The Beat |
- Newsmakers: Isabelle Melançon and Xellette Stillwell talk Hiveworks
- REVIEW: Buckle up for KANE & ABLE!
- GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB: DELICATES’ Brenna Thummler on pacing and emotion
- GREEN ARROW: STRANDED middle-grade GN now coming from DC next year
- Mid-Season Predictions: How will the second half of LOKI conclude?
- New faces aplenty in the latest images from BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART Two
- Ray Fawkes’s IN THE FLOOD coming to print from Dark Horse in 2022
- REVIEW: Black Widow is family drama, MCU style
- DC ROUND-UP: A quiver full of candles for 80 years of Green Arrow
- Recap: THE FLASH S7E14 — “Rayo de Luz”
- The Beat’s early look at MARVEL: FUTURE REVOLUTION
- Buccellato & Sherman’s CHICKEN DEVIL coming this fall from AfterShock
| Newsmakers: Isabelle Melançon and Xellette Stillwell talk Hiveworks Posted: 29 Jun 2021 01:30 PM PDT With webcomics more in the news than ever, I thought it was time to talk to the folks behind Hiveworks, a community of independent creators with a unique – and successful – model. Rather than a standalone site like Tapas and WebToon, Hiveworks is a network of comics, backed by a team that provides publishing and website support. Among their most popular comics: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Dumbing of Ages, Girl Genius, Wilde Life, Sleepless Domain, Awkward Zombie and Stand Still Stay Silent. Their biggest publishing hits include Persephone and Stand Still Stay Silent. The Hiveworks team is headed by Isabelle Melançon, Erin Burt and Xellette Stillwell, who oversee various aspects of publishing, monetization and tech. Isa and Xellette were gracious enough to answer some questions by email about how they work and their growing partnerships – including a publishing deal with Seven Seas. Disclosure: The Beat was hosted by Hiveworks from 2015 to 2017, and they still operate one of our ad networks. I found working with them a great experience, and in a world where a webcomics site can sell for half a billion dollars, it’s exciting to see a grassroots organization based on creator control succeed. THE BEAT: First off, can you explain what Hiveworks is, for those who don’t know? I know your logline is “Hiveworks Comics is a creator-owned comics and graphic novel publisher focused on free to read webcomics,” and I know you are often mentioned with Tapas and Webtoon, but you have a very different model. Isabelle Melançon: I feel we are compared to Webtoons and Tapas often because we focus primarily on webcomics and digitally distributed works, as they do. However, as you said, we have a different focus than them, and a more small-scale approach. Hiveworks was founded in 2011, in an environment where working on a webcomic was very solitary work, and creators had to do everything. A lot of the tools creators commonly use now, such as Patreon, Gumroad, Ko-fi, and Kickstarter, were still new. We wanted to create a community of artists that could grow together, and to which we could offer numerous services so they would have assistance, and the advantages of being a larger group. We design comic sites and back ends such as Comic Control, help creators publish online, offer editorial assistance, manage ads, manage a store and warehouse, design and print books, manage crowdfunding campaigns, etc. Through partners such as Seven Seas, we also aim to get creator-owned webcomics sold in stores, and we have helped several creators have their work printed in other languages. You can see Hiveworks as a cross between an artist collective, a traditional publisher, and a web content manager. We do have a few comics that we publish as a print publisher would do, such as Tiger Tiger and Vainglorious, but the bulk of the services we propose are aimed at independent creators. Based on what I know of companies like Webtoons and Tapas, they have a section where creators can post their comics independently and a section where creators are paid to produce work, but printed goods are not a focus for these companies. We do not have an open user platform, or a reader platform approach overall. We customize each site to the comic's style & page size. We are basically a digital medium scale publisher, we are not affiliated with a larger company, as these reading apps are. As a fun bonus, basically all our staff is composed of LBTQ+ creators.  Xellette Stillwell: As Isa said, Hiveworks is a patchwork of different things. We do publishing, marketing, ads, technology, though in general our aim is to be a solution so artists can keep their work independent. At the end of the day, we work with artists so they can have much more control of their brands and try new things. Our approach is that if there’s a problem for our artists, we find a solution. THE BEAT: I guess I would call Hiveworks a decentralized model – if a webcomic joins Hiveworks, they still have their own website. How does being part of your platform work? Isa: The plus of assembling all the comics on a platform is that they are all assembled in one place. The downside is that the platform itself becomes the pushed product, more than the individual comics. We try to keep each comic in its own space (united by our update jumpbar, internal ads and our adorable bee logo) so that creators have a space they can really customize to their work, and this keeps the comics to the forefront of our promotions. The comics stay the focus. We think it's important to do that because our approach is to give creators personalized services. THE BEAT: How does a webcomic join the Hive? Is it usually you reaching out or someone coming to you? Isa: We usually have submissions open. They are currently closed due to our team needing a well-deserved break as the pandemic continues into its second year, but that is how we get a lot of our artists. We also contact people directly to invite them in if a project catches our eye on social media, and sometimes, current Hiveworks artists propose the pitch of a colleague. THE BEAT: As a collective, do you help cartoonists with the business end of things? I know a lot of cartoonists have different skill sets, so some want help with printing and kickstarters…and some are one stop shops. How do you work with them? Isa: The services we offer are usually customized to the artist's needs. As you say, some are more comfortable handling more than others. We provide artists with the services they request. In my experience, everyone likes having help with book design, Kickstarters, and editorial! We have staff that do pre-press work for the books, we help with cover design, we have a few printers we use regularly, and a warehouse, so we can fulfill Kickstarters and ship out products. We also have several editors on staff who help creators with planning their story and managing their planning. THE BEAT: Of course, we have seen a huge surge in interest over the last few years with “mobile platforms” such as Webtoons and Tapas. What kind of readership trends have you seen over the last year? Did the pandemic have an effect? Isa: Readership has stayed stable for us, though we had to deal with a bit of artist morale going down. We did our best to keep everyone feeling supported. Xel: Overall our audience has been about the same if not slightly elevated, the main impact from the pandemic has been an impact on shipping rates for our warehouse. A lot of international mail is delayed or expensive to send.
