Thursday, July 1, 2021

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Good News / Bad News: This Week in Pop-Culture’s Clown World

Posted: 01 Jul 2021 06:15 AM PDT

Imperius Comic News notified that Spencer’s run on Amazing Spider-Man is concluding with what’s currently marked as the 74th issue, and says:

 

In my honest opinion, Nick Spencer is one of the best Spider-Man writers ever. […]

 

Whether or not Spencer was a good Spidey writer, he did not do his reputation a favor when he willingly participated in the Secret Empire storyline that saw Captain America altered into a Hydra-Nazi. I assume the deservedly negative reaction that got was the reason he must’ve been glad to get the task of bringing Mary Jane Watson back into Peter Parker’s world, albeit not in married format. I don’t know if their marriage will ever be restored, and that’s one definite drawback of this particular run, which was undoubtedly set up upon C.B. Cebulski’s ascension to EIC, because they needed something well regarded very badly, what with the dire straits they’d be put into during the Axel Alonso regime.

 

 

Now here’s where the bad news comes about, as the dreadful Gizmodo’s announced the Clone Saga elements have returned in more ways than one:

 

Ben Reilly already had a very wild legacy at Marvel Comics, but his return a few years ago in Clone Conspiracy—and his spinoff series as the Scarlet Spider once more—only added to a backstory that, even by comic book superheroes' most egregious standards, was a bit bonkers. Ben's pushing all that aside though in a new age for Amazing Spider-Man—and he's also pushing aside former protagonist Peter Parker.

 

And it gets worse:

 

It's an era, however, that will not be led by your usual friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Helmed by Kelly Thompson, Saladin Ahmed, Cody Ziglar, Patrick Gleason, and Zeb Wells—with more artist announcements to come—The Amazing Spider-Man: Beyond arc will begin in Amazing Spider-Man #75, and sees Ben return as the book's main protagonist. Wearing a new suit that evokes the last time he was officially Spider-Man, the new run teases tough times ahead for Peter Parker that will seemingly have him question if he's up to the great power and greater responsibility of being the spectacular Spider-Man. Can his clone overcome those issues and rise above his estranged sibling? Has everything Ben Reilly lived, died, and lived again through prepared him to once again be Spider-Man?

 

Wow, this is like a rogues’ gallery of bad writers when you have somebody as terrible as Ahmed getting an assignment, and Thompson is little better. And it’s all topped off with a nod to the most notorious tale of the mid-90s that nobody asked get a sequel. So they’re kicking Peter to the curb yet again, and presumably believe that, if they avoid some of the more tasteless elements that turned up in the original Clone Saga, the audience will excuse it? I’m sorry, but this is practically why what might’ve worked for DC, in terms of passing batons to successors (and sometimes I wonder if it only really worked for the Flash) does not work out well for Marvel (sometimes I wonder if only the Ant-Man/Yellowjacket baton pass did it successfully). Sometimes, a bad story is just that, and when it’s as infamous as the 1995 Clone Saga, few are bound to care for another round. Gizmodo’s lack of complaint about how pathetically cheap the new direction in Spidey’s series is speaks volumes. It was bad enough Spidey had to suffer through such a badly developed storyline; we could do without this boomerang back to it.

 

 

Since the Gizmodo site’s been brought up in discussion, I also felt compelled to cite another example of their atrocious propaganda distortions, here being what one of their reviewers said about the Crystal Shard, one of the early Dungeons and Dragons-based novels by R.A. Salvatore. First, columnist Rob Bricken, who’s written about comics too over the years, basically complains there’s not enough use of lady cast members:

 

However, The Crystal Shard's biggest crime by far is its scarcity of female characters; only one has a name and dialogue. That would be Bruenor's adopted human daughter Cattie-Brie, who, even though Drizzt calls her his soulmate in chapter one, gets only a few dozen lines. The only other female characters mentioned are fleeing villagers and various "wenches," and most of those are Kessel's enslaved harem who die unmentioned and unseen when the villain is defeated and his tower collapses.

