Happy Star Wars and Free Comic Book Day!

On May 4, 2024May 6, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books, Comics, Movies, TelevisionLeave a comment

As you can tell, today is not a Monday; so why is there a short blog post from me? That’s a simple answer, because not only is today Star Wars Day, but it’s also Free Comic Book Day!

Star Wars Day is always held on the 4th of May, regardless of what day it is, just so people can say, May The 4th Be With You. Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), however, is traditionally held on the first Saturday in May.

I feel they are two of the largest pop culture dates on the geek calendar, so it’s not often that Star Wars Day coincides with FCBD, but I think it just gives people twice the reason to celebrate the day.

I have mentioned it before, but Star Wars has a special place in my family. We enjoy it through movies, books, toys, board games, TV shows¹ and cosplay. This also includes comics. Throughout the years, I have gathered a collection of Star Wars comics, so FCBD holds significant importance for me.

Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm & *DC/Marvel/FCBD*

So, what’s the point of this post? Easy, if you’re a fan of the adventures of characters from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, then today is your day to watch the movies or TV shows, read that book, play that computer game, or simply wear that Darth Vader t-shirt to the supermarket. Own this day, own it!

If you’re a fan of comic books, you need to get yourself down to your local comic book store; if possible, so you can support them by picking up some free comic books, cosplaying as your favourite characters, and buying some items. These stores are the lifeblood of the industry, so please support them.

And if you’re a fan of both Star Wars and Comics, well…today’s the day you can live your best life! My family recently made their own fantastic Stormtrooper helmets, which UMC1 and UMC2 will be wearing somewhere today.

How are you celebrating Star Wars Day and Free Comic Book Day? Please let me know. Ok, that’s it for me. Enjoy this amazing day and I’ll see you on Monday.

^1.)One day I’m going to get Disney +. It’s not today, but one day.

My 15 favourite Hellboy covers (So far): Before Seeds of Destruction Edition

On April 15, 2024April 22, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

The World Destroyer. The Right Hand of Doom. The Beast of the Apocalypse. Anung un Rama. Hellboy has been called many things over the years, as well as being an outstanding arse-kicker. Supporters of New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website will undoubtedly know that I’m a fan of Hellboy. I’ve seen all five movies (three live-action and two animated), and I even have The Right Hand of Doom money box on my set of drawers, minus the money.

One of these days, I’m going to write about my love for the character and his world, but not today. In saying that, as a fully-fledged geek, I’ve been reading and collecting Hellboy comics since Adam was a cowboy. Because of this useless fact, I thought it would be a wonderfully terrible idea to discuss my favourite Hellboy comic book covers.

I feel stupid for admitting this, but I’m not a huge fan of variant comic book covers; however, there is an exception. If there is a variant cover drawn by Hellboy’s creator Mike Mignola, then you can bet your bingo money that I’m going to choose that one. I meant, come on, it’s a Hellboy cover drawn by Mike Mignola, you can’t ignore it!

For a lot of geeks like myself, our introduction to Hellboy was through his first mini-series, Seed of Destruction. And just like with the Legends Star Wars Universe, the timeline was divided into BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), with Hellboy being somewhat similar.

For me, Hellboy comics can be divided into five groups:

1.) Before Seed of Destruction: Detailing Hellboy’s adventures from his discovery in 1944, to Seed of Destruction in 1994.
2.) After Seed of Destruction: Detailing Hellboy’s adventures after the Seed of Destruction mini-series, from 1994 onwards.
3.) Out of continuity: These comics deal with stories about Hellboy involving crossovers with many out-of-company characters, as well as the Hellboy: Weird Tales series.
4.) Spin offs: Characters that have been involved with Hellboy, are given comics to flesh out their stories like B.P.R.D., Rise of the Black Flame, Koshchei the Deathless, Sir Edward Grey: Witchfinder, Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon, Frankenstein Underground, Sledgehammer 44, and The Visitor: How & Why He Stayed.
5.) Collected Editions/Trade Paperbacks: Sometimes when Hellboy comics are collected into a trade or an anthology edition, they include some Hellboy short stories that are only found in those editions; you can’t find them anywhere else.

The comic book covers I’m going to be focusing on will be in the first group, because I’m a geek. Now there are some key points I would like to establish before I do this.

Obviously Mike Mignola is going to feature on this list as a cover artist, but not all entries will be drawn by him.
I’m only looking at comic book covers and not the actual issues themselves, because that is another list for another day.
I’m not looking at the covers of collected editions or trades, only single issues.
The comics are listed according to when they occurred in Hellboy’s timeline; not when they were published or how awesome they are.

I’ve chosen these covers as my favourites in the Before Seed of Destruction era for a lot of different reasons that include their colour, symbolism, character poses, shadowing, and of course, just how amazing Hellboy looks!

One more thing before we start, 14 of the 15 comics I selected have Hellboy on the cover; with only one that doesn’t. This is because the cover is gorgeous, so I decided to swipe right.

With all of the entries, I’ve included the title, the year it was published, the cover artists (artist and colourist), and also what year the comic was set in Hellboy’s history. Ok, without a drum roll, let’s do this!

