Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Doctor Strange: The Art of the Movie - Book Review

 

'When a terrible accident befalls extraordinary surgeon Dr. Stephen Strange, he’ll do anything to regain mobility in his crippled hands. His journey will take him to unbelievable realms and bring him face-to-face with petrifying dangers. Explore the fantastic worlds of Doctor Strange with exclusive concept artwork and in-depth analysis from the filmmakers. Go behind the scenes in this deluxe keepsake volume as Marvel once again brings its strange history to the silver screen!

'Here is everything you need to know about the making of the movie from all the key players—including director Scott Derrickson, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, along with the talented cast, special-effects gurus, concept illustrators, visual-effects designers, and storyboard artists who worked on the set and behind the scenes to create the art of Doctor Strange.'

There were a few big gambles that Marvel Studios made whilst creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe, introducing alien beings worshipped as gods in Thor, creating a fully sci-fi action adventure with no connection to the other heroes in Guardians of the Galaxy, and introducing the concept of magic in Doctor Strange. Most of the MCU is dealing in grounded ideas, even the most outlandish up to that point (they made gods into aliens to make Thor more realistic), as such Doctor Strange was a bold leap when it said 'no, actual magic and the supernatural do exist too'.

The comics that the film was to be based upon were some of the strangest (no pun intended) that Marvel had made, and some of the stories from the 60's and 70's are so psychedelic and different to the rest of the publishers output that you kind of question if perhaps the people working on it were exploring the ideas of the mystic and the transcendental with a little 'extra help'. So how would a universe that had tried to make things feel real, to ground its heroes, square this circle. Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Doctor Strange gives us a great look at how they were able to do this, and just how much they embraced the source material's weirdness.

Much like with the previous entries in this collection, this latest volume takes things chronologically, and we work through the film as our hero travels through this new world. The opening sections deal with Stephen Strange's life before magic, of his accident, and how it sets him on a new path. It's decent enough, though doesn't give us anything super interesting. I tend to find the parts of these books that deal with the grounded, real life elements are the slowest; luckily, in this volume that's only the first few pages, as we're soon going through the creation of Kamar-Taj and it's students,

This is where the book really comes to life, and it's great to see how the creative team tried to marry the fantasy elements with the history of Nepal, and Kathmandu, where the filming took place. It seems that trying to find this balance of cultural accurate and the fantastical was a key concern for the team, who wanted to create something that paid respects to the inspiration behind the character without being insulting or cartoonish. And it does feel like the final result does this quite well, and you can see in the designs presented here that there were concepts that were a little too fantastical that just didn't quite work, despite looking great.

One of the characters who gets the most focus in this section if The Ancient One, a character that was on the receiving end of a little controversy at the time due to the casting of a white actor in the role. A few of the designs in the book seem like they may have made this situation a little worse, leaning into a more cliché marital arts master style look for Tilda Swinton's character. There are a number of designs that sway much further into the fantasy realm too, with one having her being an almost ethereal, angelic being in all white and her face hidden behind a veil, whilst another has her floating crossed legged in the air as she meditates. 

The book also spends some decent time going into the background elements, such as props that might only appear on screen briefly, but go a long way into fleshing out the world of magic. There are pages of designs for various versions of the sling rings, Strange's cloak, ancient texts, the Wand of Watoomb, or the Lamp of Icthalon. These designs feature a host of different styles that showcase some of the more unusual elements of the movie that are seen so briefly on the big screen that it'd be easy to miss a lot of the details. Some of the weapons and magic artefacts have such cool designs that after getting to see them in so much detail here it reinforces just how much effort goes into things that you might not even notice when watching the film. 

Most of the book is filled with full page images and double page spreads of various illustrations for spells and magic, as the design team tried different ideas out, refining and perfecting the look of magic for the MCU. Some of these pages are so unusual that you'd be hard pressed to imagine how it would work in a moving medium, but it gives a little indication of just how much refinement went into the finished product. 