THE BEAT: Isa, you have put together a lot of the Hive’s printed work, including anthologies. Are those still something you are doing? Isa: I still oversee basically every book we produce, though I get a lot of help from other staff folks for prepress and design (which is very appreciated). I have a ton of fun designing Hiveworks books with artists. The books all look so good! I love them! We always get compliments for how pretty they are. Due to an illness and covid, I've yet to complete work on my most recent anthology, so I think I will step down from doing any new ones for a time after Valor 3 work is completed. They represent a ton of work, and I would like to focus a bit more on my assigned Hiveworks comics while I heal. When I started creating anthologies, I was younger and had less editorial work on my hands and more energy to burn. When it comes to personal work, my webcomic Namesake is entering its final arc after 10 years of publishing online and that's very exciting, so I’m very motivated to focus on that. I've also got another webcomic in the works with Inês Bravo as the artist – @inesmbravo on Twitter – and me as the writer called Trinket about magical girls in space. This will also be a Hiveworks comic.
(Art above by Inês) THE BEAT: Are you still doing the Originals line? How does that work? Isa: We are! Mainly, it is a page rate system akin to what a traditional publisher would do. The goal is to have a few series as permanent features of Hiveworks. Right now that would be Blindsprings, Vainglorious, Tiger Tiger, Cut Time, Sleepless Domain, Magical How, the just launched Alexander, the Servant, and the Water of Life, and the upcoming 'Aria of Fate' (working title). I think this side of Hiveworks will probably keep growing over time, but we do aim to support independent folks as our main gig. THE BEAT: Last year you announced a print partnership with Seven Seas, – how did this deal come together? Do you publish books yourselves or would you consider it? Isa: We've always been somewhat in contact with Seven Seas, as people on their staff have worked with us as creators before. We had a few discussions in 2019 and 2020 and agreed that it would be beneficial for both of us to form a partnership on a few projects, mainly to get webcomics distributed in stores while creators still own all the creative rights and "streaming" (i.e. publishing online) rights. I know there are a lot of people who would like to have their books in stores but are not ready to make a deal with a big publisher and risk having to take the webcomic down, or change it, or redraw it. They still want to control how their work continues and exists. Seven Seas has a huge background in licensing works, so they are used to working with other publishers. They were willing to give us the flexibility we wanted for our artists, and that's great! I think the Seven Seas clientèle is going to greatly enjoy Hiveworks titles, as a lot of web-based creators adore manga and have it as a big inspiration. THE BEAT: There has been a lot of talk of late about just how webcomics are monetized. What are the ways a webcartoonist can support themselves in 2021? Isa: Diversification is the biggest thing. Set yourself up to be able to collect ad revenue, set up Ko-fis and Patreons, put up a little ebook store, maybe a merch store if you can (but ideally be more active with digital products as they have no base cost), be active on social media, etc. The more this goes, the more artists must put on more hats. It is a bit of an unavoidable progression as creators online have become more and more "content creators", you always have to be doing a little something. Lately, we even saw job offers for artists including the influencer aspect (only artists with a certain following could apply). My main recommendation, I think, is to create more digital short works. Easy to sell, no cost to ship, high demand. Although the biggest thing to remember is that there’s also no specific how-to guide with guaranteed results. Talk to other creators, try stuff, see what works for you, don't overcommit to things that bring you discomfort.  THE BEAT: Xel, you and I talked a little about NFTs when we were planning this interview, and you have some strong feelings about them, even beyond the environmental issues. People keep claiming that they can help artists control their work, but I haven't seen the evidence for that yet. Beyond the fad nature of things like Beeple, do you think NFTs and Blockchain have any practical application for cartoonists? Xel: I think the core issues around them are they aren’t needed. There’s already systems and platforms for the sale and ownership of art, that are much cheaper, have less impacts, and are more established/reputable. Ignoring everything else, the marketplaces are highly unregulated and theft of art is rampant. Crypto can possibly have a time and a place, though in this use case there’s no benefit from it. The only gains are through obfuscation of transactions and generating a bubble. What is novelty of product worth measured against utility, this is a min/max of that question. I don’t think it’s wise for companies to invest into this, the comic bubble of the 90’s wasn’t good for the industry and it isn’t a good move to invite another one. Most of the value in this stuff is going to be gone in a few years, the markets down 50%+ from peak and is tied to greater crypto trends. This isn’t about art it’s about arbitrage through artificial financial vehicles, I’m not even sure if this is a bubble in the traditional sense but a way to try and make utility out of crypto assets. It really doesn’t seem like an area comic companies have the expertise to go near. Why go through a crypto marketplace, why not an auction system, why not a regular marketplace. The demand isn’t content bound, it’s instrument bound, and personally I think it’s a pretty bad instrument. (Head over to Hiveworks and start discovering lots of great comics.)