B.P.R.D. 1946 #1, 2008, Mike Mignola and Nick Filardi (1946)

Hellboy: The Midnight Circus HC (one-shot), 2013, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1948)

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1953 #1: The Phantom Hand and Kelpie, 2015, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1953)

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1953 #2: The Witch Tree and Rawhead & Bloody Bones, 2015, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1953)

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1954 #1: Ghost Moon, 2017, Brian Churilla and Dave Stewart (1953)

Dark Horse Presents #151, Vol 1, 2000, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1954)

Hellboy in Mexico (one-shot), 2010, Richard Corben and Dave Stewart (1956)

Dark Horse Presents #31, Vol 2, 2013, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1956)

Hellboy: The Crooked Man #3, 2008, Richard Corben and Dave Stewart (1958)

Hellboy: The Corpse and the Iron Shoes (one-shot), 1996, Mike Mignola and James Sinclair (1959 & 1961)

Hellboy: Long Night at Goloski Station (one-shot), 2019, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1967)

Hellboy: Krampusnacht (one-shot), 2017, Mike Mignola and Adams Hughes (1975)

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D: Her Fatal Hour and The Sending (one-shot), 2020, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1979)

Hellboy: The Bones of Giants #4, 2022, Matt Smith and Chris O’Halloran (1988)

Hellboy: Makoma (or A Tale Told by a Mummy in the New York City Explorers’ Club on August 16, 1993) #1, 2006, Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart (1993)

Do you agree with my choices or have I missed out on some of your favourite Hellboy comics from the Before Seed of Destruction era? As always, please let me know. At a later time, which is very inconvenient for me, I’ll look at some other Hellboy covers from the other groups. Awesome.

Well, that’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, call for a ceasefire in Palestine, look after yourself, and I’ll see you next week.

Where would we be without Akira Toriyama?

On March 11, 2024March 18, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, People, Television

I had a completely different blog lined up for this week, but after the media announcement on Friday, I changed my mind and wrote this instead. Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga creator, died on 1st March from an acute subdural hematoma, aged 68 years old.

Toriyama had created and worked on many different projects and video games over the years, like Dr. Slump, the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. However, his most famous creation was Dragon Ball, which showcased his talents to Japan and the world.

So what’s the point of this blog?

I’m crying about the death of a man I had never met.

Akira Toriyama. Credit: Dragon Ball Wiki

It won’t come as a shock, but I’m a fan of Dragon Ball because I’m a fan of Toriyama’s work. His art was outrageous, explosive, and detailed, whether it was manga or anime. It was unreal. I mentioned this before, but I loved the way he drew ears, for some strange reason. You could see a character and judging by their ears, you could tell whether they belonged to Toriyama or not.

As for his vehicles, they were so well designed, that you could see yourself driving one of them, whether they travelled by air, land, or sea. They were so good!

The plots were just as fantastic. People will talk about his art, but Toriyama was an amazing storyteller. His characters went on huge quests, and fought powerful foes, but also went through massive personal growth, so his characters were always evolving.

I’m sad about his passing for many reasons. Even not personally, Toriyama introduced me to manga, anime, and other parts of Japanese culture. For a geek living in New Zealand, his characters and art were extraordinary. My love of manga and anime can be traced back to him.

It’s been astonishing to see the outpouring of tributes to Toriyama from fans around the world. He was beloved by so many people. It made me think of all of the hundreds of artists, writers, singers, actors, directors, scientists, athletes, and anybody else, whose work has indirectly shaped our lives. They’re in the background of our subconscious.

It’s not until one of them dies, that you reflect and realise how influential they were to you and your life. That’s how I feel about Toriyama. His influence on pop culture has changed the world; the word Saiyan, is now part of the world’s lexicon, regardless of language or culture.

I read how many different manga and anime creators have come out and cited Toriyama as their source of inspiration. I find this amazing because even Toriyama was inspired to pursue a career in illustration. I find the creation and history of entertainment, similar to the history of science, where all creators are standing on the shoulders of giants. And make no mistake, Toriyama was a giant.

Imagine if Toriyama was never inspired to draw and create? It’s in the realms of possibility that maybe someone down the road would have drawn characters with energy beams, have awesome names for attack styles, teleportation, explosive fights, cities being destroyed, and badass vehicles.

But where would we be without Toriyama and powering/levelling-up sequences? Think about it. We would be lost in the abyss. For me, the powering/levelling-up sequences in Dragon Ball represented the brilliance and glorious scope of Toriyama’s skills.

I don’t know what Toriyama’s legacy will be for the world, but I feel it will be eternal. As for me, the biggest praise I can give Toriyama is that when UMC1 and UMC2 are ready, I’ll be showing them Dragon Ball. I can’t wait to sit down with them both, and let them experience the crazy and beautiful nature of Toriyama’s work; along with practising their own Kamehameha waves.

Like I said before, I can never thank Toriyama enough for his work, so all I can do is let the next generation live it and breathe it. Right, I need to control my crying, so that’s it for this week. What’s your favourite art drawn by Akira Toriyama? Please let me know.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; go read some manga, and I’ll see you next week because we’re going to check in on the Coalition of Chaos.

15 Comic Book Artists Synonymous With My Favourite Characters

On October 2, 2023October 9, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

Some comic book artists go together with characters amazingly well, like salt and vinegar; fish and chips; ice cream and cones; and finally, Vegemite and toast. As a follower of this small endeavour into lunacy, you may recall my love for comic books.

In saying that, and with all due respect to writers, inkers, letterers, colourists, and editors, where would comics be without the artists? They are a pretty visual element to the storytelling, and extremely vital for promoting the style and tone of the comic book.

There have been thousands of comic book characters created over the last 100 years, along with hundreds of different artists; all of which have drawn multiple characters for many different companies, or creator-owned projects.

Over the years, I have read a few comics, so I can appreciate various artists across various genres, like superheroes, horror, science fiction, fantasy; and like the road, the list goes on and on. So because of this, I have subconsciously linked an artist to a character.