As with previous books there's also a number of story boards included, showing how certain scenes are planned out ahead of filming, with even the smallest details needing careful consideration to create some of these hugely intricate and effects heavy sequences. There's also a small section at the back of the book that deals with post production marketing and the creation of some of the MCU's most attention grabbing movie posters. 

There are things that I really loved about this book, such as seeing the various costume designs, the various magic artefacts, and some designs that didn't make it into the film but would have looked amazing if they did. Compared to some other entries in the series that sometimes feel like they're padding the page count with details like 'how we designed the Avengers kitchen' or 'this is Tony Stark's bathroom' this volume really focuses on the interesting stuff, and so there are very few pages that aren't giving the reader something unique and interesting.

For those who are collecting this series this might be one of the more interesting and eye catching in the collection, and for those who haven't picked one of these books up before but are tempted by this one I think that there's certainly enough here to grab your attention and make you interested in reading more.

Marvel Studio's The Infinity Saga - Doctor Strange: The Art of the Movie is out now from Titan Books.

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Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus by James Lovegrove - Book Review

 

'Marvel’s First Family faces a desperate battle for survival against a planet-devouring god. Inspired by the seminal origin stories of the Fantastic Four, Galactus and the Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

'The sky is on fire. Across the globe, the people are convinced that the end is nigh. They’re right. Galactus is coming. His herald, the Silver Surfer, has come to Earth and judged it perfect for his master’s needs. And his master is hungry. The odds are impossible, the outcome is certain—nothing can stop the devourer of worlds. When all seems lost, Earth looks to the Fantastic Four. They’ll find a way to stop Galactus and save the world. They have to.'

Just in time for the new film Fantastic Four: First Steps, Titan Books are giving prose readers a chance to discover where some of the key elements of the new movie originated in a new novelisation of the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee comic story The Coming of Galactus, which introduced the Silver Surfer and Galactus to the world. Originally published over three issues, #48 - #50, in 1966, this arc would forever cement the Fantastic Four as one of the premier Marvel Comics properties, and would expand the scope of the Marvel universe beyond the confines of New York City, and Earth, in ways fans had never seen before.

The new novelisation doesn't stray from the source material a great deal, and keeps the original story in place. The book introduces us to Galactus in a way that the original didn't, however, by giving us his origin as a survivor of the previous existence of the universe more than 13.6 billion years ago. These were details that wouldn't come until after his introductory story in the comics, but whilst he was served well by having some mystique in that first appearance here his origin makes him something all the more frightening. Galactus has always been presented as something of a cosmic horror, a being who destroys planets and commits genocide just to feed, and despite his somewhat unusual appearance he's just as monstrous and a creature like the Old Gods from Cthulhian mythology. By showing his age, by giving us the details of who and what he used to be it shows the breadth and span of his existence and makes him feel even more unknowable.

James Lovegrove is fantastic at these kind of beats, of getting us to see these characters we know well in whole new ways. He's able to take the humanising backstory of Galactus and twist it into something that feels frightening, he makes you feel pathos for the Silver Surfer, he gets you to see the humanity in the Thing. Lovegrove, thanks in part to the ability of prose to delve deeper into the characters than comics traditionally allow, is able to connect you with these people more than you're used to. Not only does this make them feel like more realised and well rounded characters, but it also gives a very old, very familiar story a whole new lease on life. 

That's perhaps one of the reasons why certain stories benefit from this kind of adaptation. Some of Titan's previous novelisations have been of more modern comics, such as Original Sin, and these have been fine, but it doesn't feel like as much is gained as it is here. I think that this is going to be largely due to two things, the age of the comic it's adapting, and Stan Lee; both of these kind of tie together too. 

Comics were pretty surface level during this period, and whilst there were times that some books tried giving us more character development and depth than we would usually get they were often very 'adventure of the week' style tales, ones that didn't involve much growth or change for the leads, who were stuck as being archetypes. There were also issues in the writing that simply came from the 60's being a pretty shitty time for a lot of people (anyone who wasn't a white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied man really), and so you'd have a character like Sue Storm, one of the most powerful women in comics, being made into a damsel, or an airhead, or being treated like 'the little lady' by her husband's casual sexism that was just baked into the culture. Stan Lee, whilst partially responsible for creating some iconic characters (though not as fully as Stan always tried to make out), wasn't the best at giving readers much more than this, and it resulted in some material that hasn't aged well.