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| REVIEW: Buckle up for KANE & ABLE! Posted: 29 Jun 2021 01:00 PM PDT
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| GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB: DELICATES’ Brenna Thummler on pacing and emotion Posted: 29 Jun 2021 11:30 AM PDT Content Warning: This clip includes brief discussion of sexual assault portrayed in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. The Beat is a proud sponsor of Comix Experience's Graphic Novel of the Month Clubs, which bring comics fans a curated mix of the best of new release graphic novels and conversations with the creators who make them. Each month, the staff of Comix Experience votes on two sets of upcoming books they are most excited—one gets presented to adults and another to middle readers. Each club provides swag like original signed custom bookplates for adults or buttons and magnets for the kids (in this case, the former, to support the featured book, Delicates).
Most excitingly, the Graphic Novel Clubs bring in the creators of selected books to talk exclusively to GNC members in interviews conducted by Comix Experience owner Brian Hibbs, who brings 30 years of experience in comics to the table. These talks are livestreamed to members all over the country and are a fun and informative mix of conversation on craft and form, as well as on the business of making comics. The Graphic Novel Clubs make a point of being inclusive, inviting creators from a wide variety of age, race, sex, and cultural perspectives to speak to members. Membership is what propels these conversations, so if you like what you see, please support these discussions of comics, and the creators who make them, by joining the club. Today: Brian Hibbs talks to author Brenna Thummler about her recently released graphic novel, Delicates. In this clip, Thummler goes in depth on how she approaches pacing and emotion; the balancing act between giving the reader a reason to turn the page, dealing with the physical amount of space on the page, and the calculus of which page turn is the most important one. The post GRAPHIC NOVEL CLUB: DELICATES' Brenna Thummler on pacing and emotion appeared first on The Beat.  |
| GREEN ARROW: STRANDED middle-grade GN now coming from DC next year Posted: 29 Jun 2021 10:45 AM PDT Today sees the release from DC Comics of their latest 80th anniversary anthology special, this time focused on Green Arrow. It’s appropriate, then, that the publisher also chose today to announce the release date for their next middle-grade graphic novel, which will focus on a reimagined version of their emerald archer. Green Arrow: Stranded will come from the creative team of writer Brenden Deneen, artist Bell Hosalla, and letterer DC Hopkins of Andworld Design, and feature a teenaged version of Oliver Queen. The book will arrive in stores on March 1st, 2022.
Here’s how DC describes Green Arrow: Stranded:
Going with a plane crash rather than a boating accident is a new wrinkle, as is having Ollie’s father survive, though the CW Arrow series flirted with that a little bit in their version of the character’s origin. Green Arrow: Stranded is the first collaboration for Deneen and Hosalla, and both creators’ first work for DC Comics. The book was first announced last year, with an original release date of next month. The reason for the delay is unclear, though it seems likely the effects of the pandemic on comic publisher’s schedules are still being felt. Check out an unlettered preview of Hosalla’s artwork for the graphic novel below. Green Arrow: Stranded is due out in stores on March 1st, 2022.
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| Mid-Season Predictions: How will the second half of LOKI conclude? Posted: 29 Jun 2021 10:00 AM PDT It’s mid-season predictions time! We are officially halfway through Loki, and much like we did with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier it’s time to talk major theories, predictions, hopes, and conspiracies we have for this season. With just three episodes remaining, there’s a lot on the table left for us to look at. Who are the Time-Keepers? Will we get to see Kang the Conqueror? How many Lokis will survive the end of the season? Avery Kaplan and I discuss predictions for the back half of Loki. Will we get to meet the Time-Keepers?Therese: There's still so much unknown about the Time-Keepers. Are they actually giant space lizards? I wasn't sure but the frosty look at what is behind the elevator in the mid-season trailer makes me reconsider. However, given that the TVA is full of brainwashed variants who could be enchanted, I don't think it would be outside the realm of possibility for another Loki to be at the helm of all of this. We still don't know who Richard E. Grant is. Perhaps Sophia Di Martino's Sylvie grew up with him? It seems like she's evaded the TVA for quite a while. Avery: I am convinced that Grant is playing an adaptation of the older version of Loki who menaces the Agent of Asgard in Loki: Agent of Asgard. Not only does Grant bear a striking resemblance to Tom Hiddleston's Loki, but his current self is the spitting image of the future Loki from that run (give or take a green onesie). And the closer we get to the conclusion of the series, the less convinced I am we'll see those jerk lizards. Whether it's just Renslayer playing Oz or a Loki Variant pulling the strings, I'm maybe most interested in seeing how Mobius factors into the whole equation. His conversations with Renslayer have seemed as though they're dancing around something… Therese: I agree about Grant, I think he's a Loki variant, whether he's the man behind the curtain or maybe the man behind Sylvie, I think he's set to play a critical role in the plot. Also, I definitely have some kind of vibe from Mobius and Ravonna. Something about the way Mobius can't remember to use a coaster makes me think maybe that's an indication he's been "wiped" a couple of times? Like Sylvie said, stronger minds require more effort to enchant. Avery: Or… could Mobius be a projection from Grant's Loki? Loki did go to great lengths to explain the difference between a duplicate and a projection to Mobius, which could have been some foreshadowing…
Is Sylvie actually a Loki variant? Will we see her claim the title of Enchantress?Therese: The jury is still out for me on whether Sylvie is a Loki variant or not. Given how different her life is, at the very least maybe she was a young Loki who split from her timeline early? What is her Odin like? It feels pretty clear that she'll claim the title of Enchantress if she manages to survive the show. Avery: In the 616, Sylvie Lushton claimed the title of Enchantress after Asgardians arrived in Oklahoma… and the first place we see Sylvie is Oklahoma. Factor in the reappearance of that overly memorable future-shovel and I think we have more to see from the scene that closed out "Glorious Purpose"… And yes, I think this all culminates in Sylvie claiming the title of Enchantress. In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we saw Lorelei (Elena Satine), the younger sister of Amora… but then, is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. considered a part of the Sacred Timeline? Mobius didn't mention Coulson's resurrection in the Time Theater, and that seems like it might have come up. At any rate, part of the fun of the MCU is seeing how characters change in the adaptation, so I'm excited to see how all these Enchantresses shake out. Therese: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is definitely not part of the Sacred Timeline, it's been pruned (as it should be). If any show should be brought back into the MCU proper it's the Netflix shows, not Iron Fist though. I think Amora is a character that would be a great comic book character to bring in, one that is on the same level as a Val character. I don't think there's been any chatter about a "big cameo" waiting in the wings, but I wouldn't put it past Marvel. Avery: One thing about non-Loki variants: I do not think B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) will be happy about the knowledge that she is a variant! Therese: Oh definitely not. I think it would be interesting to see her reaction to it since she's been the one championing the TVA.
