Monthly Archives: May 2014

DVD Blu-ray Review: DAN CURTIS’ DRACULA (1974)

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The early 1970s made possible a very cool television movie starring legendary tough guy actor Jack Palance as Dracula. Imagine Clint Eastwood as Dracula. Close, but no cigar. Today, Liam Neeson could do it, but he probably won’t. The ’70s were a good time for vampires, along with zombies. It was a more innocent time. They had not even begun to claw the surface of today’s oversaturation. Dracula, as both a literary and horror figure, played well with audiences. And certain older actors were welcome too. There was something about Palance, his affinity for the dark side, that made him a natural for the role.

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Filed under Dark Shadows, Dracula, movies, MPI Home Video, Richard Matheson, Television, Vampires

Boom! Studios: Sergio Toppi’s ‘The Collector’ To Be Published in English

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The late Sergio Toppi, a legendary cartoonist, is being introduced to a whole new generation, thanks to Boom! Studios and its award-winning imprint, Archaia. Last year, SHARAZ-DE: TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS was released. And now, we have the English translation to Toppi’s classic, THE COLLECTOR. It will be released in September. Details follow.

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Filed under Archaia, Boom! Studios, European Comics, Sergio Toppi

Review: INTERESTING DRUG

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“Interesting Drug” will be your next favorite time travel story. Meet Andrew. One day, he’s a retail clerk. And the next, he’s a mad scientist. It’s all a matter of timing. This graphic novel, created and written by Shaun Manning and illustrated by Anna Wieszczyk, is published by Boom! Studios and is part of its Archaia line.

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Filed under Archaia Entertainment, Boom! Studios, Comics, Comics Reviews, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Sci-Fi, science fiction, Time Travel

Bill Plympton’s CHEATIN’ Screening at TAAFI on June 15, 2014

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CHEATIN’ is the latest work from animation master Bill Plympton. If you’re in Toronto on the 15th of June, you’ll want to stop by and catch it at the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International. Hot on the heels of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, TAAFI is the natural extension to the festivities. But perhaps you’ll catch CHEATIN’ in Lawrence, Kansas or maybe Karkow, Poland. Check out the full screening list here.

Toronto Animation Arts Festival International – TAAFI – celebrates the many forms of animation from around the world, while supporting and nurturing the community that creates them. At TAAFI 2014 (June 13-16), you can immerse your senses in all things animation on Toronto’s Waterfront (Corus Quay & George Brown – Waterfront Campus)!

More details on the screening of CHEATIN’ at TAAFI follow:

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Filed under animation, Bill Plympton, Comedy, Humor

Memorial Day Review: NORMANDY: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF D-DAY by Wayne Vansant

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World War II may seem ancient in comparison to today and yet its impact remains very much alive. This year, we mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, beginning with the landing on D-Day on June 6, 1944. This Memorial Day, as the U.S. honors members of the Armed Forces who died in service, we can look back at the heroic efforts of those who quite literally helped to save the world seventy years ago.

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Filed under Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, History, War, Wayne Vansant, World War II

Review: The Last Broadcast #1

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“The Last Broadcast #1” is brought to you by Boom! Studios’ Archaia line and lives up to its promise of being “an urban exploration adventure.” Spelunking has been the subject of comics before, believe it or not. That goes back to 2009 and Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber’s “Underground.” That comic is a character-driven action adventure, which is saying a lot. Either you’re one or the other most of the time. Well, lightning strikes twice with “The Last Broadcast.” And all of the action is not just underground.

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Filed under Boom! Studios, Comics, Comics Reviews

Review: ‘Beyond: Edward Snowden’

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Bluewater Productions has launched the Beyond series that promises to reveal stories about subjects that some people would rather you did not know. For its debut, we have “Beyond: Edward Snowden.” Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor turned dissident, whistleblower and fugitive, now has his story unfold in this comic book. What you don’t know about the most wanted man on the planet will shock you.

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Filed under Bluewater Productions, Comics, Comics Reviews, Edward Snowden, Surveillance

Interview: Antonin Baudry and ‘Weapons of Mass Diplomacy’

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Antonin Baudry is the French government’s Cultural Counselor, based out of New York City. He is the author (pseudonym of Abel Lanzac), with cartoonist Christophe Blain, of the graphic novel, “Weapons of Mass Diplomacy.” This is a work of fiction that provides an insightful look at how, amid what can appear as utter chaos, great things can be accomplished. Baudry was part of the staff of French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and helped in crafting speeches including the French position to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. As a work of fiction, this book provides a unique window in a similar spirit to “The West Wing” and goes it one better with its distinctive vision, timeless quality, and wry sense of humor.

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Filed under Antonin Baudry, Christophe Blain, Comics, European Comics, France, French Comics, graphic novels, Interviews, movies

Graphic Novel Introduction: ‘A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories’ by Henry Chamberlain

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A man and woman with supernatural powers enter the city with ill tempers and a need to act out their frustrations. Not a good night for them or anyone near them. However, there’s more than a good chance that their destination, a luxury hotel with charm to spare, may contain their anxiety and solve their problems beyond their wildest dreams. That’s the story behind the title piece in “A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories,” a collection of short works in comics plus a full length work (available here). Every story here finds characters at various turning points. It makes for good entertainment, I think, and it should prove a fun introduction to works in comics by yours truly.

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Filed under Amazon, Amazon Publishing, Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Henry Chamberlain, Kindle

Graphic Novel Review: ‘Will & Whit’ by Laura Lee Gulledge

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Do you think it’s hard to find comics that you can relate to on a human scale? Hopefully, that’s not the case but, for a lot of readers out there, it may seem confusing. Well, the comics medium offers such a vast and wide assortment of possibilities. Consider the story of Wilhelmina Huckstep, “Will” for short, who is a talented and beautiful young woman who has one Achilles’ heel. She’s sort of afraid of her own shadow. More specifically, she’s afraid of the dark.

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Filed under Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Young Adult, Youth Culture