Tuesday, August 31, 2021

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Artist Cully Hamner Exposes DC Comics Biggest Weaknesses

Posted: 31 Aug 2021 07:00 AM PDT

 

Alabama Live interviewed artist Hamner, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s another somebody who thinks Batman makes a far better choice than Superman:

 

Batman is a loner, and as an '80s latchkey kid Cully Hamner related to that.

"I would be alone for a few hours every day after school, and that's partially why I read a lot of comics," Hamner says. "That's why characters like Batman are attractive to me. It's obviously an action-oriented character, but he's got a real interior sense about him that a lot of characters don't."

Other things drew him to Batman too. Unlike many other superheroes, Batman didn't actually wield superpowers, but got-by on smarts, skills and gadgetry. And the dark brooding atmosphere, in '80s masterworks like "The Dark Knight Returns" and "The Killing Joke," was seductively immersive.

 

I’m not impressed. There’s other characters who could be portrayed as loners, worked alone, and had good levels of intellect, yet only Batman’s got the qualifications needed? Please. I’m tired of all these news sources lecturing everybody how Batman’s the only DC creation worth the effort, which additionally risks minimizing science fiction as a genre in the process.

 

 

The interview continues to tell how Hamner was one of the architects for the pedestrian New 52 reboot, which lasted 5 years at best:

 

Redesigns of classic characters keep comic books from becoming formaldehyde. But they can be susceptible to fanboys' social-media death-rays. Around 2011, Hamner helped lead the extensive "New 52," a massive DC Universe redesign that included a 20-something Superman with a tousled 'do instead of that trademark helmet-hair and S-curl.

The initiative was driven by concerns DC's audience was shrinking into an aging collector's market rather than attracting new readers. "There was a feeling," Hamner says, "that we had to make these characters appeal to younger readers, which is what they originally were intended to do."

The plan worked, not only goosing DC sales but other publishers' too, Hamner says. (More DC fans in comic-book stores also meant more impulse buys of other titles.)

 

Considering they’ve since returned to the previous continuity, with some parts jettisoned, the news site’s merely produced more hilarity for anybody in the know, given that any initial “success” was short-lived. Because what huge sum of younger readers did they actually draw in by the end? Very few. It wouldn’t have made much difference if they’d borrowed a page from Marvel’s Ultimate line, since that didn’t retain any new readership for long. One of the problems, I’d argue, is that shock value and cheap sensationalism tainted its edge. DC under Dan DiDio did no better. And changing the costumes of the Justice League to look more like toy action figures (eg-removing Superman’s red tights) does not a merit-based story make.

 

"But at the time," Hamner says of the New 52 rollout, "there was a bit of pressure on it. Because this was seen as a replacement for the older versions of the characters, which is something that happens every 10 or 15 years with DC or Marvel of any of these big companies. It's a matter of degrees."

He feels DC has continued to do a good job connecting with younger readers. And of balancing updates, like writer Tom Taylor's "'Superman: Son of Kal-El" with Clark Kent and Lois Lane's son Jon Kent taking over the red cape, with traditional storylines.

 

It’s a matter of political correctness. Again, that’s why they’re failing to find those new younger readers whom Hamner pretends are actually there, despite all the dismal sales numbers. It could probably explain why ICV2, which used to provide exact figures for how many copies were sold and distributed to stores, no longer seems to do that now, and if they do, it’s restricted to their paid registration options. Indeed, why do they now want everybody to pay for readouts of sales figures, assuming they still provide them? I don’t see the logic here.

 

Related: DC Queering Superman Next? Why All DC Comics Superheroes are Gay

 

Oh, and lest we forget, if DC intends to change the new son of Superman, Jon Kent, to a gay protagonist, as now looks sadly confirmed, that’s even worse than replacing Kal-El as the main Man of Steel. Besides pushing ideology and agenda, it also reeks of economy steps. And, it’s offensive to the memory of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. But don’t expect leftists like Hamner to admit it. He’s too busy celebrating one of the wokeness-influenced creations he worked on:

 

In his early 20s, Hamner left Huntsville for Atlanta where he joined up with Gaijin Studios, an alliance of rising freelance artists. Around 2006, he co-created DC character Jaime Reyes, who assumes the rebooted Blue Beetle identity, with armor and powers derived from an ancient Egyptian scarab. The character became a member of iconic superhero teams Justice League and Teen Titans.