Is the TVA in the Quantum Realm?Therese: There's been a lot of speculation about where the TVA is and how they manage to cut around time, so the theory floating around that the TVA actually exists in the Quantum Realm has begun to gain some traction. I would love this to be the case since it would fit so well into the universe, especially with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania coming with and Jonathan Majors rumored to be Kang the Conqueror. Avery: According to Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy by Kip S. Thorne, when you get to measurements smaller than the Planck-Wheeler length, 10-35 centimeter, the concept of length becomes meaningless. Likewise, at scales smaller than 10-43 second ("the 'Planck-Wheeler time'"), the concept of time becomes meaningless, just like it is within the TVA… All this to say yes, I think the TVA being connected to Quantumania in some way is extremely likely! There may be a little Doctor Strange 2 in there, as well, which series writer Michael Waldron also worked on. Therese: Ahh yes, Thorne's book, we spent a whole afternoon talking about that text. I think given that Doctor Strange no longer has the Time Stone, I wonder if Loki maybe pocketing a TIme Stone/multiple Infinity Stones could come into play. Thematically I think we're done with the Infinity Stones but the very fact they don't exist anymore seems problematic for the universe? But yes, I want that Quantumania connection and the Doctor Strange 2 connection, and I want it to connect to Wandavision. I think out of all the shows, Wandavision and Loki have the most potential to crossover with each other. Avery: It was a very nice afternoon! And those diagrams were legitimately hilarious.
Will we get a Kang the Conqueror mention?Therese: Okay on the topic of Kang, he feels like one of the big Mephisto/Wolverine/Magnetos of Loki. A fan and comic book favorite that would fit so well into the story, but one we likely won't be seeing. I think due to the nature of these shows and how they are more like character studies than anything else, I doubt we'll see Kang. But perhaps a mention is possible due to Ravonna's character background, at least from the comics. And we haven't seen Gugu Mbatha-Raw really reveal her true nature in this show so far. Avery: I think you're right on: this answer depends on Renslayer's background, whatever that ends up being. That being said, if anyone is still looking for Mephisto, check out Heroes Reborn. He's in there… uh, a lot (more than you're thinking). Therese: At this point, Mephisto turning up in any Marvel production is going to be a joke right? Mbatha-Raw did say that a lot of Renslayer's plot was original so I don't know how much we can depend on the comics for clues. Still, I'd love to see Majors and Mbatha-Raw together on screen together. Avery: Yes, please! And considering how other Disney+ MCU characters are heading to the big screen… Hopefully, she's among them.
Which Loki will survive the end of the season?Therese: I'm caught between whether the end of this show will unleash a thousand different Loki variants out into the world or if we'll see them all pruned by the end. Given how much speculation there is about Kid Loki and the fact that basically every show in the Disney+ slate is preparing their own Young Avenger/next-generation superhero, I feel like Kid Loki is inevitable. But then what about Sylvie? What about Hiddleston's Loki? Avery: I do think we'll see some sort of culmination of dozens of Loki Variants in episode six, but I think our main Loki Variant is headed for Ego-Death. I don't think we've seen the last of Hiddleston as Loki but I think the Variant we've been following will see the end of his narrative in episode 6. Sylvie, I think we'll have for a while. It would be kind of harsh to introduce such a charming character and then take her away a few episodes later! Maybe she can just get temporarily Pleasant Hill'd and go hang with Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Westview for a few months of relaxation. Therese: I still struggle a little with our Loki Variant's turning from 2012 Avengers Loki to Infinity War Loki within the span of an afternoon. I know that we're meant to simply believe that he's made the change after realizing the truth of his fate, but I do think it's a jump. I don't know if that will play a factor but I think about that a lot when I see Hiddleston's performance. I think Sylvie had a great introduction, and she really shone in Episode 3 in her scenes with our Loki Variant. I would love to see her with Agatha and see them wreak some havoc. I wonder if we'll see her "put on ice" like Agatha was and see them introduced in either of the two movies we mentioned before. Avery: I'm really hoping we get some appearances in the upcoming movies from some of these villains. I mean, Zemo (Daniel Brühl) only just got his mask!