 

 

I get the feeling it’ll turn out this was distorted and exaggerated. Besides, if that’s what Bricken thinks, then what was the 1st Star Wars, which had little beyond Leia Organa in terms of female representatives, or even Raiders of the Lost Ark’s Marion Ravenwood? And here’s another example, about the late Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk: Saga of Old City, where the same columnist sets about tearing down on Gygax’s early scripting, supposedly because the dialogue is in poor taste:

 

Everything else is the pits. The first line of dialogue is "Shiteater." Gord pees himself on page 13. The first of five female characters, only one of whom has more than a dozen lines of dialogue, is described as having been "a seasoned strumpet by the age of 13." Gygax also revels in the misery he can inflict upon Gord. He starts in the city of Greyhawk as a young, abused orphan who's grateful to be caught stealing, thrown into a stinking prison, and forced to hard labor because it gives him a little food semi-regularly. Eventually, he's brought into the beggars' guild to be a thief (which is weird because there's also definitely a thieves' guild, that D&D staple) where he learns his trade and eventually sets out on a series of adventures throughout the realm of Oerth. Actually, "series of adventures" might be a euphemism for a "series of ho-hum D&D game sessions." There's no overarching plot in the novel whatever. Gord has no emotional growth. The "adventures" are utterly unconnected from each other, and even the longest only lasts six of the book's 33 chapters.

 

Coming from a Gizmodo writer, I’m not taking this at face value, and besides, there’s young-adult novels out there that can contain profanity just as crude. If Gizmodo’s writer isn’t complaining about that, he should get a new hobby. I also discovered that a decade ago, he wrote a delighted post on Topless Robot hailing Neil Gaiman’s plan for a Sandman prequel. A series that, as mentioned before, had a scene of a person urinating on an alley wall. So what’s Bricken’s beef with Gygax adding a similar element in his novel, ditto profanity (also to be found in the Sandman series)? Does he think a medival setting makes no sense for 4-letter cussing? Biggest problem: Bricken seems to think this should’ve literally been written for kids, even more so than family audiences. Ah, I get it. A most cunning excuse for employing public moralism, plain and simple. He does no better with the following:

 

It's all terrible, but it might be mitigated if Gord weren't so deeply unlikeable. He's greedy, petty, and vindicative. He thinks of four of the book's five female characters solely in sexual terms; the fifth escapes his lust solely because she wants to have sex with someone else. When he joins a Romani troupe—of course negatively stereotyped in the story—he "wins" one woman after a duel but quickly decides she's "a nag and a bitch." The most heinous example is when he returns the noble Evaleigh to her home and he's thrown in prison. He pretty quickly assumes she's abandoned him and hates her but when he's freed and realizes Evaleigh was sent away to another nobleman because she was trapped in an arranged marriage—even though she sends him a note wishing she could have stayed with him—Gord calls her "a liar and a bitch." Gord sucks. I hate Gord.

 

And I don’t like the columnist’s approach, because he’s being such a moralist who looks for excuses to put down a flawed but otherwise decent fellow’s work of the past to suit his politically correct visions of what literature – and comics – should be like. Not to mention that here, somebody who complained about scarcity of women in Salvatore’s book is here complaining that there’s not enough respect for them in Gygax’s book. Oh, and something tells me the jab at how Roma are supposedly portrayed here wasn’t altruistic either. Bricken says at the end:

 

I feel very weird about hating a novel written by the father of Dungeons & Dragons, but there's nothing fantastic about the fantasy in Saga of Old City. It's just deeply, deeply unpleasant. So while I might give the technical writing a 4 on a 1d20—he's more competent at scene and actions descriptions than R.A. Salvatore in The Crystal Shard, at least Salvatore's characters were distinct and memorable—but a penalty of -2, along with a -3 for its outright misogyny. In the end, that leaves Saga of Old City with -1—technically not a critical miss, but still an utter failure. Somehow, there are six more novels Gygax's Gord series, which seems utterly impossible given that he defeats a full-on demon at the end of Saga of Old City, has multiple magical weapons and items, and seems (based on the stats Gygax gives for him) to be at least 16th level. I don't know where he can possibly go from here. I just know I have no desire to find out.

