Category: Comics

“Blade II” (2002) directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring Wesley Snipes and Ron Perlman / Z-View

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Blade II (2002)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Screenplay: David S. Goyer based on a character created by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan

Stars: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Thomas Kretschmann, Luke Goss, Matt Schulze, Danny John-Jules, Donnie Yen, Karel Roden, Tony Curran, Daz Crawford, Samuel Le and Marek Vasut.

Tagline:  In A World Beyond The One We Know, The Forces Of Darkness Fear One Man…Blade!

The Plot…

A new breed of vampire, called “Reapers” have appeared.  The Reapers are primitive, mindless killers, with a need for blood. Their bite can mutate both humans and vampires into Reapers.  When it becomes clear that the Reapers are targeting vampires, Eli Damaskinos, the Vampire Overlord proposes a truce with Blade.  Damaskinos wants Blade to lead his vampire assassins in an effort to wipe out the Reapers.  Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the group of vampires originally assembled to kill him.

Of course not all is as it seems.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

I was not a fan of the original Blade.  I am a huge fan of Blade II.  I love everything about it.  It’s got a fun story.  The Reapers have a cool design.  The vampire team that joins Blade have unique looks and personalities.  Wesley Snipes was born to play Blade.  Guillermo del Toro understands what makes this type of film work.  I’ve watched Blade II multiple times and like a good vampire, it always sucks me in.

Blade II (2002) rates 5 of 5 stars.

GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE by Tom King and Phil Hester!

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GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE by Tom King (writer) and Phil Hester (artist) has been getting rave reviews.  It is coming out in hardcover and Kindle editions on September 5th.  Here’s the lowdown…

There once was a shining city on the water, a home for families, hope, and prosperity. It was Gotham and it was glorious.

The story of its fall from grace, the legend that would birth the Bat, has remained untold for 80 years.

That’s about to change.

Superstar creators Tom King and Phil Hester team up for the first time to tell the definitive origin of Gotham City: how it became the cesspool of violence and corruption it is today, and how it harbored and then unleashed the sin that led to the rise of the Dark Knight. Two generations before Batman, private investigator Slam Bradley gets tangled in the “kidnapping of the century” as the infant Wayne heir disappears in the night…and so begins a brutal, hard-boiled, epic tale of a man living on the edge and a city about to burn.

The Bristol Board’s Batman vs Predator Gallery

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The Mike Mignola piece above is just one of ten pieces in The Bristol Board’s Batman vs Predator Gallery.  The others are by (artist and colorist)…

  • Art Adams and Gregory Wright
  • John Byrne and Gregory Wright
  • Adam Hughes and Gregory Wright
  • Michael Kaluta and Chris Chalenor
  • Sam Keith and Chris Chalenor
  • Joe Kubert and Adam Kubert
  • Steve Rude and Lovern Kindzierski
  • Tim Sale and Gregory Wright
  • Walt Simonson and RIchard Lewis

Old Dog, Redact One by Declan Shalvey

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Old Dog, Redact One by Declan Shalvey will drop on September 19, 2023.  Here’s the lowdown…

Jack Lynch was a once-promising C.I.A. operative. On the eve of retirement, looking back at a failed career he is tasked with one final mission…that goes horribly wrong. He wakes years later to a changed world with deeper changes within him. When a shadow group offers Lynch a second chance at a life of adventure, he’s paired with the last person he could ever imagine.

In this collection of six high octane adventures, an old dog learns some new tricks…

OLD DOG is a striking new spy-fi series by Declan Shalvey, the accomplished and innovative creator behind books such as Moon Knight, X-Men Unlimited, Injection and Time Before Time. Winter Soldier meets Mission Impossible in this Bourne-esque action/espionage blowout.

Collects OLD DOG [REDACT ONE] #1-6

Creepy Archives Volume Four

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Creepy Archives Volume Four will drop on December 12, 2023..  It’ll be 232 pages of comic greatness topped by an awesome Frank Frazetta cover.

For over two decades Creepy magazine presented some of the most gripping tales of terror, mayhem, and the supernatural ever told in graphic fiction, and was a showcase of the stellar work of comics legends Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Reed Crandall, Steve Ditko, and many more.

Long available only as expensive collectibles, Creepy Archives Volume 4 collects Creepy issues #16–#20 in a value-priced paperback edition and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.

  Deal me in.  Pre-Orders are available now.

“300” (2006) /Z-View

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300 (2006)

Director: Zack Snyder

Screenplay: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon based on 300 by Frank Miller, Lynn Varley

Stars: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender, Andrew Pleavin, Rodrigo Santoro  and Eli Snyder.

Tagline:  Spartans, tonight, we dine in hell!

The Plot…

Based on Frank Miller’s classic graphic novel, 300 tells the story of King Leonidas (Butler) who led an army of 300 Spartans against a Persian force of over 100,000.  Persian King Xerxes (Santoro) planned to rule the world. His army was decimating every country in his path.  King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans would meet the Persians in the mountain pass of Thermopylae known as “the Gates of Hell”.  There they would make their stand.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

There has never been a movie adaptation that follows the source material as well as 300.  Zack Snyder’s respect for Frank Miller’s graphic novel is evident in every scene.  That’s not to say that Snyder didn’t have an impact on what we see.  Using Miller’s panels as storyboards, Snyder has created a stylized film that is  a thing of beauty.

300 (2006) rates 5 of 5 stars.