What other weird historical events will we be seeing in Loki? What other Marvel Comics storylines do you think will appear?Avery: The latest trailer confirms the Philadelphia Experiment will be playing into the next three episodes, and we've known for quite a while that Vote Loki will be included. I'm hoping we also get to see something set in Roanoke, the first English colony in America. Established in 1587 on Roanoke Island, by 1590, the colony vanished – seems like it would fit in well with historical events that we've seen so far on Loki! And as for other things from the comics I'd like to see, I'm hoping we get to see Loki turn into a unicorn (as he did in Agent of Asgard) and/or Loki adopting the guise of Cat Thor, as he did in The Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl. Therese: I was also hoping for Roanoke! Maybe a few of the variants are pulled from that point in time? Part of me wants a Chernobyl scene too. I definitely want them to go to an apocalypse Asgard because I want to see Rene Russo again. And I badly want to see a Kid Loki, even if that means it won't be Hiddleston, I think they've started to introduce Young Avengers, but they haven't done enough of it, in my opinion, and this could be a good opportunity to introduce the mainstream audience to the character. Avery: With all the talk of Frigga so far in Loki, I'm hoping we get to see her again as well. Although I wonder… could we be getting Kid Sylvie instead of Kid Loki in the MCU Young Avengers? If she is indeed a Loki Variant, is there actually a distinction? Therese: I've also heard some crazy theories that Sylvie might be a Frigga variant? I think young Sylvie is definitely a candidate for Kid Loki. If she is confirmed Loki variant then I want young Sylvie as Kid Loki for sure.
Will we finally get to see Mobius ride a jet ski?Therese: I said this as a joke but now I genuinely want to see Mobius happy on a jet ski by the end of the season. Especially now that we know all of these TVA agents are forced to basically work for the TVA under some kind of mind control. Avery: Especially knowing that Mobius is probably a Variant who had his brain melted and was subsequently conscripted into the TVA… I say get that man a jet ski! And get B-15, C-20 (Sasha Lane), and Casey (Eugene Cordero) jet skis, too! Therese: Let Casey see a fish! Freedom for the TVA Agents! Did we miss something big? Do you have theories of your own? Sound off in the comments or on Twitter with @ComicsBeat! The post Mid-Season Predictions: How will the second half of LOKI conclude? appeared first on The Beat.  |
| New faces aplenty in the latest images from BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, PART Two Posted: 29 Jun 2021 09:51 AM PDT Last week Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One, the animated adaptation of the acclaimed miniseries by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale was released. Fans eager to see the conclusion don’t have to wait long because Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two arrives next month. In anticipation, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released four new images from the film highlighting some of the new characters and faces. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the feature-length animated Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital starting July 27, 2021, and on Blu-ray beginning August 10, 2021. Poison Ivy takes command of Gotham City's criminal forces – and Bruce Wayne's mind – as Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two begins. Katee Sackhoff (The Mandalorian, Battlestar Galactica) provides the voice of Poison Ivy.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two could be subtitled "Rise of the Villains" as most of Gotham City's rogues' gallery joins the fracas – including Mad Hatter and Scarecrow. Voiceover superstars John DiMaggio (Futurama, Batman: Under the Red Hood) and Robin Atkin Downes (The Strain, Constantine: City of Demons) provide the voices of Mad Hatter and Scarecrow, respectively.
A new Falcone comes to the table as Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's daughter Sofia arrives. Laila Berzins (Genshin Impact) gives voice to Sofia, and Titus Welliver (Bosch) voices Carmine.
Batman is conspicuous in his absence as the mob wars and the influx of classic villains dominate the news in Gotham City. District Attorney Harvey Dent (voiced by Josh Duhamel) and Police Commissioner James Gordon (Billy Burke) lament their missing colleague while hoping the Batsignal will finally get his attention early in Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two.
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| Ray Fawkes’s IN THE FLOOD coming to print from Dark Horse in 2022 Posted: 29 Jun 2021 09:30 AM PDT Dark Horse Comics has announced that In The Flood, the surreal 2019 Comixology Original graphic novel from creator Ray Fawkes, will be released in print next year. The graphic novel is written and illustrated by Fawkes, with colors by Lee Loughridge and letters by Thomas Mauer.
Here’s how Comixology describes In The Flood:
Fawkes is the Eisner and Harvey-nominated creator of books including One Soul, One Line, Intersect, and more. In addition to creator-owned work, Fawkes has also worked for DC Comics, and co-wrote the Black Hammer ’45 series for Dark Horse. He expressed to The Beat his enthusiasm over In The Flood finding a print home at the publisher:
In The Flood is the latest Comixology Original graphic novel to see a print release from Dark Horse Comics. Previous digital titles that have come to print from Dark Horse include The Black Ghost, Afterlift, Tremor Dose, Crema, and more. In The Flood is available digitally via Comixology now. The print edition will arrive with a cover price of $19.99 on Tuesday, March 15th, 2022. It is available for preorder from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop now. The post Ray Fawkes’s IN THE FLOOD coming to print from Dark Horse in 2022 appeared first on The Beat.  |
| REVIEW: Black Widow is family drama, MCU style Posted: 29 Jun 2021 09:01 AM PDT The history of comic book movies starring women is a long slog to acceptance, littered with disasters (Supergirl, Catwoman). A Wonder Woman film was famously deemed impossible to make for decades – despite the character being an icon (and licensing bonanza) for women, figuring out how men would be able to relate to an Amazon warrior was just too hard to ever try. In an infamous memo, Marvel's Isaac Perlmutter gave a list of box office bombs to prove that a movie starring a superheroine was doomed form the start. Black Widow has itself had an arduous journey to the big screen. As the one of the first movie casualties of COVID-19, it was shelved for a year until it was safe to open theaters. Rather than biting the bullet with a home video release, as WB did with Wonder Woman '84, and Disney did with Mulan, they stayed the course. Disney suspected that after nearly two years without a new MCU movie in theaters, a trip back to the slick, brittle world of quips and high tech suits would be just what audiences needed to be lured back to the multiplex. It's a remarkable feat of loyalty to the MCU's most misunderstood (or mishandled) character. Debuting as a sexpot undercover secretary for Tony Stark to ogle in Iron Man 2, Natasha Romanoff has since been the one Avenger with no superpowers to get her through one battle with a super-powered monster after another. (One recalls her bravely clutching a handgun while the other Avengers were smashing Chitauri with their various powers.) Her past has been a shattered checkerboard of brainwashing and mystery – what happened in Budapest? – and her character development has included an unlikely romance with the one CGI character she didn't have any chemistry with. And now she's dead. But here we, in 2021, back in the theater watching Cate Shortland's standalone adventure for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, a mélange of Jason Bourne, James Bond and typical MCU destruction.
