never bothered. I think there's only one more issue. We Ride Titans #1: boring Mega #1, 2: this, like the one above, is a giant monster thing. This series is a million times better and more interesting than the other one. Truly beautiful artwork and a great mythology. Moon Knight #7: this series is so confident, they can have MK walk into the Bar with No Name and threaten everyone there, implying a fight and not showing it. It works. X-Men Legends #10: this was...ok. Out #4: this was a fine issue. The worst of the batch thus far. Primordial #5: great issue. Shadowman #4, 5: Can't muster the emotions to give a shit about this series. I'm out. Regarding the Matter of Oswald's Body #3: this ranks amongst the craziest last pages ever. Search for Hu #5: kind of ends like a dry fart. She-Hulk #1: awful Silver Surfer: Rebirth #1: also awful. Swamp God #1-3: here's the first of three supernatural horror stories in a row that all happen in New Orleans. This one takes place in the civil war with a Confederate unit and an all-black Union unit who have to team up and kill the monster the confederates let loose. Decent Swamp Dogs: House of Crows #1: this was pretty dang cool. ALSO has a flashback to Civil War times. The Crimson Cage #2: this is the wrestling-themed supernatural one. Seems like it kicks off next issue. Probably could have cut one of these issues out and consolidate the story down. Still enjoyable. The Heathens #3: still good. The Rise #2, 3: this is really solid. The Silver Coin #8: probably my least enjoyed issue of the run, but still good. Venom #4: still can't believe Bryan Hitch is drawing this. Such a good series. We Only Kill Each Other #3: fucking great issue. The pot is boiling... DC vs Vampires #4: great issue. Night of the Ghoul #4: I forgot these characters were in the book! Haha! Good issue. Task Force Z #4: I thought this was the best issue so far. I've been sort of on the fence with this. I'm down, now. Teen Titans Academy #11: can't help but think this ending was rushed. The Human Target #4: fuck...this is SO good. Ant #2: this was fine. Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace #1: this was great. Basilisk #7: with this issue, it becomes cooler than the WIP comic series that was in development. That's fine. Out was going nowhere anyway, as is my curse. Children of the Woods: a really great horror GN. Good story, creepy stuff. Great plotting. Super solid. Crossover #11: this series is so fucking wild. and Great. Fantastic Four Life Story #6: kind of a sweet ending. Dark Knights of Steel #4: I think I'm done. It's just not that interesting to me. 1602 this is not. Issues: 916 Trades: 12 Omnibus: 4 Graphic Novel: 12

Well, I finished Venture Bros. tonight. I'll watch the movie, probably tomorrow.I think I might rewatch the 90s X-Men cartoon next now that that new show is coming

The Joker 2021 Annual #1: a great story about early Joker and Gordon with crude interior art by Francavilla. Good stuff. Winter Guard #4: great ending. Venom #2: I can't believe Hitch draws this. Great series so far. Wonder Woman Historia-The Amazons Book One: I'm a simple man. I see Phil Jiminez is drawing WW and I buy it. This was gorgeous. I don't give a shit about a new origin for WW, they all are kind of lame and this one is pretty damned cool so far. Amazing Fantasy #5: decent ending Basilisk #5: cool twist Captain America/Iron Man #1: this was ok. Daisy #1: wild first issue. Crossover #10: what Donny Cates is doing here, is the final statement in meta comics. In this issue. Brian Michael Bendis writes and Michael Avon Oeming draws those same men's interrogation at the hands of Deena Walker and Pilgrim of Powers. And it rules. Dark Knights of Steel #2: intriguing. Devil's Reign #1: Ok, I'm down. Death of Doctor Strange Blade #1: the absolute worst of these tie-ins so far. Fantastic Four Life Story #5: holy shit, great issue. Green Lantern #9: if Tom Raney can't do a monthly book on his own anymore, I'm glad that DC is still using him, and using him in this manner to allow him to be more prolific. Justice League Infinity #6: this series is great, but this was one big cosmic fight so that was kind of boring. Lunar Room #1: great idea, couldn't get past the art. I like the cel shading look, but there is no weight to any of the characters. They just looks like they were photoshopped onto the page. Which, I realized, they likely were. Bad. Nyx #2: this turned out to be pretty fucking cool. One-Star Squadron #1: this really the era of the Big Two letting creators go nuts with obscure characters, but DC has ALWAYS been better at that. This is no different. Kind of a successor to the JLI era. Suicide Squad #10: I am a man who prefers his Suicide Squad to NOT be in space. The Crimson Cage #1: voodoo meets pro wrestling. I'm down. The Silver Coin #7: this one you can see the end coming a mile away, but it's still enjoyable. Vampiverse #4: feels like it's maybe treading a little water. Two Moons #7: not as good as last issue. Necessary to move some characters across the board. World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw #3: fucking great ending. The House: couldn't get past the art of this GN. What's the Furthest Place from Here #2: I like the premise but I'm just not being grabbed by the story. I'm out. Issues: 771 Trades: 10 Omnibus: 4 Graphic Novel: 9

