Head Wounds: Sparrow is a graphic novel written by Brian Buccellato from a story by Robert Johnson & John Alvey. The art is by Christian Ward. Here’s the synopsis…
Tangled up in the battle between Good and Evil, a crooked Louisiana detective with a higher purpose must psychically suffer the wounds of those he’s sworn to protect until he brings their assailants to justice.
No one would call Leo a good person – much less a good cop. But when his best friend is shot in front of him, he wakes up with a hole in his own head that only he can see, and a host of mysterious strangers calling on him for action.
Most people go about their daily lives ignoring or unable to see the divine battle for Good and Evil raging around them, but it has just become very very real for Leo. As angels and demons vie for the fate of humanity, he must choose a side or risk seeing everyone and everything he has ever known destroyed as the stakes get higher and higher.
As Leo sees the true faces of the people around him he must decide – will he do what’s best for him alone, or follow a higher purpose?
If Head Wounds: Sparrow sounds/looks like something you’d like, pre-orders are available now. The graphic novel premieres on August 9, 2022.
These are just two of the covers available for the benefit book, ComicsforUkraine: SunflowerSeeds. The cover on the left is by Alex Ross and the right is by Dave Johnson. Click on either to see them biggie-sized.
Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds features an incredible roster of comics talent united under the mission of providing relief to the war-torn Ukraine, which has suffered attacks from neighboring Russia since late February.
“Like everyone, I have been sickened by the atrocities perpetrated on the Ukrainian people for nearly two months,” said Scott Dunbier, editor of the anthology, “and I had to do something, anything, to try and help. The comic-book community is full of good and caring people who have stepped up to say, ‘I stand with Ukraine,’ and to contribute to this book.”
With the exception of hard costs (printing, credit-card fees, marketing) all of the funds raised by Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds will benefit the relief efforts in Ukraine in partnership with Operation USA. Since time of of the essence, once the campaign concludes and payments have been collected by Zoop, all funds will be sent to Operation USA immediately.
“We at OpUSA are so grateful for the support of Mr. Dunbier and all artists and writers involved with this project” says Mary Dolan, Director of Communications. “Operation USA is entirely privately funded, so projects such as Comics for Ukraine play a vital role in building our capacity to provide critical relief where needed most. Proceeds from this project will have a direct impact on the lives of those deeply affected by the ongoing war—improving conditions for Ukrainian refugees in Poland and other nearby countries via the provision of emergency grants and in-kind material aid. We thank all those involved in this meaningful project.”
ComicsforUkraine: SunflowerSeeds includes,,,
Covers by Alex Ross, Dave Johnson, Art Adams, Bill Sienkiewicz
A brand new Astro City short story by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson
A brand new Chew short story by John Layman and Rob Guillory
A brand new Star Slammers short story by Walt Simonson
A brand new American Flagg short story by Howard Chaykin
A brand new Usagi Yojimbo short story by Stan Sakai
A brand new Grendel short story by Matt Wagner
A brand new Groo short story by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones
A brand new Scary Godmother short story by Jill Thompson
The Cost of War short story by Louise Simonson and June Brigman
Hardrada short story by Dave Gibbons and Chris Sprouse
A short story by Mark Waid and Gabriel Rodriguez
Bombings short story by Emil Ferris
And More…
ComicsforUkraine: SunflowerSeeds features an amazing array of talent including many more folks than I’ve listed above. Plus with “the exception of hard costs (printing, credit-card fees, marketing) all of the funds raised by Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds will benefit the relief efforts in Ukraine in partnership with Operation USA” makes supporting the project a no-brainer.
Click over to get full details. If you’re not a comics fan, but want to donate to the cause, there’s a place for that as well. It’s a tough choice on which variant to get, but I’ve settled on the Dave Johnson cover. Sound off with your choice if you’re in!
The poster and trailer for Ecco are here. The poster gets an “A” for effort, but falls a bit short of making me want to know more. The trailer on the other hand does the job. I’ll keep an eye out for Ecco.
ECCO is available on digital May 17th, 2022!
Michael is a ghost. Living in the shadows with his new family, years away from his former life as a nomadic, covert assassin. His peace and anonymity are shattered when his old employers return to bury their last surviving operative. With his truth exposed, Michael must protect his family and pursue his only chance at redemption when he hunts those behind the organization where all his sins were born.
One Night in Bangkok is a reworking of the 2004 film, Collateral. This time the city is Bangkok, Tom Cruise has been replaced by Mark Dacascos and Jamie Foxx by Vanida Golten. The story is basically the same, a hitman hires a driver for the night. The driver comes to understand that at each stop her passenger is killing people. The reason for the hits has changed from Collateral to ONiB, but that’s just details.
The easiest way to describe One Night in Bangkok is to call it Collateral Lite. Dacascos and Golten are so likeable, that it’s an easy ride. If you enjoy low budget action films where you don’t have too think to hard, then you should enjoy One Night in Bangkok. I did and for that reason I rate it 3 of 5 stars.
Liam Proniewicz created the poster for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series above. I like how Proniewwicz took a classic image and made it his own.
Liam Proniewicz is a British artist/designer whose clients have included Netflix, Lionsgate, BBC and Sky. Proniewicz’s website contains many examples of his work. Fans will be happy to hear that there are also dozens of prints available.