By updating this story in prose form Lovegrove has been able to go in an fix many of these issues, giving the book a more modern sensibility and more balanced handling. The book is given an update that modernises it without taking away from the charm and flavour of the era it was made in. Whilst I've not seen the new film yet, the book has the same vibe that the trailers for it has, of being a modernised version of a retro 60's sci-fi tale, a love letter to the era and the characters that long time fans are going to love. 

Whether you're familiar with the original story or have never picked up a comic before, Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus is a perfect way to experience this original story and a great way to prepare for the new film. I think a lot of people are going to be either checking out the Fantastic Four for the first time, or reappraising their views on the team, this summer, and this book is a great addition to that journey.

Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus is out now from Titan Books.

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Death Sentence: The Complete Collection by Motynero - Graphic Novel Review

 

'SEX, SUPERPOWERS AND SIX MONTHS TO LIVE!

'Verity: frustrated artist. Weasel: struggling guitarist. Monty: rogue media icon. Three people infected with the G+ virus, which grants them incredible powers – but will kill them in six months! Will they fade away – or go out in a blaze of glory? From the streets of London to the North Atlantic, from muses lost to futures thrown away – Death Sentence is the jaw-dropping next step in superpowered storytelling! Funny, fearless and frightening, this collection of the hit series is an unforgettable comics debut.

'More than any other series Death Sentence predicted the world we now live in, one of the reasons it was named Dreamcage Comic of the Decade (beating Umbrella Academy into second place). Work is underway to turn the comic into a major TV series, but nothing beats the magic of reading the original comics first.

'The adrenaline-fueled graphic novel is created by Monty Nero (writer and artist), and co-illustrators Martin Simmonds and Mike Dowling. Monty Nero – renowned for his sharp, socially-charged storytelling in works for Marvel, DC, and 2000 AD – spins this daring tale of superpowers entwined with mortality and satire. The visuals are a visceral feast: Mike Dowling’s gritty, no-holds-barred art, as seen in Unfollow and Judge Dredd, kicks off the series with a raw intensity. Martin Simmonds - celebrated for his haunting, surreal artwork The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV – elevates the narrative with cinematic flair and hallucinatory detail. This incredible collection sees all three graphic novels brought together for the first time in marvellous mayhem!'

Comics are often thought of as a fairly singular medium, with most people picturing super hero characters when they hear the phrase 'comics'; and whilst the super hero genre has certainly dominated the medium and given it much of its success and staying power, there's a lot more genres that comics explore that people are going to miss out on. I myself am very much a fan of super hero comics and have read thousands of them, and as such I sometimes fall into the trap of forgetting other genres and creators that aren't given the same limelight as the big two publishers and their properties. This is what happened for Death Sentence for me, where I simply missed it when the comics were first published. Thankfully, Titan Comics have collected together all eighteen issues of the series into one new hardcover volume that gives myself, and everyone else, the chance to discover this wonderfully fun and layered series.

The concept for Death Sentence is one that immediately grabs your attention, a world where a sexually transmitted virus, the G+ Virus, grants those who contract it super powers, but with the drawback that they then only have six months to live. Most people have likely considered what it would be like to get some kind of super power and what they'd do with it, whether than be flight, invisibility, shapeshifting, whatever comes to mind. It raises questions about what kind of nature it would bring out in people, whether they'd strive to do good and to help others, or if it would encourage some to give in to their worse desires. Having the caveat of knowing you'll be dead in less than a year certainly adds a wrinkle to those questions, because if you had so little time left why not just do whatever you want?

This is one of the main themes of Death Sentence, and the book doesn't shy away from shining a light on how terrible situations can lead people to do terrible things, can encourage them to put their own wants and desires first to either go out in a blaze of glory, or leave some grand mark on history. But the book isn't devoid of hope, as we meet several characters who ultimately strive to help others, even risking their own precious finite time to do so. 