What I’m not talking about is linking a famous run or storyline to an artist; what I’m actually talking about is an artist that I believe is synonymous with a particular character. An unrelated example is when I think of Western movies, I think of Clint Eastwood. If I think of rugby, I think of the All Blacks; if I think of dysfunctional families, I think of the Skywalkers.

The comic book artists on this list, are not made up of my favourite artists; though some of them would be. However, that is another blog for another day. No, at least to me, these artists have drawn the best versions of certain characters. In my humble opinion, they are my favourite artists to draw these particular characters. Basically, if I could choose anybody to draw these characters, it would be these artists.

Some of these decisions were extremely difficult, so hopefully I mean no disrespect to any other artists.

I’ve only included 15 characters for the first round, but I promise you, I’ll write several more of these lists! I’ve included heroes and villains to be fair, as well as limiting one artist per character.

Alright then, we are doing this in alphabetical order, so sit back, relax, and away we go!

Some of these artists have died, so out of respect for them, I’ll indicate this with a *

Batman by Tim Sale*

Captain America by George Perez*

Credit: George Perez, Wizard Magazine and Marvel Comcs

Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) by Jim Starlin

Captain Marvel (Shazam!) by Alex Ross

Deadman by Neal Adams*

Doctor Doom by John Byrne

Harley Quinn by Amanda Conner

Hellboy by Mike Mignola

Credit: Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics

Invincible by Ryan Ottley

Judge Dredd by Ron Smith*

Spawn by Todd McFarlane

Superman by Dan Jurgens

The Joker by José Luis García-López

Credit: José Luis García-López and DC Comics

The Phantom by Sy Barry

Credit: Sy Barry and King Features Syndicate

The Silver Surfer By Jack Kirby*

As a bonus entry, I’d like to point out that my favourite Star Wars artist is Jan Duursema.

Credit: Jan Duursema and Dark Horse Comics

Do you agree with any of my choices? Who’s your favourite Batman, Captain America, or Superman artist? As always, please let me know.

And that concludes another blog; which coincidentally is my 148th blog post. It’s 147 more than I thought I’d do, that’s for sure. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, eat some Salt and Vinegar chips, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

Three couples we need to stop admiring

On September 25, 2023October 2, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, History, Literature, People

To quote Huey Lewis and the News, “The power of love is a curious thing, Make a one man weep, Make another man sing.” Love can change and transform a person; it can make them loving, compassionate, brave, empathetic, happy, and basically everything else positive society can throw a label on.

Like many things or concepts in this mad little world, love is like a coin; it has two sides or two faces.¹On one face of the coin, is love as described by Jane Austen: witty, lovely, romantic, charming, and enduring. On the other face, well, we have love described by the Brontë sisters: dark, jealousy, twisted, obsessive, and secretive. Love can make people do some pretty crazy stuff and not all of it is good.

There are many couples throughout history and pop culture that personify romantic love. We can admire these couples as role models; whether straight, gay, or everything else. However, there are equally couples that are so bad for each other, that everybody knows they shouldn’t be together, or at least, have some extreme Brontë issues to work through.

Toss the love coin for a couple and see where it lands. Does it land Austen face up, or is it Brontë? That seems easy, doesn’t it? But what about the couples in the centre of the Venn diagram? What if the coin does not land face down, but is actually on its side? ²

Some people look and say that these couples are lovely and romantic, so they must belong together. They are admired, romanticised, and even idolised. Now I’m not an expert on love; ask my wife, but I have three couples that do not deserve your admiration. As a collective society, we need to stop lying to ourselves about these couples.

May I submit three couples that we desperately need to stop admiring: 1 x historical couple and 2 x fictional couples. Let’s break some hearts!

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie and Clyde)

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were part of the Barrow Gang, which included Clyde’s brother Marvin “Buck” Barrow, and his wife Blanche. They operated in the Central United States of America, during 1932-1934, committing small-time heists and bank robberies.

Bonnie and Clyde were romanticised at the time, and still are. They were a young couple, living their best life, which fed into the counterculture, with part of the public admiring and adoring them. One of the reasons was that Bonnie was already married to a man named Roy Thornton, but she was in love with Clyde.

In the grips of the Great Depression, these love birds were fighting to be free and live wild. The growing problem was their crimes were becoming more violent, which resulted in people being killed. This made the public slowly turn on them, and law enforcement officers hunted them.

On 23rd May 1934, Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree ended. They were ambushed in their car, by law enforcement officers and were shot to death. Bonnie had 26 bullet wounds, and Clyde received 17; with both suffering head shots.

Over the years, their romantic legacy has grown across the world, especially because of the Academy Award-winning 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde. But let’s face facts; Bonnie and Clyde committed multiple robberies of banks, gas stations, and small stores, but also killed at least 12 people; which included nine law enforcement officers.

It’s been 89 years since their death, and I’m sorry to say, we need to stop admiring them.

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet)

Did you see this one coming?! First performed in 1597, William Shakespeare’s immortal play Romeo and Juliet, has been touted as one of the greatest love stories ever told. It’s been adapted into film, ballet, opera, paintings, and literature, and is still performed through theatre around the world. Over 420 years later, people are still experiencing and revisiting the story.

Though should we still be experiencing Romeo and Juliet? Hell, yes! I’m not smart enough to articulate just how impactful and amazing the play is, and why it’s important. To me, it’s good, it’s so, so good. However, that isn’t the correct question we should be asking.

We should hold on to Romeo and Juliet, until the potential heat death of the universe. But should we keep romanticising them? Hell, no!