Recently, HBO Max announced "Cobra Kai" star Xolo Maridueña will play the Blue Beetle in a film, as part of the DC Extended Universe. The resemblance between Maridueña and Hamner's original 2006 design for Reyes is truly striking. "You really can't get a better match than that," Hamner posted on his Twitter account, after the announcement.

 

 

 

As this confirms, he never saw anything wrong with the Countdown storyline where Max Lord murdered Ted Kord. All this just so they could replace the latter with a SJW-pandering creation.

 

Hamner and "Red" writer/cocreator Warren Ellis first met online when Willis was looking for artists to work with. They discussed working together on a title called, Hamner thinks, "Magic Bullets," but that never materialized. Hamner was wondering if they were ever going to collaborate. He sent Ellis, who resided in England, an email asking as much. Five minutes later Ellis sent him the pitch for "Red."

 

Related: Cancel Culture & Character Assassins: Warren Ellis Bends Knee Again

 

I wonder what Hamner thinks now that Ellis has been mostly thrown under the bus by the same leftist crowds he influenced, because he led affairs with a few dozen women, and apparently treated them like dirt, refusing to fulfill the requests of a few to help them get into the business? Even if Ellis does find a publisher for his graphic novel Fell, it won’t be easy to continue publication in an industry that’s now otherwise shunning him, which’ll make it difficult to develop any more sequels to Red, if he and Hamner are thinking of it.

 

There are key difference to drawing comic book covers and interior panels. With interiors, artists have the ability to relate separate images to each other and give a story the illusion of forward motion. On covers, the artist weaves multiple elements into one image that will magnetize eyes. Sometimes a cover image, or coverage, is meant to ask a question. Other times, it's meant to piss fans off. Anything to get them to pick up that book.

 

I’m not sure how pissing off fans guarantees they’ll buy a book. Again, as noted above, it turns out DC really does look to be forcibly turning a Superman protagonist homosexual, all for 15 minutes of fame, and that’s not something a sane Super-fan wants to finance. I wouldn’t be shocked if Brian Bendis is laughing out of the other side of his face; he basically set up this whole direction by depicting the real Supes shedding his secret identity.

 

And Hamner pretty much serves as an apologist for much of this modern fiasco, which he played a part in precipitating years before.

 

Originally published here.

The post Artist Cully Hamner Exposes DC Comics Biggest Weaknesses appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Eric Clapton Slams Anti-Liberty Authoritarians in New Song

Posted: 31 Aug 2021 04:45 AM PDT

 

Eric Clapton, the rock & roll legend, has just dropped a new pro-liberty tune in which he pushes back at the authoritarianism that’s stifling individual liberties. The singer’s new single entitled "This Has Gotta Stop," which the singer released on Friday, features the refrain, "This has gotta stop / Enough is enough / I can't take this BS any longer."

 

Clapton also made an animated music video for the tune, which involves humans being controlled like marionettes. Other scenes depict swarms of smartphone addicts and protestors demonstrating for freedom.

 

YouTube Video

 

While the song avoids making any political references in order to keep it as generic as possible. The only exception is a mention of Clapton’s support for Jam for Freedom, a British anti-lockdown group. After experiencing what he characterized as debilitating side effects from the AstraZenica shots, Clapton has openly condemned shutdowns and expressed skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines.

 

Related: Rock Legend Eric Clapton Boycotting Venues that Require Vaccinations

The video promotes several pro-liberty messages, drawing attention to extreme weather disasters such as wildfires and pollution in the water. People are shown dangling from strings tied to the hand of what looks to be an all-powerful authority figure in one section of the animated music video.

 

 

Eric Clapton has used his music to express his feelings about the loss of freedoms that has occurred as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Last year, Clapton collaborated with Van Morrison on the tune “Stand and Deliver,” which condemned government-imposed curfews.

 

Related: Rock Legend Eric Claption Blacklisted After Publicizing Vax Side-Effects

The post Eric Clapton Slams Anti-Liberty Authoritarians in New Song appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

China is Finally Beginning to Turn Its Fangs on Hollywood

Posted: 30 Aug 2021 04:30 PM PDT

 

Hollywood’s share of the Chinese box office is reportedly plummeting to less than 10% as Beijing seeks to boost its homegrown film industry while continuing to prohibit major Hollywood productions from appearing in Chinese theaters. As a result, Hollywood, which has embarrassed itself in all the ways it is willing to appease China’s Communist dictators in the hopes of retaining access to the rich Chinese market, faces an existential crisis.