Death Sentence follows three main protagonists across its introductory arc, Verity is an artist who gave up on creating for herself and entered something of a rut in life, Weasel is a troubled musician whose career has been faltering since going solo, and Monty is a comedian who's made a career out of being offensive and insulting. The three of them have all recently learned that they've contracted the G+ Virus, and each of them is trying to figure out what their next step is. Weasel is trying to find inspiration and make an album that will have him remembered, Verity is falling apart, and Monty has decided that he will take whatever he wants.

As the three of them begin to develop special, and potentially dangerous powers, some of them will find themselves being taken in by a shady arm of the government, where they'll be taught to better harness their abilities whilst the virus is studied. However, Monty, who develops the ability to control and influence others, wants nothing but power, and sets out on a mission that will leave the city of London in flames, and a million people dead. With their home and loved ones threatened, Verity and Weasel will have to decide if they want to use their abilities for good.

Death Sentence is a story that grabs you pretty quickly, introducing you to its lead characters and showing how their lives change with the virus very early on. The book opens with Verity learning about her condition and the first issue follows her coming to terms with this; a fairly normal young woman whose entire life is coming to an end very quickly. Her internal struggle is a stark contrast to the male leads, both of whom almost seem to see their condition as an opportunity. Neither of them are really shamed for having the virus, neither of them lose their careers, neither of them stop having sex with adoring fans. I don't know if it was intentional on his part or not, but Montynero seems to have made a pretty important commentary on how society treats women's sexuality compared to men's.

Despite sex being an integral part of the story the book at least doesn't treat sex as something salacious, or something to be condemned. It would be easy to pain sex as a morally bad act in a story where it can result in people dying, and it could push the idea that the people who contract the virus are terrible people. There is some of this, as the book does focus on archetypes that aren't the best kinds of people, such as the drugged up rockstar, or the high profile comedian who forces themself on others, but there are also characters who are infected with the virus who are decent people. We get this more in the second and third arc of the book, particularly with the introduction of the character Roots, who has the ability to control plants. The sex in the series is both casual, and at times treated as shock factor, and it's hard to know exactly how you're supposed to come away from the book feeling about it, but the lack of negative moralising is at least decent.

The books treatment of super powers is also pretty interesting, and whilst each of the infected seem to have some fairly similar traits, such as enhanced endurance, creativity, and strength, each of them also has their own unique powers. For example, Verity is able to manipulate the light spectrum, a power set that she's able to use to vanish from sight, to create illusions, and change the way she looks. Whilst none of the powers shown in the book are new the create team deploys them in ways that feels new and interesting, putting fresh spins on things we've seen before.

One of the areas in which the book really shines is the art. Mike Dowling provides the art on issues 1 to 6, with Martin Simmonds doing the art for issues 7 to 15, and writer Montynero finishing out the books art on issues 16 to 18. Each of them have their own unique and distinct style, each of which feels like it thematically fits the story being told and the evolution of the narrative. Dowling's art is fairly traditional, and is a nice way to be introduced to this world. His art style has a grunginess to it that really shines when depicting the chaos in London, or the out of control Weasel. It can show off the normality of the world, yet also works well when things start to go wrong, depicting the chaos and destruction.

Simmonds, on the other hand has a more painted feel to it, with less hard lines, and design choices that feel more beautiful even in the most terrible moments. It works well during these sections of the book as it's the part of the story where we start to find hope again, where we meet more decent characters who want to do good things, where community begins to come together, and corruption is fought against. Simmonds does a fantastic job at lighting in his art, and there are moments where you can almost feel the brightness of the sunrise being depicted on the page in a way that the previous style couldn't have created. The final few pages of Simmonds art showcase this wonderfully, as we get one scene filled with beauty, nature, and a hope for a better tomorrow, whilst also getting a moment of horror that shows the duality in tone the story has. 