I want you to think about a few things:

The entire play is set over six days. Yes, just six days!
When Romeo meets Juliet for the first time, he’s on the rebound from Rosaline (Sunday evening).
Romeo and Juliet fall in love with each other (Sunday evening).
Romeo meets Juliet for the second time and agree to marry (Late Sunday evening).
The next day, Romeo and Juliet marry (Monday afternoon).
By Friday morning, both Romeo and Juliet are dead by their own hands.

Imagine if your child or grandchild came to you and said, that the person they were planning on marrying today, they had only met them the day before? What would you do? Seriously, what would you say?

From the time I first met my future wife, to actually getting married was 20 months. I used to think that was fast, but that’s at a snail’s pace, compared to Romeo and Juliet’s 24 hours!

This brings me to their ages. At the time of the wedding, I believe Romeo was 16 years old, and Juliet was just 13 years old. Granted the play was set in Verona, around the 14th/15th century, but still.

Another love myth to break about the couple is that by the end of the play, six people had died. They were Mercutio, Tybalt, Lady Montague, Paris, and the idiots of the story, Romeo and Juliet. Yes, Romeo and Juliet did kill themselves, but through their actions; directly and indirectly, four other people paid the ultimate price for their one-night stand. Romeo alone personally killed three people!

“These violent delights have violent ends.”

If you’re looking for romance, love, or shenanigans in a Shakespearian play, then admire these couples: Sebastian and Olivia, Viola and Orsino, Lucentio and Bianca, Petruchio and Katherina, Bassanio and Portia, Beatrice and Benedick, or Orlando and Rosalind.

Romeo and Juliet truly belong with the other tragic couples: Othello and Desdemona, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, Duke of Albany and Goneril, Duke of Cornwall and Regan, and of course, Hamlet and Ophelia.

The tale of Romeo and Juliet is not a love story, because nobody is left happy at the end. I think one of the points of the play is not to admire Romeo and Juliet; because they don’t deserve it, but to see their flaws and mistakes, so you don’t have to make them yourself.

The Joker and Harley Quinn (The Joker and Harleen Quinzel)

I’m not going to spend a lot of time with this couple because they are the textbook example of a toxic relationship. When everybody’s favourite Arkham Asylum escapee was recaptured and brought back, the Joker met, manipulated, seduced, and corrupted psychologist Harleen Quinzel, and helped her to transform into Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn became the Joker’s accomplice and girlfriend, but it was an awful abusive relationship. Over the years and in different versions, the Joker has done some pretty horrible things to Harley. These involve various methods, and include and not limited to throwing her into a vat of industrial chemicals; pushing her out of a window; torturing her by beating, cutting, and hanging her half to death; setting Harley’s own hyenas onto her; planning to kill her in front of the Dark Knight; tried to cut her face off; locked her into a rocket; he killed her and transformed her into a constellation; constantly beating and casting her out before wooing her back; and one time, he didn’t even notice that Harley had left for a year.

And just to clarify, Harley is not blameless in this mess. By the Joker’s own admission, he believes that Harley is crazier than him. The way the Joker controlled and manipulated Harley, only worked because Harley thought his abusive behaviour was a sign that he loved her. It wasn’t.

The Joker would have rather beaten Harley to a bloody pulp than admit he cared for her; as much as a homicidal, sadistic psychopath can care for someone.

Unlike the previous two entries on this list, there is a happy ending of a sort. Harley ultimately left the Joker forever and is now in a loving, positive, and healthy relationship with Poison Ivy. Though whether Harley being involved in another relationship with a villain is a good idea, remains to be seen.

And there you have it. Just like Fat Boy Slim said, “Like a favourite pair of jeans that you won’t give up on,” we need to give up on the idea that these three couples are to be romanticised, admired, or idolised because they don’t deserve it. You wouldn’t wish any family member to be involved in any relationship, similar to these disasters, would you? Well, maybe it depends on the family member.

Have I missed any toxic couples out? As always please let me know. I know I didn’t include Heathcliff and Catherine, but to be honest, this blog got away from me, so I’ll include them next time. ³

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I have daily posts, and attempt to be funny.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, avoid playing Monopoly at all costs, watch some Rugby World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

¹It’s been a long time since I snuck in a Batman reference.

²This is a shout out to Heathcliff and Catherine. I see you, I see you.

³I told you I saw Heathcliff and Catherine.

San Diego Comic-Con 2023: Did anything good happen?

On July 31, 2023August 7, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books, Comics, Movies, Television

If you inhabit any of the plethora of areas that count as geek culture, then you would have known one of the largest geek culture events in the world, took place last week. No, I’m not talking about Barbenheimer; though I feel that could be a blog all on its own.

What I’m really talking about, is the 2023 edition of the San Diego Comic-Con. As I’ve stated before, I’m still over 10,000 km away from the event, but one day I’m going to go to it. One day. Now for those of you that don’t know what the San Diego Comic-Con actually is, firstly how is that possible?! I’m joking, nobody is perfect so its fine.

The San Diego Comic-Con is a mega event; if not the mega event that celebrates popular culture. It’s where creators and companies gather to promote and advertise their products to the public, like toys, anime, computer games, manga, books, comics, movies, tv shows, and anything else I haven’t thought of.

We also can’t forget to mention, it’s an amazing opportunity for cosplayers to shine! If I ever went, I would cosplay as a tired broke father, wearing tracksuit pants, a witty t-shirt, and rocking the same haircut he’s had for 20 years. I would clean up with the cosplay awards, so look out!