Mother: the latest movie I caught with my lady is this Netflix misstep. I can't really buy Jennifer Lopez as an actress (Out of Sight and The Cell notwithstanding) let alone a badass action hero. Never got comfortable with that in this movie, so I was not proved wrong. Pass. Features: 89 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 5

There's way worse things for film fans to be super into than Saw, like Marvel movies, for example.

Season 4 of Venture Bros. probably holding the candle of best season for me so far. It kicks a lot of ass. Henchman 21 is a top tier character and this season relies on him pretty heavily.

Cruel Jaws: oh lordy. Monday's Dread Media will have my review for this...thing. Features: 88 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 5

I couldn't really work on my podcast as I wanted to be upstairs to care for my fiance who had surgery yesterday, so I re-began my rewatch of Venture Bros. in advance of watching the movie finale. I started on season 2, which I have discovered that I already covered when i started this rewatch last year. But it's fine, because season 2 fucking rules.

Black Caesar is one of my all-time favourite movies (you have to see Three The Hard Way). Gibbs is less reprehensible than Tony Montana in another movie that stole Shakespeare's Julius Caesar plot. I like BC a lot more than Scarface too. I'll take Fred Williamson over almost any other actor on earth, any day.

I did way back then. Maybe, I'll check it out again. Funny you mention that... 🤣

First couple episodes of The Mosquito Coast down, and it's based on the same novel the Harrison Ford movie is based on. It's written by Paul Theroux, Louis Theroux's dad, and Justin Theroux's uncle. Justin happens to be the star of the show. It's solid, but they are keeping the reason for being on the run a mystery, and that is really hard to apply stakes to. Netflix's Wrestlers is really good. Very even-handed view of the industry with the focus on modern OVW (run by Al Snow!). It's quite good. Two episodes left to do.

It'd be like Right Said Fred performing at a parade in a movie: yeah they'd draw a crowd and it would probably be entertaining but it dates your movie to like...a specific few weeks in time. Just absolutely pulls me out. Take, for example, Bauhaus performing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" in The Hunger. It's the most eighties thing ever. 100% But it has also become an iconic song that defined a movement. That song/artist choice worked out well for that film. The Boxer's Omen: review forthcoming, but holy shit. A wild Hong Kong film that starts with a man beginning to go on a quest of revenge against a Thai kick boxer who paralyzed his brother after losing in a match, but then, in act two there's a...subplot?...of a black magic sorcerer who is killing Buddhist monks. And the brother has to kill the sorcerer to break the spell and bring the head monk back to life because the brother is...somehow tied life and death to the dead monk and he'll die as soon as the monk starts to decompose. For some reason? Then after he does that, act three is the revenge. So. Fucking. Weird. Spider-Man 2: undeniable. Spider-Man 3: interested to chat about this. Quicksand/Brooklyn 45/Influencer/Sharksploitation: reviews forthcoming. And I watched B45 twice. Features: 87 Shorts: 1 Documentaries: 8 Rewatches: 5