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro and Courtney B. Vance.
Tagline: What would you risk for 5 minutes of pure power?
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A dangerous new drug has hit the streets of New Orleans. Those who risk taking it either suddenly die or gain five minutes of a superpower. The power varies from person to person. Because of this new drug, deaths and violent crime in New Orleans is escalating.
Frank (Gordon-Levitt) is street cop working with Robin (Fishback), a small-time high school-aged dealer in an effort to follow the drug’s pipeline to it’s source. This brings them into contact with Art (Foxx) an ex-special forces commando with the same mission. Frank and Robin find themselves working with Art, unaware that he has an ulterior motive.
I didn’t watch Project Power sooner, because of the terrible title and the synopsis sounded silly. My mistake. Project Power has a dumb title, but if you accept the premise, you’ll find a story that takes itself seriously. That combined with good acting, great action and the right amount of humor makes for an awesome movie experience. I absolutely loved Project Power and rate it 5 of 5 stars.
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Evan Jonigkeit.
Tagline: The truth will surface.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Beth (Hall) is a grieving widow, with no idea why her husband, Owen (Jonigkeit) killed himself. Alone in the house that they built on a remote lake, Beth begins to have strange dreams. Going through Owen’s possessions she comes across books about demons, pictures of other women, and more. Then Beth begins to hear strange sounds in the house and a voice claiming to be Owen. Is Beth losing her mind or is Owen reaching out to her from beyond? Or could it be something even worse?
The Night House is held together by the acting of Rebecca Hall. She’s really good. The problem I had with the movie is it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. Is it the story of a grieving widow trying to hold on to her sanity? Is it the tale of a widow who discovers her husband was a serial killer? Is it a haunted house movie? When all is said and done, more is said than done. And for that reason I give The Night House 2 of 5 stars.
We’ve been on a roll lately, finding cool alt movie posters. This Aliens print is by Nick Charge and is available in a limited edition from HCGArt.com. If Charge’s name sounds familiar, you might remember he was the artist on the awesome Bride of Frankenstein print we recently shared.
Mondocane has a real art poster and the trailer ain’t bad either. Mondocane is now on my radar.
US Release Date: June 28, 2022
Starring: Dennis Protopapa, Giuliano Soprano
Directed By: Alessandro Celli
In the not-too-distant future on Italy’s southern coast, the city of Taranto has become a toxic wasteland ruled by warring gangs and surrounded by barbed wire, where best friends Pietro (nicknamed Mondocane) and Cristian (nicknamed Pisspants) dream of escaping their hardscrabble existence for a better life in nearby New Taranto. Opportunity knocks when Hothead, the charismatic and dangerous leader of a local gang called the Ants, recruits the two boys and gives them everything they fantasized about: money in their pockets, a family, and a father figure. The friendship begins to splinter, though, as Cristian displays a surprising talent for mayhem and quickly rises through the ranks. With a new female friend pushing them further apart, an obsessed cop hounding the gang, and Hothead becoming increasingly unhinged, the boys barrel toward a confrontation that will determine if their bond is strong enough to survive. Recalling everything from Mad Max to Lord of the Flies, from Oliver Twist to Waterworld, director Alessandro Celli’s thrilling feature debut is a stylish post-apocalyptic vision and an inspiring testament to the power of friendship in an unjust world.
Starring: Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce.
Tagline: None
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Eight years ago terrorists hijacked an airplane with over 200 men, women and children aboard. A C.I.A. team came together to create a plan to save the passengers. As negotiations with the terrorists continued it appeared that they were getting information from a mole within the C.I.A. team. The terrorists ended up killing everyone on board the plane including themselves.
Now, new information has surfaced that there was indeed a mole feeding the terrorists intel. Henry Pelham (Pine), a CIA operative and member of the original team is sent to interview the others to determine the mole. He is then to terminate the traitor. Complicating matters is that one of the main suspects is the woman (Newton) he loved and who suddenly left him after the plane tragedy.
All the Old Knives introduces the suspects while taking us through their roles in attempting to thwart the terrorists. This allows us to try to determine the mole along with Pelham. I’m proud to say I figured out the mole’s identity but then there was a twist which made the movie even better. All the Old Knives rates 4 of 5 stars.
The Last Victim follows a group of modern-day outlaws (led by Ineson), pursued by an aging sheriff (Perlman), who deal with the fallout of a crime gone wrong in the harsh landscape of the American Southwest. When a young professor (Larter) and her husband cross paths with the gang, they are drawn into a chain of vengeance where morality is ambiguous and survival is the only priority. DECAL will release The Last Victim in theaters and on VOD on May 13th.
The Northman is getting a ton of positive buzz and from the looks of the trailer, the buzz is well deserved. I’m moving The Northman to my movies to watch list.
From visionary director Robert Eggers comes THE NORTHMAN, an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder. With an all-star cast that includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.
Despite the generic poster, The Takedown looks like a fun ride. Since it is on Netflix, it’s a no-brainer to check it out.
Ousmane Diakité (Omar Sy) and François Monge (Laurent Lafitte) are two cops with very different styles, backgrounds and careers. The unlikely pair are reunited once again for a new investigation that takes them across France. What seemed to be a simple drug deal turns out to be a high scale criminal case wrapped in danger and unexpected comedy.