 

According to figures from consultancy Artisan Gateway, as reported by Variety, Hollywood’s share of the China box office industry has dropped to just 9.5 percent so far this year. The sharp drop coincides with homegrown releases edging out Hollywood imports. It looks like the Chinese have finally cut off the money spigot after more than a decade of Hollywood sucking up to China’s communist Nazis and their slave state.

 

 

According to a report from MSN:

 

There hasn't been a single significant Hollywood release in China since "A Quiet Place Part II" on May 28 and "Luca" on Aug. 20. Meanwhile, Disney-Marvel titles haven't been released in China since "Avengers: Endgame" in April 2019. In fact, "Black Widow" still remains without a release permit in China.

 

This could be a harbinger for the next run of Disney and Marvel films:

 

Movies that may be at risk include "The Eternals," directed by Chloé Zhao, who was branded a traitor for her past comments; "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," where Disney may not have done enough to diffuse charges of racism; "Space Jam: A New Legacy," because American basketball continues to be a sensitive subject following an NBA official's 2019 comments on Hong Kong; and "Top Gun," which is seen as promoting the U.S. military.

The political standoff between China and the U.S. has already gummed up film industry negotiations. Now there's the possibility that, in a tit-for-tat move following U.S. moves against ZTE, TikTok and Huawei, China may be deliberately hobbling one of America's biggest export industries. Several seemingly uncontroversial Hollywood titles are without release approvals or dates, including "Jungle Cruise" and "The Suicide Squad." Sci-fi spectacular "Dune" has the advantage of being backed by the Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment, but some online commentators are still cool about its prospects.

 

 

Any fan of the GI Joe franchise recognized that the latest GI Joe film ‘Snake Eyes’, which failed at the box office and cost at least a $100 million, was implicitly made with China in mind. And Disney surely expected Black Widow to make bank in China. In fact, Marvel has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in upcoming movies like The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, two films with no notable lead stars that each of them are suddenly looking unlikely to be released in China. Do you think Marvel expected that?

See Also: Could China & Hollywood's Love Affair be Coming to an End?

 

Despite China’s appalling human rights record, despite millions of slaves, millions murdered, and a total lack of intellectual and artistic freedoms in China, despite China’s brutality and concentration camps, Hollywood not only sought to win China’s affection, but even lionized these slavers, turning that wicked government into heroes. And while Hollywood has bent over backwards to appease China’s government, it has grotesquely twisted its own creativity and vision in order to placate their government censors. Many moviegoers would probably be shocked at how many major films have ben specifically edited to appease China.

 

Meanwhile Hollywood's decline in China comes as the Communist country has overtaken the United States to become the world's largest movie market.

 

Beijing also appears to be exercising tighter controls over its Hollywood import quotas. Disney hasn't seen a Marvel superhero movie released in China since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Marvel Studios' Black Widow still doesn't have a China release date.

Disney's Jungle Cruise and Warner Bros.' The Suicide Squad have also failed to score a China release so far.

 

After Hollywood has chased away half their domestic moviegoers because they hate the people from “flyover country,” who is going to save them by attending their tedious remakes, reboots and preachy movies now? Certainly not China.

The post China is Finally Beginning to Turn Its Fangs on Hollywood appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad Tops All DC Films on HBO Max

Posted: 30 Aug 2021 02:45 PM PDT

 

In an interesting report, Deadline is looking at the numbers provided by Samba TV, which measures streaming viewership in 3 million U.S. smart TV households, and saying that The Suicide Squad has the best 17-day numbers of the new DC movies this year. The James Gunn directed film has been viewed in 4.7 million households, which beats out the3.9 million for Wonder Woman 1984 and the 3.2 million for Zack Snyder's Justice League.

 

What may be even more interesting though is that the film falls behind both Godzilla vs. Kong, which had 5.1 million viewers in the same amount of time and the overall winner with 5.5 million viewers, Mortal Kombat, which is the most viewed day-and-date released title on HBO Max. Though we have to keep in mind that these numbers aren't from HBO Max, which doesn't release there viewership numbers, but from Samba TV who doesn't track mobile devices and only counts views of over 5 minutes.

The post James Gunn's The Suicide Squad Tops All DC Films on HBO Max appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

What If Edward Norton Returned to Bruce Banner Role in Marvel’s What If…?