Montynero's art is perhaps the most transitional of the three, and fits into the super hero style the most, which is fitting as these chapters feature a literal super hero team at one point. It's the part of the story that feels the most like a big two comic, with bold costumes, overt super heroics, and a conclusion that feels like it's waiting for the next chapter. Compared to the other parts of the book it perhaps feels the most visually jarring, but when taken into consideration with the tone that it feels the book is aiming for in these final few issues it does fit.

As alluded to in the pervious paragraph, Death Sentence does end feeling like there's more to come, and when marketed as The Complete Collection that does feel a little disappointing. This isn't a criticism against Titan for putting that on the cover, after all, in comics you do sometimes get those open endings where it feels like you're going to be waiting for something else that's not coming. Perhaps that's the case here, maybe Montynero has no plans to revisit this world, but maybe if sales of this collection are high enough and there's demand we might get more. Either way, Death Sentence: The Complete Collection makes for a fantastic read.

Death Sentence is subversive, disgusting, dark, and occasionally hopeful. It feels like a very British take on the American super hero genre that isn't trying to deconstruct or satirise, but simply do its own thing. The book is filled with adult themes and political commentary that gives it more depth than most books about people with amazing powers, and I think that people will be pleasantly surprised by just how much substance there is here to a story where the main pitch is super powered STD's.

Death Sentence: The Complete Collection is out now from Titan Comics. 

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Minky Woodcock: The Girl Called Cthulhu by Cynthia Von Buhler - Graphic Novel Review

 

'Inspired by a true WWII maritime operation, shocking satanic events, monstrous men, and one salacious sea creature, this volume tells the tale of Minky’s encounter with legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, creator of the dreaded Cthulhu.

'Following the death of Harry Houdini, Minky is approached by the occultist and writer Aleister Crowley to help vindicate him from an accusation of murder. This throws Minky into an occult underworld and leads to a much bigger investigation involving a missing man and Britain's secret service. Meanwhile, Lovecraftian horrors plague her dreams, and it’s up to Minky to discover the connections between the two writers and the mysterious death of her mother. Based on an actual WWII maritime operation inspired by a detective novel, Minky discovers how writers, including Ian Fleming, helped end WWII.'

Despite this being the third volume in the Minky Woodcock series, this was my first experience with the comic book heroine, and as such I was a little unsure what to expect going into things. I hadn't read any of Cynthia Von Buhler's work before, so I didn't know how grounded in realism things would be, especially with Cthulhu in the title. Would this be a book that takes a very serious approach to things, or would this be full on fantasy and horror? Well, it's kind of neither, as whilst the book certainly presents itself as a larger than life version of real world events there's a definite element of the fantastical involved as our heroine makes her way through a story that is too odd to be true.

Minky Woodcock is a private investigator who works alongside her father, though he himself seems to have removed himself from this particular narrative, only appearing for a page or two of the entire book. We first meet Minky as she's involved with Harry Houdini, who she appears to be engaged in an affair with. It's through Houdini that she meets H.P. Lovecraft, the creator of the Cthulhu mythos, writing that Minky loves thanks to her recurring nightmares about water and drowning. After a brief introduction we jump forwards in time several months, where Minky is hired to investigate a case by the world renowned Alistair Crowley.

The infamous occultist has been accused of murdering a man, and believes that the widow is the real killer. This sets Minky on a course that plays out over the next fifteen years of her life, a journey that will see her meet up with Crowley several more times, almost as if by chance, that seems to be drawing her towards a fateful confrontation with him. Along the way she will also reconnect with Lovecraft, meet Ian Fleming, and become involved in a classified war operation that almost gets her killed. It seems that no case is every simple for Minky.

The first thing that immediately jumped out at me about this book is the artwork, and it's what initially drew me to pick it up in the first place. Artwork is vitally important to comics, not just in depicting the story, but in informing the entire tone of a book. I've read a few comics where the art just doesn't mesh with the story at all, and it leads to a book that feels underserved, or even outright ruined on occasion. Von Buhler seems to have a very specific tone that she wants, and her artwork evokes feelings of old pulp classics, tarot cards, and American Traditional tattoo art with bold linework, bright colours, and a paper grain effect that give the book a perfect period feeling.