Apart from the products available for sale at the event, San Diego Comic-Con is famous for the many releases, trailers, and announcements, from companies across genres. I’ll be honest here, I haven’t read or watched every single scrap of information that was released at San Diego Comic-Con. I love popular culture, but I’m not that committed.

In saying that, here’s a question: Did anything good happen? Was there any information about an upcoming product, that I found to be interesting?

You’re in luck, because I’m going to answer that great question! And as I stated last year, let’s establish a few things first:

1.) I have not read or seen, every article or trailer released from San Diego Comic-Con. I can only discuss the things I have knowledge of, but also things I’m actually interested in. I’m still waiting for the release of the Salt and Vinegar biography movie, damn that would be good!

2.) Just because a product is on my list, doesn’t mean I’ll actually get to see it or purchase it. Quite simply, if something has landed on this list, it has my attention; regardless if I watch and purchase it.

Clear as a spider drink? Great, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

**Comic-Con in San Diego**. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Literature: (Books and Comics)

Giant Robot Hellboy

One of these days, I’m going to write a blog about Big Red, because I’m an enormous Hellboy fan. I’ve been reading and collecting Mike Mignola’s creation for years, so I’m always ready to hear about new content.

So imagine my utter shock, following the announcement of the Giant Robot Hellboy mini-series. I’m not smart enough to even begin to explain how insane this series sounds and looks. Mignola is writing the mini-series, with Duncan Fegredo adding the art. I find it amazing that the duo that gave us some important Hellboy stories like Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, The Storm, and The Fury, are giving us another one?!

The first issue is released in October by Dark Horse, and I have already subscribed to it. The covers look phenomenal, so let’s have some good ole Hellboy shenanigans! Can’t wait.

Star Wars: The High Republic

I know I keep saying this, but I really do need to write a Star Wars: The High Republic blog. Phase II of the story finished recently, though I’m still waiting for my copies of Quest for Planet X, Path of Vengeance, and The Edge of Balance: Precedent to finally arrive in my tiny letterbox.

At San Diego Comic-Con information was released concerning the final section, Phase III. These include:

Star Wars: The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight (mini-series-Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic (Marvel)
Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures (Dark Horse)
Star Wars: The High Republic: Escape from Valo (written by Daniel José Older and Alyssa Wong)
Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy the Storm (written by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland)
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness (written by George Mann)

I’m really enjoying this Star Wars project, so I’m looking forward to reading all of those products.

Knights Vs Samurai

If I understand it correctly, during the Todd McFarlane panel, some new titles were announced through Image Comics. One was a title called Knights Vs Samurai, written by actor David Dastmalchian, and the artist is Federico “Fede” Mele. Apart from the concept of knights and samurai fighting each other, I know little else about it, other than it looks quite interesting.

Movies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

The classic story of four mutant turtles growing up to be teenage ninjas is as old as 1984. I had already heard of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, but when I saw the clip, I also watched it with UMC1. He told me it looked crazy and fun, but more importantly, he wanted to go and watch it with me! High praise indeed, that an eight year old boy wants to be seen in public with his father!

The Marvels

I feel terrible for saying this, but I still haven’t seen Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 yet. I know, I suck. Having said that, The Marvels is a film I do want to see, but I need to watch the other four films first.

Television shows

Invincible: Season Two

To save myself some time and effort, I’ll direct you to a previous blog, so you can understand my feelings about Invincible. I’ve seen Season One, and I loved it. I’m curious to see how they handle Angstrom Levy, and how far will they take the story? Will we see Nolan on Thraxa, or at least Oliver?

The first season was released in March 2021, so just like everybody else, I’ve been waiting very patiently for the second season. It should be awesome, especially since fellow Kiwi, Cliff Curtis is involved.

Special Mention

Everything Star Trek

I’m currently riding a Star Trek wave, and I don’t really want to get off it. Announcements and information about Star Trek: Discovery-Season Five, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds-Season Two, and Star Trek: Lower Decks-Season Four were all very welcome. I’ve just finished Star Trek: Picard-Season Three, so I’m ready for some more.

Also, the news of some sort of crossover between the shows seems quite….fascinating.

A ton of other stuff was announced, but these were the main ones that I found interesting. This blog about San Diego Comic Con is smaller than last year, though I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m getting too old, or I’m watching my money more. Who knows?

Anyway, that’s it for today. What announcements from San Diego Comic-Con were you interested in? Please let me know. I’m off to watch the second episode of Good Omens 2, so don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some FIFA Women’s World Cup football, and I’ll see you next week.

Legend now and forever: John Romita Sr.

On June 26, 2023July 3, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, People

This week’s blog is sadly becoming a depressing trend on Some Geek Told Me; yet another titan of the comic book industry has fallen. On the 12th of June, John Romita Sr. passed away in his sleep at his home in New York, aged 93.

Far better writers have already crafted beautiful tributes about Romita Sr. and his art, so I feel strange addressing this topic, however, I’m going to talk about what John Romita Sr. meant to this awkward, comic-loving Kiwi geek.

I have explained this before, but I like comic books. I enjoy them for many different reasons, but one of them is that they helped me to learn how to read when I was young.

There was a tatty old cardboard box under my bed, that was filled with old comics, that I think were donated by various family members and people in the community. The true origin of the box is a mystery to me, to be honest, and I like it that way.

The stories were exciting and outrageous, but it was the art that drew you into the story. The characters had colourful costumes, the backgrounds were detailed, and the drama, oh the drama! I remember reading some shabby, coverless comics with Spider-Man and various other Marvel characters, and I was enthralled with them.

One day I observed that some of the amazing characters looked very similar, like they were drawn by the same person. I discovered later on, that the artist’s name was John Romita Sr. That name didn’t hold any gravity with me, because I didn’t know comic history; I just knew I liked his work.