 

Good! I’m sure we don’t need to hear him whine more about his public moralist stance while turning a blind eye to any deviations from sanity committed in modern times by his fellow leftists. I don’t think he feels weird at all about hating the novel so much as I think he’s being hypocritical, since Bricken’s written positively about comics with mature themes like Sandman in the past, and doubtless hasn’t changed his position…though one could reasonably wonder if he’ll be doing a 360 years from now and throw the Sandman under the bus along with the Greyhawk series. “Outright misogyny”? Something tells me even that’s an exaggeration, if only because most fantasy books of those times weren’t known for heavy themes involving sexual assault. He apparently expects adventure novelists to be perfect to the core, which is impossible.

 

 

When I looked on Amazon’s page for Saga of Old City, I found most posters viewed the book favorably, and one said:

 

I read this book many years ago growing up, and I recently decided to read it again to see if it was as good as I remembered, and let me tell you it was a pleasure to read it once again! If this tells you anything, I was reading a Stephen King book (The Gunslinger) simultaneously with Saga of Old City, and I found myself more engaged in Gary Gygax’s classic book. It’s action, passion, and above all OUTSTANDING character development, the journey and growth of Gord is so fun to read about. You witness a scrawny street kid grow into a formidable theif in the theives guild, and eventually become a powerful warrior who can overcome incredible challenges!

 

So again, something tells me young master Bricken just ragged on the Greyhawk novel for no other reason than to declare a legend’s past work invalid and thoroughly out of date. Which makes him no better than people on Twitter engaging in similar behavior:

 

 

 

Somebody who damns a famous figure like Gygax because he once argued that girls weren’t taking much interest in TSR’s output is obviously nothing more than a deliberate troublemaker, and a leading reason why it’s better not to have a Twitter account, IMHO. 

 

 

 

 

I’m not saying Gygax was perfect, and of course he made mistakes. But what dismays me about Gizmodo’s potshots at his work is that it looked very forced and contrived for complaints, by somebody who clearly doesn’t know how to make proper distinctions when it comes to pop culture elements.

 

With all that said, I’m pleased to see Ernie Gygax, son of the original publisher, is reviving his late dad’s company, back in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where they began it all, and even developing a museum to accompany it. I wish him well in this new venture, and someday, I hope he’ll be able to buy back the original D&D properties sold to Wizards of the Coast at the turn of the century. Because, who knows, maybe Gygax Jr. will have a good idea how to do better than WotC is with them now.

 

 

Originally published here.

The post Good News / Bad News: This Week in Pop-Culture’s Clown World appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Smallville Actress Sentenced for her Role in NXIVM Sex Cult

Posted: 01 Jul 2021 04:45 AM PDT

 

Back in April 2018, we first reported that Smallville actresses Allison Mack and Kristin Kreuk had been allegedly working with a sex cult in Mexico dubbed NXIVM that was accused of trafficking and branding unsuspecting female victims.

 

Mack, the former cast member of the Smallville TV series, pled guilty last year to her role in the sex slave cult to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group's spiritual leader, NXIVM founder Keith Raniere. After what prosecutors said was 15 years of crime and exploitation, Raniere was convicted on charges including sexual exploitation, forced labor and sex trafficking in New York. He is currently serving a 120-year prison sentence last October.  

 

Ahead of yesterday’s sentencing, Allison Mack apologized to “those who have been damaged by my acts” ahead of her sentencing for her role in the NXIVM sex cult, calling it “the worst mistake and regret of my life.” In a letter to the Hollywood Reporter on Saturday, Mack stated, “It is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am very sorry.”