The artwork is bold, and immediately draws you in, from the very first page where we fink Minky naked inside one of Houdini's water cabinets, water swirling around her like a cloak of darkness as Houdini himself is lowered down to her upside down to share a kiss with her. It's impossible to look at that first page and not want to know more about this book. And there are a number of moments like this throughout, visual treats that give you pause from reading to just sit and take in the artwork, marvelling at the visual treat that Von Buhler has created.

The book's story is just as bold as the artwork, taking Minky on a journey that will see her travelling the globe and the years as we follow her from the 1920's, through to 1943, and from the US to Britain and Europe during the height of the war. There's also a subtlety to things, as the story slowly reveals more layers and more mystery as things go on. There were a few times I had to go back and reread a scene or two just to make sure that I was still following things, though I think some of that was down to my tiredness at the time and brain fog settling in. But, the mystery that Von Buhler crafts here is definitely one that feels twisting, unique, and skirts just up to the line of being too ridiculous without ever feeling like it goes too far. 

With this being my first outing with Minky I wasn't sure what to expect, and the book definitely threw me more than once, where each time I thought I'd gotten a handle on who our hero was and what was happening took a shift as another layer of the mystery took over. It made for an entertaining read, and has encouraged me to seek out the previous two volumes. If this is the kind of thing that has come before I expect existing fans of the franchise are going to really enjoy this volume; but if it's not I can certainly say that whether you like what happens here or not you definitely won't be bored by it, as it's too fun for that.

Minky Woodcock: The Girl Called Cthulhu is out now from Titan Comics. 

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Cosmic Censorship Vol 1 by Ryu-ichi Sadamatsu - Manga Review

 

'Manga virtuoso Ryuuichi Sadamatsu thrusts readers into a world engulfed by war, as we instantly witness Maki Makino’s life being turned upside down. The student was previously competing in track and field events, but after her life was saved by a mysterious man, everything changed. She must get to grips with the new powers that have been bestowed upon her before an ominous and formidable threat arrives.'

Cosmic Censorship thrusts readers into a bizarre world of alien invaders, time travel, mecha weapons, and super powers that all centre around a teenage schoolgirl named Maki Makino, who finds her entire existence upended when these various forces converge on her normal life.

Set in a world where huge debris falling from the sky is a normal, almost mundane occurrence, we meet Maki, a seventeen-year-old former track runner whose life was changed when she was caught up in a meteor hit three years before. Having been caught in a collapsing building with a wound in her leg, Maki thought that she might die, until a mysterious man treated her wound and showed her a way to get out; a man who told her that he was an alien. Now, years later, Maki has worked hard to rehabilitate her leg injury, and is pushing to keep running.

Whilst out running one day Maki encounters an older guy who she feels strangely drawn to, a man who saves her during another meteor fall. However, during the rescue Maki loses a precious talisman, having accidentally picked up another one in the confusion, one that contains a strange item. Heading back to the park where the event happened that night to try and find her own talisman, Maki is shocked to discover a dead body, and the man she met before lurking in the area with a sword and a gun. Fleeing for her life, Maki believes that the man might be trying to kill her, but little does she know that the man is not only there to protect her, but that much more twisted and strange forces have decided that they want her dead.

Science fiction manga can sometimes go a little bit too weird for me, perhaps it's a taste thing, or maybe its some kind of cultural difference where Japanese sci-fi writers have much more complex ideas than my mind can keep track of, but Cosmic Censorship definitely falls into this camp. There are a lot of moving parts in this first volume, and relatively few explanations to go along with them. Maki learns that the falling meteors are an alien invasion, and that people like the man who saved her, who uses the name Roger Penrose, have travelled back in time from a dark future to try and create a better one.

This alone isn't too complex, and it has some shades of The Terminator to it as Roger makes protecting Maki his mission, preventing her predestined death to try and nudge the timeline in a better direction. He does this by fighting giant monsters with weapons and enhanced abilities that make him kind of like a super-hero type character. When things get too much for him he's able to summon a huge mech to take down his enemies too. All of this happening without the public knowing about it too. Again, not too bad, not too complex. However, when other time travellers, called Cosmic Censors, start trying to kill Maki to create another different future, and Maki begins to develop super powers of her own things start getting a bit complex.