Posted: 30 Aug 2021 01:15 PM PDT

 

One of the most interesting things in the latest episode of Marvel's What If was casting of Bruce Banner aka the Hulk in the episode. While Mark Ruffalo has been playing the character since The Avengers in 2012, the newest episode of the animated series focuses on Iron Man 2, Thor and the Incredible Hulk films which featured previous Hulk actor Edward Norton playing the Gamma irradiated scientist turned monster.

 

When the episode was in production, head writer A.C. Bradley told Discussing Film that she joked that if Ruffalo passed on doing the voice, then maybe they should call Norton. She said: “I’ve seen The Incredible Hulk probably three or four times. We wanted to make sure that with all three movies we pulled iconic moments that people would recognize. So for The Incredible Hulk, it was the Culver University fight scene.”

 

 

As for approaching Norton, it never really became an issue as Ruffalo had already agreed to lend his voice to the series before production of the episode had begun. I have to admit though, it was a little weird to see the character look and sound like Ruffalo when you're used to Norton.

The post What If Edward Norton Returned to Bruce Banner Role in Marvel’s What If…? appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

James Bond’s ‘No Time to Die’ Marks a First at Zurich Film Festival

Posted: 30 Aug 2021 11:00 AM PDT

 

The 17th Zurich Film Festival will host the Swiss premiere of No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond film, on September 28. This will be the first time a Bond movie has been in the official selection of a festival, its artistic director, Christian Jungen, said. The festival will also stage a retrospective of the other Bond movies starring Daniel Craig.

 

YouTube Video

 

"We are extremely pleased to be one of the first in the world to show our audience the most recent Bond adventure," Jungen said. "We fought for months to get this premiere and had to negotiate every last detail with the distribution company Universal. Never before has James Bond been in the official selection of a film festival. I am further pleased that the ZFF has succeeded in this coup as it sends out a powerful signal that highlights the importance of cinema. The industry has waited more eagerly for this movie than any other."

 

Related: Expect Daniel Craig's Final James Bond Outing to Be Woke & Preachy

 

 

The movie's world premiere will take place on Sept. 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall. It will release in the U.K. and Ireland from Sept. 30 through Universal Pictures International, and in the U.S on Oct. 8 through MGM via its United Artists Releasing banner.

 

 

Related: Latasha Lynch Confirms Her Character Replaces '007' in No Time to Die

 

In No Time to Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

 

via Variety

 

The post James Bond’s 'No Time to Die' Marks a First at Zurich Film Festival appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Piracy Is Crushing the Theater Biz & Hollywood Has Itself to Blame

Posted: 30 Aug 2021 08:15 AM PDT

The piracy problem has grown exponentially, and Hollywood is feeling the brunt of it. But it’s their own fault, for without questioning the science narratives, the uber-leftist entertainment industry accepted all anti-science edicts issued by local, Democrat-controlled governments, including all the penalizing and absurd lockdowns that wrecked small business across America, including their theaters.

In response, the studios decided to release their theatrical films directly to pay-per-view or their own streaming services, believing they could benefit from the pandemic and break the control of theater owners over their release options. Then, on the same day, those blockbuster movies were released in theaters. What better strategy for them to beef-up their subscription base?

 

A bold strategy. How’s that working out, Hollywood?

 

Millions of people are watching high-quality, pirated online versions of Hollywood's top movies sooner than ever after their releases, undermining potential ticket sales and subscriber growth as the industry embraces streaming.

Earlier this year, the high volume of global piracy of "Godzilla vs. Kong" surprised executives at its studio, Warner Bros., according to people familiar with the matter. People illegally streamed the movie over 34 million times, according to Muso.

When Disney released "Jungle Cruise," starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, on Disney+, a community of tens of thousands of people were both "seeding"—meaning sharing an illegal copy—and "leeching"—downloading the film free—within less than a day of its release, according to piracy tracking sites. Disney, which charged Disney+ users an extra $30 to watch the movie on the platform, said it grossed $30 million from subscribers on the film's opening weekend.

 

Would the tens of millions of people who download pirated stuff pay for it if it wasn’t pirated? And, if so, how many people would do so? Is the increase in subscribers that comes with a same-day title release worth the loss in piracy that comes with that same-day release?

 

Read More: Same Day Streaming Releases Made Movie Piracy Explode

The post Piracy Is Crushing the Theater Biz & Hollywood Has Itself to Blame appeared first on Bleeding Fool.
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