 

Mack was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine after she pleaded guilty to blackmailing women and subjecting them to sexual humiliation

 

"Allison Mack has turned her life around and earnestly dedicated herself to rehabilitation, renunciation of Keith Raniere and those who supported him and making amends," Mack's defense attorney William McGovern wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "She is now well on her way to once again being a productive member of society."

 

Federal prosecutors did not request a specific sentence but said it should be less than the 17-year maximum because Mack provided "substantial assistance" to the government.

The post Smallville Actress Sentenced for her Role in NXIVM Sex Cult appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

My Biggest Beef with 1979’s ‘Alien’ (& Other Minor Nitpicks)

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 05:00 PM PDT

So I was watching the iconic Alien for the umpteenth time the other day, and there’s always been one significant aspect of the film that made no sense to me. In fact, it bothered me immensely. But before I get to that, I’m sure you’ve probably seen at least one of the “Everything Wrong With…” YouTube videos which dissect your favorite (and not-so-favorite) flicks for stupidity and other faux pas. I decided to see if one for Alien existed that covered my main issue with the story.

 

Sadly, it did not. Well, mostly it didn’t.

 


YouTube Video

 

While their vids hit on a lot of good points, they frequently count things as “wrong” just so the narrator can get another silly zinger in. For instance, the Alien installment includes commentary regarding the shape of the Nostromo (no, there’s no need to be aerodynamic in space), its interior design (“like Mr. Coffee”) and the fact that Ripley brought her cat on board. Sadly, these outnumber the legitimate (and somewhat humorous) tidbits such as this:

 

 

Now granted, Alien came out in 1979, and we didn’t know that it was supposed to be taking place in an era about 100 years from today. And it’s certainly logical to assume a 22nd century computer would understand English colloquialisms. Of course, a computer that can do that also would be able to understand human speech much like our smartphones do today, and wouldn’t have to rely on MS-DOS-style keyboard input for communication.

 

The “Everything Wrong With” narrator also suggests that just because the ship discovered by Dallas, Kane and Lambert was ancient (we know now it was piloted by the Engineer from Prometheus) , it shouldn’t have been investigated. As if human explorers would discard hard evidence of a highly intelligent extraterrestrial race because the signal they detected was centuries-old. However, he’s certainly correct about the part where Ripley discovers that the ship’s signal actually was a warning; why would she acquiesce to Ash’s poo-pooing of it?

 

 

Which leads to my aforementioned stupidest facet of the whole film, and which the “Everything Wrong” nails down at least in part. Aside from the fact that Kane was beyond dumb to take it upon himself to investigate the Alien eggs in the Engineer’s ship’s basement, what followed was even worse: Dallas, the captain of the Nostromo, orders Ripley to violate basic quarantine regulations when they return with the now-Alien-infected Kane.

 

Worse, once inside the ship’s medical bay, Dallas treats Kane like he’s merely got a bad case of flu or something, merely donning a face mask… which he knows is no protection from the damn face-hugger given that it had melted right through Kane’s fucking helmet.

 

 

“Everything Wrong” completely avoids the whole Alien gestation process, a big mistake and my big beef. Both Dallas and Ripley ask Ash about what the face-hugger is doing to Kane, and both get ridiculously unsatisfactory responses. Dallas inquires “What’s it got down his throat?” to which Ash says it’s “probably feeding him oxygen” (um, why would Kane need a parasite to do that for him?). Ripley, who walks in on Ash examining via camera the baby Alien in Kane’s chest, says “That’s interesting, what is that?”  and gets no answer… while Ash quietly turns off the camera. By the way, the supposed 22nd century graphics of Kane’s full-body scan are incredibly poor, which probably led to Dallas’ and Ripley’s questions in the first fucking place.

 

The fact that both Dallas and Ripley actually saw that the face-hugger was doing something to Kane should have led to a complete avoidance of this scene:

 

 

“Oh, hey look — Kane is awake and talking! Thank God everything’s cool. Let’s go get something to eat!”

 

 

Watch it now.