Time moved on and I learnt more about comics, but also about the people creating them. To me, that Romita guy’s art seemed to be everywhere! I knew that wasn’t the case, it just seemed that way.

And of course, much like millions of other people over the planet, I slowly fell in love with John’s art. It was always so gorgeous. Eventually, I started to understand what a powerhouse John Romita Sr. was for comics.

Even as the somewhat adult that I am, I still get surprised. I’ll be looking at some comic art from whatever decade, and I’ll start to think, “Wait, did Romita Sr. draw this?” I’ll check, and yes, yes he did. My next thought would always be, “How much art did he draw? It’s everywhere! Did he not sleep?!”

The stupid thing is that I’m crying as I’m writing this. I’m grieving about the death of a man that I never met, but has been in my life nonetheless. He created and co-created Wolverine, Mary Jane Watson, Brother Voodoo, Nova, and Luke Cage; along with Bullseye, Hobgoblin, Kingpin, and the Punisher, and many other characters. Who would Daredevil be without Bullseye and the Kingpin? Or Peter without Mary Jane? I have no idea, but it wouldn’t be what we have now.

The only thing left to say about John Romita Sr., is thank you. Your passion and dedication to your art, helped me to love a medium that has possessed my heart and soul. I send condolences to your family, but also gratitude, because you made this big old crazy world, a little bit brighter.

And with that, I’ll leave you. What’s your favourite art drawn by John Romita Sr.? Please let me know.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I ramble on about whatever my social media consultant tells me to write about.

Don’t forget to walk your dog; watch a banned movie; go and buy a comic book, and I’ll see you next week.

The Flash: Movie Review

On June 19, 2023January 22, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Movies

Carrying on from last week, I’d still like to talk about The Flash. Why? Well, last week I created a non-amusing preview of The Flash movie, which can be found here.

On Wednesday 16th June, I managed to secure a ticket to view an advanced screening of the film. I brought the ticket online; which is something I rarely do. This was strange, because when I arrived at the cinema, I walked inside and brought some food I didn’t really need, then walked straight into the theatre. But get this…not one person stopped me, or asked to see my ticket.

I was sitting in my seat waiting for the trailers, when it occurred to me that I had basically just walked in off the street and sat down in a theatre, without ANYBODY asking about my ticket. My town only has one cinema, so it can be quite lax. It’s truly strange.

The Flash movie poster outside my local cinema

Anyway, you haven’t come here to learn about my local cinema’s protocols; you’re here for the review. Unless you’re lost, and I’m terribly sorry, but I have no idea how to help you.

Three things you need to know before you go on any further:

1.) Please be aware there will be spoilers concerning the movie, so proceed with extreme anxiety and caution.

2.) The aim of my reviews are not to rip apart the subject or trash it. If I liked the subject enough to watch or read it, then I’ll give my honest (possibly biased) opinion.

3.) I’m not a professional critic, so I’m not going to dive into deeper concepts and themes, or the art of filmmaking. I’m just a geek; always have been, and always will be. Hopefully.

Sweet? Ok maybe the best place to start, is by stating whether I liked the film or not, which I did. I really did. Also, I’ll be referring to Barry Allen as two different people; Barry-1 (Barry Allen from 2023) and Barry-2 (Barry Allen from 2013).

Let’s discuss some of the things I liked. The first thing was actually something that had appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. In this film, Barry-1 saves Iris West from a car accident. From this interaction, the viewer could possibly think that Barry-1 and Iris are complete strangers. It’s a cool scene, but it has Barry-1 creepily touching Iris’ hair.

Fast forward¹ to The Flash, you learn that Barry and Iris actually know each other from university, and Iris says that she thought she saw Barry-1 a few years ago; obviously referencing the car accident. For the sake of continuity, I thought that was a subtle, but clever move.

I know I’m about to go off-topic here, but please stay with me. Like any superhero or supervillain, The Flash has a few weaknesses. One of them is food; or more precisely, his metabolism. Since he runs at ridiculous speeds, his body burns through thousands of calories, because his body is working harder and faster.

To compensate for this, Barry-1, or any Flash, has an extremely fast metabolism. This requires him to eat a huge amount of food, to get the calories he needs to feed his metabolism. Superman needs sunlight, Aquaman needs water, and The Flash needs food.

Because of this, it made me smile watching Barry-1 and Barry-2, trying to eat as much as they could, whenever they could throughout the movie. The vendor machine scene was so on point, it made me laugh. Actually, the whole “baby shower” scene was exactly what I would expect to see in a Flash movie.

And speaking of Barry-1 and Barry-2, I thought Ezra Miller did a phenomenal job at playing two different versions of Barry Allen. Yes, the special effects and editing played their own part to be sure, but Miller really sold the viewer the idea that there were two Barrys. Barry-1 and Barry-2 were similar, but they were still different. I loved how Barry-2’s laugh reinforced the concept that he was younger than Barry-1.

The interactions and dialogue between Barry-1 and Barry-2 were impressive, especially during their training sequences and in the Batman cave.

Barry-1’s costume and lightning were great; especially the scene with the Flash Ring. I only noticed the ring, when Barry-1 was having breakfast with his parents; if he was wearing it before that, I didn’t notice it. Though to be fair, my wife has mentioned that I’m not very observant, so I’m not surprised.