I think part of the problem is that this first volume is doing a lot of set-up, and it's laying the groundwork for stories and ideas that will be explored in future volumes. So if you were to read Cosmic Censors as a whole it probably wouldn't be too bad, but as a contained volume I did feel a little confused, and even unsure as to what was happening at times. It's not enough to make me not want to read the next volume in the series, as I'd love to see if that starts to give more answers, but it was enough of an issue to take away some of the enjoyment I had.

The book has some great art to accompany the interesting story, and Sadamatsu gives a lot of personality to the characters, giving each of them distinct looks that show off their personalities well. The action scenes are where the book really shines though, and it's a shame that this first volume doesn't give them a little more room as the artwork in these moments is superb. Again, I'm expecting the future volumes will likely get grander in scale and action, and that's when we'll see some of Sadamatsu's best work. 

Cosmic Censorship is an interesting, if a little heavy, first volume that will absolutely appeal to people into big sci-fi concepts. The lack of breathing room at times and the multiple ideas thrown at the reader might put some folks off, but it feels like a series that if given more time will make a lot more sense and so I'm definitely going to try and check out the next volume.

Cosmic Censorship Volume One is out now from Titan Comics.

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Talk to Me - Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Review

 

The best horror films have something to say, they draw upon important themes and even traumas that have a connection to the creators, and Talk to Me is no exception to this as it explores teenage isolation, grief, connection, and how social media and technology has changed the way people respond in terrible situations.

Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, first time feature film directors who created a strong following online with their YouTube channel RackaRacka, Talk to Me is an independent Australia horror film that took the world by storm in 2023; and now it's available in a new Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray release from Second Sight Entertainment that's packed full of special features and additional content that makes it a must buy for any fan.

Talk to Me tells the story of Mia (Sophie Wilde), a 17-year-old teen who's still dealing with the complex grief and trauma of losing her mother to an apparent case of suicide two years prior. Distanced from her father, Mia has formed a strong connection with her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen), her mother Sue (Miranda Otto), and younger brother Riley (Joe Bird), having become almost a member of the family herself.

When the teens discover a viral video of teenagers using a strange ceramic hand to get high and 'channel spirits' their interest is piqued, especially when they notice that some of the kids in the videos are from their area. Reaching out to some friends they manage to get invited to a party where local teens Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) have arranged for the hand to be used. Apparently the embalmed hand of a psychic medium, those who take hold of it and speak the words 'talk to me' will be able to see a spirit, and by saying 'I let you in' the spirit will be able to possess them, resulting in a euphoric feeling once the experience is over. However, there are rules attached to the game, including that the possession cannot go on for more than 90 seconds.

Finding escape from her trauma in the experience, Mia becomes focused on the hand, and wants to experience it again. Arranging for a private party at Jade's house, a small group experiments with the hand, allowing various spirits to possess them. When Riley wants to have a go Jade refuses to let him, stating that it might be dangerous for him. However, when she leaves the room Riley appeals to Mia to let him try, who agrees. When Riley begins to channel the spirit of what seems to be her mother Mia pushes the game too far, allowing the possession to go on too long with disastrous and terrifying consequences. 

Talk to Me covers a lot of ideas, all of which are central to the story yet never dominate the narrative. For example, social media and technology play a large part, with the teens learning about the hand via viral videos, and the film makes a point of showing how when dangerous or terrible things happen people will use their phones to film it, almost as a way of detaching themselves from the moment in order to avoid the emotions they might be going through. Yet the film isn't a condemnation of technology or online culture, and you can choose to ignore these themes if you want to.

The film also touches upon addiction and drugs with the hand acting as the stand in. The way that the hand gives a rush of euphoria once it's been used, and the way people keep coming back to it is a very overt allegory, and the sudden shocking turn it takes with Riley is making clear parallels to when drug taking can go bad. But, but making these comparisons via the means of the supernatural it once again makes this less overt, and Talk to Me avoids the pitfall of becoming a film about drugs or addiction. It also doesn't take a strong moral stance on either side of the issue too, neither condemning drug use nor glorifying it, simply showing how it can be used as an escape from trauma and pain by some.