The post My Biggest Beef with 1979’s ‘Alien’ (& Other Minor Nitpicks) appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Bygones Be Bygones: Liefeld Encourages Fans to Buy Mighty Crusaders

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 03:00 PM PDT

After some unexpected “Sturm und Drang,” Archie Comics is releasing The Shield #1 this week. Dubbed America's first patriotic superhero, the classic character appears in a new one-shot comic that hits comic shops shelves today and kicks off a re-imagined Mighty Crusaders mini-series from Archie Comics that writer/artist Rob Liefeld was supposed to be leading.

 

 

 

However, when a potential spoiler was shown off by another variant cover artist on Facebook, Liefeld went off on the publisher and stormed off the project. But today it seems like amends have been made, and now Rob is encouraging comic book readers to check it out.

 

Unavoidably, not all fans were supportive.

 

 

Get your copy of The Shield from Archie Comics in shops this week!

The post Bygones Be Bygones: Liefeld Encourages Fans to Buy Mighty Crusaders appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Indie Comics Showcase #143: Downcast 3, DameGang, & Raze

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 01:15 PM PDT

 

 

Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers. 

 

On Indie Comics Showcase, we interview the creators, show off some art, and tell you how you can check out the product for yourself. Below we have some outstanding crowdfunding campaigns this week for you to learn about, enjoy, and hopefully support by backing one or more of them! Thanks for checking these out and for being the best part of Indie Comics Showcase. Let's jump in!

 

DOWNCAST 3: SUBMERGED
by Clint Stoker

Check out the campaign here!

Chris Braly: Welcome back to Indie Comics Showcase, Clint! Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Downcast 3: Submerged – Briefly tell our readers the pitch and get newcomers up to speed.

Clint Stoker: At its core, Downcast is about a brother and sister, Jax and Joanne, who live in a floating city above the earth. They’ve been through a lot already, but now they are both working at apprenticeships and trying to get back to life when a mysterious diver, the Monstro, shows up looking for revenge and outlandish stories about the 'gods' of Strata. Joanne and Jax are forced to choose between pursuing their new lives, or joining the Monstro in war that could permanently destroy all happiness they've built.

 

CB: Where did the idea for Downcast come from, and what led to you deciding to crowdfund it?

CS: Initially Downcast was my high-budget comic concept. I pulled influences from 90s video games, like Final Fantasy 7 and Jet Moto. Beyond that, I was really fascinated with the concept of power corrupting people. The first story arch was very much a political thriller in this sci-fi world. The submerged story arch has more of a straight-forward superhero bend inspired by Frank Miller's run on Daredevil.

 

CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will appeal to the most?

CS: Comic readers looking for something a little different from the traditional superhero fare and traditional YA novel readers who have felt the genera abandon everything they liked in favor of the social-political trash filling the shelves now. Downcast is the logical next-step that both comics and novels have seemed to have missed or completely ignored.

 

CB: Are there further stories to tell in this universe?

CS: Absolutely. Part of the challenge here is to allow the series to grow organically – not over commit. I have a larger storyline that is intended to take 3 more books, after Submerged. However, the more I work on this book, the more ideas I get. This world has so much potential. I could easily explore a lot more of this world with more great stories.

CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?

CS: It's primarily me and Ignacio "Nacho" Lazaro with Eric Weathers on letters. Nacho and I have worked together for years, but this time he's doing all the colors himself.

 

CB: What’s the workflow like? How do you like to work?

CS: This book has been near-perfect as far as the workflow. Nacho and I agreed on a schedule beforehand, I had deadlines for the 3 scripts that make up "Submerged" and he had deadlines in 10-page increments. This has been the most organized production schedule and it really shows. Nobody was rushed, and at the same time, the book was finished before we launched the campaign. Everything was written in full-script, but Nacho has a lot of power to get creative with the story beats. We are like a well-oiled machine.

 

CB: You were crowdfunding comics for the first time two years ago. Now that you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, what have you been learning from crowdfunding and creating through this process?