The film opens in 1995 Ohio – young Natasha (Ever Anderson) is riding a bike and goofing off with her little sister (Violet McGraw). Natasha's hair has been dyed blue for…reasons? Otherwise, it's a typical family life –Rachel Weisz radiates maternal calm as Natasha and Yelena's mom, Melina. A lesson about fireflies and an argument over dinner set the stage for the return of father Alexei (David Harbour) who comes home in a gloomy funk. "It's time," he tells Melina. In a few moments, this cozy family life is upended, dad is suddenly lifting tractors, and mom is flying a plane, while the authorities – led by Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) – are shooting at them. It's the first of many audacious action scenes, and a sign that anything resembling a happy family life is off the table for our heroes. Natasha's life has been upended and the horrors of "the Red Room" loom, a Soviet facility for training deadly spies. Flash forward 21 years: Captain America: Civil War has just wrapped up, and Natasha is on the run to a safe house – or safe trailer in this case, supplied by Mason (O-T Fagbende), a fixer for hire who gets the materials Natasha needs for her life on the lam. So far, we're firmly in Jason Bourne/The Winter Soldier territory, both excellent choices for a story about a super spy. Just in case we didn't get the reference, at one point Natasha even watches a bit of a Roger Moore Bond film on TV. It's the globe spanning world of tradecraft and governments secrets, always a fertile field for action. But this Disneyfied version of the world often pulls back on the brutality that makes Bourne work – titles take us from Norway to Morocco to Budapest, but the set pieces have the same pacing and lighting, giving the world a homogenized gleam. Given that the MCU action unit has made more than 20 films, it's a highly entertaining and familiar gleam, but it's completely antiseptic. Car crashes that would have left mangled bodies in reality only lead to a single scratch. Also don’t pay any attention to the accents. Like seriously. Ignore them and you will live a happy life. Natasha eventually makes her way to Budapest (pronounced Buda-peshhhhht, we're reminded) where she encounter the grown up Yelena (Florence Pugh) in a dingy apartment. In the grand tradition of superheroes, they must fight before they can be friends. By now Johansson has perfected Natasha's world weary, cynical gaze, and it's a pleasure to watch, but the film comes alive when Pugh hits the screen. Small, scrappy and not at all impressed by the Avengers ("Why do you do that thing with your head?" she asks of Black Widow's signature crouch), grown up Yelena is more than a match for her sister, bringing most of the humor to the story and stealing any scene she's in. I don't know how many MCU movies Pugh has signed up for, but she's going to be a Phase 4 Fave for sure.
Also, these Black Widows are the actual worst spies ever. As someone who is being hunted globally by good guys and bad guys, Natasha just goes out merrily riding her Vespa, shopping at the local fishmongers and fighting deadly assassins in plain sight. Did no one report this to Interpol? Black Widow is a only spy movie when it wants to be, and that's not very often. The sisters have been gifted with the movies MacGuffin in an earlier scene: a bundle of vials containing some red liquid that "cancels control-making effects", in video game parlance. These vials are sought by The Taskmaster, the faceless relentless assassin of the piece, sent by Dreykov (Ray Winstone) the leader of the Red Room. The Taskmaster can learn anyone else's moves when he sees them, and that includes some scary faux-Caps shield action and generally smashing anything within reach.
Melina and Alexei eventually return – Harbour is wonderful, unsurprisingly. When it comes to unkempt heroes gone to seed, he's the go to guy. Weisz is steady as a rock as a genius scientist who has been a star agent for Dreykov. The family dynamics of Yelena and Natasha's fake childhood get worked out – mostly by fight scenes with Taskmaster and others – with a lot of laughs and in jokes along the way. It's a little hard not to see echoes of Frozen in Natasha and Yelena's relationship. That movie defined sisterhood and identity as goals in their own right, with no need for a Prince Charming to up the ante. It's no spoiler to say that we see this post atomic family in action together again. The big question about Black Widow is whether it should have been made at this late date. Perlmutter's disinterest in a female led film (and, it must be said, Kevin Feige doesn't seem all that enthused either) put this idea on ice for so long, its protagonist's story had ended in another movie by the time it came out.