Time travel is part of The Flash’s mythos, along with phasing through objects. Seeing both Barry-1 and Barry-2 phase was unexpected but quite welcome. That also reminded me, I thought the film was really funny. Because Barry (any version) is a little awkward, it provided some hilarious material, that otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Moving onto Batman, we got maybe 15 minutes with Ben Affleck in three-four scenes, so he’s only in the first act. However, the big drawcard was, of course, Michael Keaton. My theory of him being Thomas Wayne was of course destroyed, after one scene.

The fight scene at the prison was impressive, but I was thinking, “This guy would be in his mid 60’s to early 70’s, could he really be doing this fighting without some type of super-armored suit?” Though in fairness, he is Batman. I think the trope of a retired warrior, coming back for one more fight has been done before, but never with a Batwing. It was nostalgic to have Keaton back as Batman, whether for good or for ill.

As for Sasha Calle’s Kara Zor-El, I feel just like everybody else in saying that we needed more screen time for her. I really hope that’s not the last we see of her.

There’s other stuff that I liked as well, like the soundtrack, casting, and practical effects, among others. However, I do need to discuss the things that I didn’t like.

I was approaching this movie with the idea that linear time travel was the standard model for time travel in the movie; but not only did Barry-1 travel back in time and alter the past, which of course changed the future; but Barry-1 was also in another universe, because of multiverse mischief. To me, it sort of made Barry-1’s action worse, because he was screwing up other universes as well.

I thought the CGI was great throughout the film, but there were three scenes where the CGI looked odd. I realise the baby shower scene and Kara Zor-El’s first fight were mainly viewed in slow motion, to really emphasise how speedsters view and experience the world. I get that and understand it, but the babies looked quite strange, and the Russian guards looked even stranger, as Kara was kicking their collective arses.

The other scene was within the Speed Force, where Barry-1 and Barry-2 could run to and insert themselves into the timeline. The concept was cool, but I feel that it looked weird, with CGI characters moving and changing.

This of course brings us to the cameos. I know the backlash Rogue One: A Star Wars Story received for bringing back 1977’s Carrie Fisher, but also that Fisher died the same month the movie was released. Having said that, the amount of people discussing the wisdom about Christopher Reeve’s resurrection is important. Do film companies have the legal right to resurrect a deceased actor’s appearance? Do they have to consult with the actor’s family? I have no idea.

I have to admit, it was amazing to see Reeve and Supergirl (Helen Slater) standing next to each other, which was something that never happened in the films.

Also the Jay Garrick (the original Flash) cameo was interesting, which was Teddy Sears, from The Flash tv series. The problem is when Sears was playing Jay Garrick, he was doing it in disguise, because his real identity was Hunter Zolomon, a supervillain speedster.

Tangled up with all of the cameos, there was the multiverse collapsing, which birthed a new timeline (I think). This has resulted in the DCEU ending, and paving the way for the DCU.

I have a lot of questions because of this:

Where does Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom fit into the ongoing story?
Is the world Barry-1 returned to the new rebooted world, or some sort of bubble universe?
Is Supergirl dead in all realities?
Is George Clooney the new (old) Batman?
Will Ezra Miller stay on as the Flash, or will he recast?
Do Heatwave, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and the Reverse Flash exist?

To be honest, I could bring a lot of shame to myself by continuing to list questions, so I’ll stop.

All and all, I liked The Flash. It’s not perfect, but I was happy with what I saw; even if it’s $17.00 a ticket. Thanks, inflation and GST², you suck.

I’ve said this before, but if you want to read a new book, listen to new music, or possibly watch a new tv show or movie, just do it. That way, you can make your own mind up about it, then you’ll know.

I enjoy writing reviews, but I’m terrible at them. Sorry!

Have you seen The Flash? Please let me know what you thought of it.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; avoid destroying the space-time continuum, and I’ll see you next week.

¹That’s a very deliberate pun.

²One day I’ll write about GST, if I’m feeling angry enough.

The Flash: Movie Preview

On June 12, 2023June 20, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Movies1 Comment

I want to talk about the Flash. Why? I’ve reviewed a few things on this dysfunctional blog before; though not as many as I should. I’m looking at you Star Trek! However, as any attentive geek knows, The Flash opens this week in cinemas, and I’m planning on watching it.

I decided to talk to the different staff that work here at Some Geek Told Me, about possibly writing a movie preview. Upon having a meeting with the scriptwriter, editor, social media consultant, freelance fashion writer¹, marketing director, finance officer², and chief good ideas officer³; a vote was taken, with the winning result being 1-0. Hence this is my first preview.

**Captain Cold and The Flash in another classic fight.**

So why preview The Flash? This could be a shock to some of you, so please make sure you’re sitting down, but…I’m a geek. And just like I Fight Dragons said, the Geeks will inherit the Earth. Maybe.

I’ve always liked The Flash, the fastest man alive! I mean, he’s not called The Slow, is he? Whether it’s Jay, Barry, Wally, Bart, and many others, the Flash is so iconic. The costume, the lightning, the speed. I know the physics behind the Speed Force and the Flash’s abilities are bonkers, but he’s such a cool character.

Also how good are Flash Facts?!

Do you remember the movie, Daddy Day Care, with the kid that wore a Flash costume? One of the best scenes of the movie was the discussion of The Flash’s rogues gallery.⁴ It’s still funny as hell to me.

I’m going to stop gushing about the Scarlet Speedster, so I won’t even mention the amazing Flash hoodie that I have. Anyway, all of this blubbering brings us to the hot topic of today’s blog: The Flash movie.

Before I begin, there are two things I wouldn’t be discussing: 1.) Grant Gustin’s Flash or 2.) Ezra Miller’s shenanigans off the screen. These things are for other people to debate about, and I don’t get paid enough to discuss them.