CS: Crowdfunding is such a task and an art. I've learned to keep my expectations modest, always, but plan for ways to capitalize on every opportunity along the way – or try to at least. That means making the campaign simple, but provide enough material for those backers that want more than just one book. I think I've got a good thing going. $20 for a book, but if you are willing to pay $75, then I can ship you a really nice haul of books and extras. So it's about making it accessible for new backers, and giving super-backers something they can get excited about.

 

CB: Thanks for chatting with us again, Clint! Good luck and we are rooting for you!

CS: My pleasure! Thank you so much!

 

YouTube Video

 

 

 

 

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DAMEGANG
by Billy Nunez

Check out the campaign here!

Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Damegang – Briefly tell our readers the pitch.

Billy Nunez: In our world some people are born with conditions such as dwarfism. In this world some women are born with giantism, where they grow to be super tall and extra thick. In the story of DAMEGANG we follow a select few of these giantesses, when they end up getting super powers from an ancient artifact and are thrusted into a plot even bigger than themselves.

 

 

CB: What was the genesis for this project, where did the idea for this comic come from, and what led to you deciding to crowdfund it?

BN: I've been drawing these types of women for most of my life. I thought that taking it to the next level would be to give them a story. Combining characters like Chun-Li and Laura from Street Fighter, with Power Rangers, X-Men, giantesses, and other things. I wanted to create a project that included as much of the stuff that I like to draw all in one universe.

 

CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will appeal to and entertain the most?

BN: Whoever is tired of mainstream comics making all their women unsexy, and want to see some hot female heroes going on fun adventures.

 

 

CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?

BN: I'm doing this all by myself.

 

 

CB: What’s the workflow like? How do you like to work?

BN: I like to work in phases. Spend some time doing nothing but drawing, then spend time doing nothing but inking, then coloring, etc.

 

 

CB: Your first crowdfund appears to be a collection of illustrations. What have you learned from crowdfunding and creating through that process?

BN: Part of the point of that book (Future Face Vol. 1) was to learn the crowdfunding process. Getting used to the shipping process, printing, communicating with the backers, so it could be easier to deal with when doing a larger project like DAMEGANG.

 

CB: What is your purpose for telling this story and what are your plans beyond this book? Are there more stories to tell?

BN: I wanted to give the types of sexy female characters I draw all the time a story and a world to live in. This book is just part 1 of 3 of the origin story. After that I have many stories I'd like to tell with these characters.

 

CB: Thanks for chatting with us, Billy! Good luck and we are rooting for you!

BN: Thank you!

 

YouTube Video

 

Check out the campaign here!

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RAZE
by Samuel Willis

Grab a copy on Amazon here!

 

Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Raze – Briefly tell our readers the pitch.

Samuel Willis: Raze started off as a “What if” question among two kids 15 years ago. Since then, it has transpired into the horror/action-themed comic book series we have today. It takes place in modern day New York during an outbreak of an unknown and deadly virus. Our protagonists will have to band together if they want to survive the outbreak as well as discover the truth behind its origin. We really want to give our readers something they can connect with, which is why we try to use as many real people and real locations as possible.

 

 

CB: What was the genesis for this project, where did the idea for this comic come from, and what led to you deciding to self-publish?

SW: The idea for the comic book really derived from video games. We grew up on zombie video games such as Left 4 Dead and that really launched our ideas to be something different and cool. As far as the self-publishing aspect, it really was our only option. We have been on a limited budget and have limited resources as two indie creators.

 

CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will entertain the most?

SW: We really believe this comic will appeal more to horror fans, but it also has more of a reach than just the horror genre. We see ourselves as a horror/action comic book. If you like a good story and you like all of those elements mixed together, then this is the book for you!

 

CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?