With all the mysteries and regrets in Natasha's past, exploring them one last time is not a bad idea, but Review has the feeling of an elegy. She’s always known she's doomed – too much red to clear from the ledger – and jumping off the cliff on Vormir was a sacrifice she made willingly – or even eagerly. Oblivion was her reward. Ultimately, the family drama and Natasha's personal quest get buried beneath the admittedly spectacular action scenes we expect from an MCU movie. In the Winter Soldier tradition, what starts as a more down to earth adventure ends up with fire in the sky and everything blowing up. This is no Logan or Spider-Man 2. Some early reactions pegged this as one of the MCU's best solo films – and in some ways they're right. The most recent Thor and Captain America movies were really ensemble films, but Natasha gets to lead her own adventure and have her own moments of glory. And although it maybe came a little too late, it needed to happen. Boisterous Thor, heroic Cap and narcissistic Tony Stark are icons of our times. Natasha needed her own adventure, and she got one – that it's a bit of a downer is only partly due to timing. As a portrait of a hunted, haunted woman who's trying to salvage what she can of her past, Johansson is more than up to the task. But it's no coincidence that Yelena is the one with the spark in her eye. Eric Pearson's script is from a story by Jac Schaefer (WandaVision) and Ned Benson. It hits all the points an MCU movie needs – laughs, Easter eggs and big heroic moments. Director Shortland gives the characters plenty of time to shine and interact in ways that MCU fans will be gleefully meming . A special shout out to the score by veteran Lorne Balfe – given the Russian elements, suitably bombastic classical elements prevail. Black Widow hits theaters and DisneyPlus Premier Access on July 9th. The post REVIEW: Black Widow is family drama, MCU style appeared first on The Beat.  |
| DC ROUND-UP: A quiver full of candles for 80 years of Green Arrow Posted: 29 Jun 2021 09:00 AM PDT This week: We wish a happy birthday to the Emerald Archer, and his ward Note: the reviews below contain spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdicts.
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| Recap: THE FLASH S7E14 — “Rayo de Luz” Posted: 29 Jun 2021 08:00 AM PDT With Cecile leading last week’s episode, it was no doubt another member of Team Flash will take the lead in this one besides Barry, Iris, and Caitlin. It seems quite obvious: shuffling between each of their story arcs and culminating with an intersection during the finale is a great choice. In the previous episode of The Flash, Chester bluntly tells Barry to take a vacation with Iris, so the Allens are out of action in this episode. But thanks to Sue’s last-minute stall in Central City, Team Flash won’t be entirely alone.
No matter how much Chester tries to bond with Team Flash, he always seems to be left alone. When he invites the Team for Dungeons and Dragons, they all take a rain check to follow leads of their own. Joe begins an under-the-table investigation on Kramer, the interim captain, after his resignation. After finding a disturbing lead, he contemplates confronting her for explanations about leading a task force into a trap. Meanwhile, Allegra is following her lead to track down Esperanza aka Ultraviolet, her meta cousin who used to previously work for the Black Hole as an assassin. After finally coming pretty close, Ultraviolet attacks her and warns Team Flash not to get in her way. Sue knows about Ultraviolet’s tactics and warns Allegra that people can’t be changed when it’s too late, even then she refuses to let her only family go. So the three of them set out to bring her into S.T.A.R. Labs before she executes her ‘plan’ that nobody is aware of. At the site Ultraviolet attacks a doctor, but Allegra and Sue reach before she could kill him and set him free. Later they find out the doctor was in fact the same doctor who experimented on Ultraviolet, turning her into a ‘monster’ without a voice. He removed her voice box during his experiments for unknown reasons and she’s out for revenge.
Allegra convinces Sue and Chester to help Ultraviolet in bringing down the doctor, Sue still doesn’t trust her but helps them anyway. While training Allegra in using her light-controlling powers, Ultraviolet loses her calm and accidentally attacks Chester. From the beginning of this episode, Chester has only been getting attacked at, and he’s always wearing some kind of hand or arm support to heal. Can we just cut him some slack? Poor guy. After Chester’s attack, Ultraviolet escapes S.T.A.R. Labs and ventures out alone to kill the doctor but when she finds him, both of them strike a rather strange deal: a cure for her voice in return for Team Flash’s death. So when Allegra arrives on the scene, Ultraviolet attacks her while Sue has a fight-off against the doctor’s guards. It turns out that Allegra didn’t need Sue’s help, she finally channels her light source like Ultraviolet and overpowers her. A side note: the title of this episode is called ‘Rayo de Luz‘ which loosely translates to resquicio de esperanza or ‘silver lining’ or ‘light ray’ from Spanish. Isn’t that a nice wordplay: rescue Esperanza? Also, Lightray is a comic book character who first appeared in New Gods: Godhead #1! There’s no actual reference to anything else beyond this but hey, who doesn’t like fun facts!
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin assures Ultraviolet can be cured. Team Flash does it again, the doctor gets arrested and everyone is safe. In a parallel arc, Joe finally confronts Kramer who reveals the task force failure and that her brother, not related by blood, was in charge of the team. Ever since then, she’s been trying to track him down but all in vain. Now with Joe’s help off the record, she wants to bring justice to all those who lost their lives in that task force mission. Watch The Flash Season 7 Tuesdays on The CW. The post Recap: THE FLASH S7E14 — "Rayo de Luz" appeared first on The Beat.  |
| The Beat’s early look at MARVEL: FUTURE REVOLUTION Posted: 29 Jun 2021 06:30 AM PDT Last week, I was invited to a meeting with lead developers at Netmarble and representatives for Marvel as part of the press tour for the upcoming mobile game MARVEL: Future Revolution. Future Revolution markets itself as “Marvel's first Open World Action RPG mobile game, featuring an original storyline with fan-favorite Marvel Super Heroes and Super Villains.” Here’s what I learned from my meeting with Bill Rosemann, VP + Head of Creative for Marvel Games, Danny Koo, Director of Production for Marvel Games, Simon Sim, President of Netmarble US, and Joe Lee, Executive Producer of Netmarble, and the impressions I came away with about the upcoming game.