So how do you write a preview?

Ironically, I’ve decided the best way is to propose a question and create an answer.

Am I looking forward to watching The Flash?

Well yes, obviously. I’ve purchased my ticket for an advanced screening on Wednesday 15th June at 6pm. Right in the centre at the back row, with all of the other extremely cool people.

What is the movie about?

Easy, the Flash. Next question. Seriously though, to the best of my understanding, the movie is based on the now-famous 2011 mini-series Flashpoint, by Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, and others. This has Barry Allen travelling back through time to save his mother, but by doing this…I’ll let the Reverse Flash explain it better.

” You were like a bullet through a windshield. You shattered history. The lives of the people closest to you were put on a broken path. You changed time like an amateur! This is your fault, Barry. This hell is your creation. You traded the life of your mother for the rest of the world!”

Of course, they’re making some changes, namely swapping the role of Subject One, which was Kal-El, to Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle).

What can we expect?

To be honest, I really don’t know; though we are allowed to speculate. How much time will Ben Affleck, either as Bruce Wayne or Batman, have on the screen? 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 50 minutes?

It’s the same for Michael Keaton’s Batman because they are billing him as one of the main characters. How much screen time will he have? This also begs the question, will Keaton be playing someone safe like Bruce Wayne, or will we have a twist with him playing Thomas Wayne instead, like in Flashpoint? I personally think it would be great if he’s Thomas Wayne.

I also know Miller is playing two versions of Barry Allen; one with super speed and one without. But just like in the comics, Barry doesn’t have his super speed in the new timeline, so he needs to get some, in the most painful way possible. Maybe the second Barry will gain super speed that same way, because in the various trailers, both versions of Barry have super speed.

With the cameos (if any), will Grant Gustin, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, or Diana Gadot, make an appearance? I have no idea, that information is above my paygrade. In saying that, I read that Nicholas Cage is appearing as Superman from the Multiverse, though that could be a red herring or a red speedster?!

Of the antagonists, Barry is the chief villain, because going back in time to save his mother, is an act of an unselfish man, making a selfish choice, that has brutal consequences for everybody. Obviously, Barry tries to correct this mistake, but I think he runs into two very fast problems: Michael Shannon and Antje Traue have returned from Man of Steel, in the forms of General Zod and Faora-Ul, respectably.

There’s also the theory the geek community is presenting, which is that the second Barry Allen; the one that potentially gains super speed in the movie, will become some sort of Dark Flash. Possibly developing into the Reverse Flash?⁵

Do I have have concerns?

Of course, I do; I have concerns with every comic book movie.

Will the plot make sense?
Will they be trying to pack too much content into the 144 minute runtime?
Will Barry be rebooting the DCEU, the same way he rebooted the DC timeline in Flashpoint?
Will they try to make Supergirl the new Superman, or let her have her own identity?
What if there are some continuity errors?
Will Supergirl’s introduction be rushed?
Do we believe the hype about the film, or is it over blown?
Will the dialogue be witty or corny, or both?
How will the CGI hold up?
How large of a role will Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) and Barry’s parents play?
Will we get a Flash Fact?

Ultimately I don’t know what the movie will be like. I’ve tried harder than a dog bin-diving for food, to avoid reading reviews about the movie. However, as I said before, I’m going to an advanced screening on Wednesday. My plan is to write a review of it, but I’m not sure what to do about, you know…spoilers!

I forgot to mention, did you like the photo? The Flash and Captain Cold belong to UMC2, and he was not impressed that the Flash spent some time in the freezer.

Anyway, I’ll be back next week for The Flash review. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog; read a banned book; stay away from hyper-intelligent telepathic gorillas, and I’ll see you next week, because I’ll be back in a flash.

¹Just between us, that guy is useless.

²He’s worse than the freelance fashion writer.

³Forget the other two, it’s a miracle this guy still has a job.

⁴Apart from Spider-Man and Batman, I think The Flash has the best rogues gallery.

⁵On a side note, the Reverse Flash has one of the best names in all of comicdom.

Happy Free Comic Book Day 2023!

On May 6, 2023May 8, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics1 Comment

Welcome to the second special geek blog for the week! It’s Free Comic Book Day aka FCBD!

Some major things are happening today. Thousands of retailers around the world will open their doors and celebrate comics’ biggest day of the year. They will be giving away free comics across three age ratings: All ages (green logo), Teen (blue logo), and Mature (red logo), which can be identified on the covers.

These comics cover nearly every possible genre you can think of, so there’s something for everybody. I’ll like to point out, that even though the FCBD comics are purposely created for the day, and are given away for free to the public; actually cost the retailer, something like 25 cents per issue. It actually costs them a lot of money to host the event.

A cool thing about FCBD is cosplaying. Many stores have cosplay competitions to celebrate the day, but others just encourage people to dress up, because they want to. I live 200 km from a comic book store, so I won’t be cosplaying; but if I did, I would cosplay as a tired father, wearing a t-shirt featuring science jokes, and carrying a wallet where my money used to be.

Another place that could be celebrating FCBD, could be your local library. A lot of them will be promoting the graphic novels in their collection, as well as holding cosplay events.

Image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay

If you’re thinking of attending FCBD, so please do it and support your local comic book store. I’ve said this before, but they are the life blood of the industry, so while you’re receiving free comic books, maybe you could have a thorough look around the store. You could find something you didn’t know you needed!

How are you celebrating FCBD? Please let me know. Ok, that’s it for me. Enjoy FCBD and I’ll see you on Monday.

SOME GEEK TOLD ME

Category: Comics