SW: Our production has definitely been an accumulation of trial and error. We have worked with many people and the artists who have stayed are the ones who make up our fantastic creative team. We have Ivan Lugomer, all the way from Croatia, who works on covers. My little brother, Ben Willis, is the one who does all of the storyboards and panel structures. We have one artist, Montis Echoe Boeher, who gives us the line work for all the pages and does a fantastic job. We also have my co-creator, Tre Primm, who puts the lasting touches on our pages. He is responsible for inking all the pages and gives our comic the style that we have. Last but not least, I come in at the end and put all the speech bubbles together and Tre helps me with any final edits. It really is a well- oiled machine and everybody has their part and everyone that works on this project is nothing short of excellent.

 

CB: What other comics work have you been involved with before this comic?

SW: We haven’t been involved in any comics prior. This is our first comic and it actually took several tries and years to come out with Issue 1.

 

CB: What have you been learning from independent creating and self-publishing through this process?

SW: The one thing I think I have learned from self-publishing this title is that you have to put yourself out there. We have traveled to numerous stores and we have laid the groundwork to being accepted in over 10 stores on the East Coast. We are shooting for more and more stores each month and we don't plan on stopping until RAZE is in every store in the U.S.

 

 

CB: What is your purpose for telling this story and what are your plans beyond this book? Are there more stories to tell?

SW: The purpose for telling this story all started from two kids who had nothing better to do than to make each other laugh. My co-creator (Tre Primm) and I started doing this in middle school and it's amazing that we were able to bring something from our childhood into this type of medium. As for our plans for beyond this book and more stories, the answer is YES. Raze is a giant universe and we have been planning this for over 10 years now. We have all the content we could possibly need to give our soon-to-be fans an immersive universe.

CB: Thanks for chatting with us, Samuel! Anything else you’d like to add?

SW: The only thing I would like to add is thank you for the opportunity! If you are interested, go to comixology.com and follow us on our Facebook page! We are Raze Comics and we hope you pick up a book and join us on our journey. Thank you!

 

 

 

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That’s it for this installment! Support indie comics!!!

 

 

Follow Indie Comics Showcase on Twitter at @Indie_Comics and reach out to them if you want us to consider featuring YOUR crowdfunding comic project!

 

The post Indie Comics Showcase #143: Downcast 3, DameGang, & Raze appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

How is John Lithgow Reprising His Trinity Killer Role in ‘Dexter’ Revival?

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 11:15 AM PDT

 

Deadline reports that John Lithgow is returning to his old Dexter stomping grounds.

The multiple Emmy-winning actor is set to make a short but decisive appearance in the Michael C. Hall-led revival coming from Showtime this fall. Awarded his fifth Emmy for the role as the revered but feared "Trinity Killer" in the fourth season of the killer series' original run, Lithgow's character was soundly bumped off by Dexter Morgan himself in season-finale episode "The Getaway" back in late 2009.

Which begs the question: How will Lithgow's Arthur Mitchell will return?

Details are scant, but scribes on the Clyde Phillips-showrun 10-episode limited series have reportedly concocted a pathway for the Trinity Killer to come back that works within the larger Dexter narrative. To that end, Lithgow is expected to only film for about a day or so on the L.A.-set production. It is likely that his on-camera work will occur in the next week or so.

The post How is John Lithgow Reprising His Trinity Killer Role in ‘Dexter’ Revival? appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Black Widow & Taskmaster Face Off in Four New TV Spots

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 08:53 AM PDT

 

Marvel’s marketing push for Black Widow is still in full swing. As the release date of the picture approaches, the studio has unveiled a series of four new TV advertisements that feature a mix of explosive action and softer, character-driven moments. Check them out for yourself in the gallery below.

 

YouTube Video

 

YouTube Video

 

YouTube Video

 

YouTube Video

 

 

Black Widow is set to be released in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on July 9th.

 

The post Black Widow & Taskmaster Face Off in Four New TV Spots appeared first on Bleeding Fool.
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How Healthy Is This Weight Loss Health Food Writer? You Might Want To Listen To This Old Guy…

I recommend eating the way I do, but very few will do it. Too strict. Probably l...