The demo was hands-off, meaning I didn’t get to play any of the game for myself. As a result, my ability to assess the moment-to-moment gameplay in Future Revolution was limited to what I saw on the screen during Netmarble's presentation. One thing I can say is I came away impressed by the high production value and the large scale of the project. The graphics looked high quality, with better-looking character models than you see in some AAA video games.
Something else that intrigued me is that the Earth you start the game on is not one you know or even particularly recognize from either the MCU or the comics. Here’s how Netmarble sums up the story:
Creating a wholly original story is a bold choice, given all the source material Netmarble could have pulled from. It certainly makes the game a lot more intriguing to Marvel fans like myself, who are more interested in experiencing something new than seeing a comic book storyline rehashed. The trailers Netmarble shared suggest that the narrative for MARVEL: Future Revolution is much more expansive than any Marvel video game I've ever played. Marc Sumerak, a name familiar to comic book fans, is the lead writer of the game. He clearly has a lot to play with a radically altered Marvel Universe home to new locations like New Stark City, Xandearth, and Midgardia.
MARVEL: Future Revolution is a hack-and-slash roleplaying game. Since the demo was hands-off I can’t tell you if the gameplay is as satisfying as the games it’s emulating like Diablo or Marvel Ultimate Alliance. But I was impressed by how the game can handle dozens of characters on screen at the same time without frame rate drops. Since I didn’t get to explore the open world for myself, I also can’t tell you how expansive it is nor how interesting it is to explore. I’m still curious to learn exactly how open Future Revolution is and what it’s like to traverse through its world, which wasn’t a focus of the presentation. Future Revolution’s structure is similar to that of a lot of MMOs (Massively multiplayer online games). The game features several modes, including multiple types of PvP (Player versus Player) combat, from 1 vs 1 matches to 10 vs 10. More multiplayer content unlocks as the player levels up, including modes titled Blitz, Special Operation, and Raids. Nothing revolutionary, but it doesn’t have to be, as long as the gameplay is satisfying. MARVEL: Future Revolution is a live-service game so, in Net Marble’s words, it will be “always-on and evolving.” The studio says that it will provide new content across the whole life of the game. A live-service title’s continued success comes down to whether its gameplay loop is engaging enough to keep bringing players back for more, which is no small considering the litany of other games competing for their attention.
Future Revolution boasts an “extensive collection of iconic costumes from the Marvel Universe, with more than 400 million costume combinations per hero.” Character skins and customization options are the main source of revenue for many free-to-play titles. The wide variety of customizations Future Revolution has to offer (or sell) to players is a positive sign for its commercial success. I asked if Marvel is less Draconian about design modifications to its most iconic characters than other licensors, since getting approval from third parties can be a frequent source of frustration for video game developers. Bill Rosemann answered that many of the costumes come from comic book storylines, but also that Marvel is happy to bend and stretch the design of its heroes as long as the changes don’t break what makes them iconic. I came away from the demo very impressed by the game on a technical level, but with little knowledge of what it’s like to play. I learned about several of its mode, its combat style, and was given a quick tease of the story. But until you know how a game like this feels, it’s difficult to pass judgement one way or the other. Ultimately, Because the hands-off demo left me with more questions than answers, I came away curious if not entirely captivated by MARVEL: Future Revolution. I do, however, certainly look forward to learning more in the weeks to come and experience it for myself when it launches.
MARVEL Future Revolution will be available for iOS and Android devices as a free-to-play game in the second half of this year. Global pre-registration is now open via the App Store and Google Play. The post The Beat’s early look at MARVEL: FUTURE REVOLUTION appeared first on The Beat.  |
| Buccellato & Sherman’s CHICKEN DEVIL coming this fall from AfterShock Posted: 29 Jun 2021 06:00 AM PDT Sometimes all you need to be to fight crime is a chicken. AfterShock Comics has announced Chicken Devil, a new, darkly-comedic crime series arriving in stores in October. The series is written by Brian Buccellato, with art by Hayden Sherman, and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The first issue of the series will feature a main cover by Sherman, and an incentive variant cover by David Lopez.
Here’s how AfterShock describes Chicken Devil:
Chicken Devil is the first AfterShock series for Buccellato, who has previously worked on titles like The Flash and Detective Comics for DC and Sons of the Devil for Image. It’s also the first collaboration between Buccellato and Sherman, the artist of several AfterShock titles including Cold War and Mary Shelley, Monster Hunter. It’s also the latest AfterShock work for Otsmane-Elhaou, who lettered books including Lonely Receiver and Killer Groove, among others. In a statement announcing the series, Buccellato cited shows like Barry, Fargo, and the films of Quentin Tarantino as inspiration for the tone of the new book:
Check out an unlettered preview of the first issue, as well as Lopez’s incentive variant cover for the issue, below. Chicken Devil #1 arrives in stores on Wednesday, October 6th.
The post Buccellato & Sherman’s CHICKEN DEVIL coming this fall from AfterShock appeared first on The Beat.  |
KANE & ABLE
Green Arrow: The 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular
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