Perhaps most personal to the filmmakers though, as is talked about in both their audio commentary and hour long interview that's included on the disc, is the theme of connection. One of the brothers tells a story about being in a car accident, of being in hospital battered and bruised, and being unable to stop shaking. No matter what the doctors tried nothing could stop him shaking, until his sister took hold of his hand and it ended. In that moment of pain and trauma it was the human connection with someone that he loved that he needed. This is something we see throughout the movie with Mia. She's pulled away from her father, she's trying to form a connection with Jade and her family, but none of it is really helping with the pain of losing her mother so tragically; so it's when that connection with her is teased to her that she has to take it, no matter the risks because that's the one connection she's desperately needed for two years. It's an incredibly personal and tragic theme, one that I think most people will be able to connect with in some way.

It's not just the story and the messages that makes Talk to Me such a great film though, as the Philippou brothers manage to craft a film that looks absolutely fantastic. The film has a very grounded and realistic look to it that I can't help but think comes from the brothers experience with their YouTube channel RackaRacka, and making low budget features. The film has a grounded quality to it even with the fantastical visuals and visually creative choices the two of them that gives the film an eerie, dream-like feel at times. It doesn't have the glossy feel of a big budget American horror film, and the indie roots helps to make it stand out amongst the other horror films released at the time.

It's central cast also help with this, being formed largely of unknown actors. The young cast do a fantastic job, and it's shocking that the studio took a million dollars away from the Phillipou's budget on their insistence on casting Wilde in the lead role once you see just how nuanced and incredibly well delivered her performance is. The film has some shocking visual moments and some scares, but for the most part it relies on the main cast to convey everything and to draw the audience into the story, and each one of them steps up wonderfully. I love the way that Mia and Riley have this sibling love between them, it was great to see how Hayley is largely putting on a front and how they change when things go bad, and Miranda Otto delivers some heart breaking moments. 

Alongside the film the new release is perfect for those who were enamoured with the film and want to learn more. This was me the first time I saw the film, and I literally said to one of my partners that I'd love to listen to commentaries on the film, to see interviews with the creators, and to learn more about this world that was created so wonderfully; and this new release gave me exactly what I wanted. There are two audio commentaries on the disc, one with the directors who go into a lot of detail on the genesis of the film as well as the way it was made, and the other featuring writers and horror fans Emma Westwood and Sally Christie, who cover more of the cultural impact of the film from an outside perspective.

There are also extensive special features, including a sit down interview with the Philippou's that racks up close to an hour that goes into the film and how it was made in great detail that was incredibly entertaining and informative. There are also new interviews with the films producer Samantha Jennings, cinematographer Aaron McLisky, and previously released cast and crew interviews. There's also a short video essay on Talk to Me and it's themes by Kat Ellinger, deleted scenes, and some archival behind the scenes features.

I came to this release having already watched and enjoyed the film but wanting to know more about it, and everything that Second Sight has added to this release did that for me in huge amounts. I loved listening to the Philippou's talking about their filmmaking with such incredible passion, and it made me appreciate the film even more. Talk to Me feels like one of those sleeper hits, one that is only going to be more and more beloved as the years go by, and I'm sure that his new release is going to make many new fans. 

Talk to Me is out now on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Second Sight Entertainment. 

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Yan: Vol 1 by Cheng Sheng - Blog Tour

 

'Winner of the Golden Comics Awards and a standout of Taiwan’s rising comics scene, Yan Vol. 1 is a haunting, genre-bending journey from master storyteller Chang Sheng—creator of Oldman and The Hidden Level. In this stunning first volume, the echoes of Peking Opera performances 30 years past linger in the shadows of a story that begins in tradition and spirals toward a dark, speculative future. The tale unfolds across eras—starting with a tragedy in the richly detailed world of late 20th-century Taiwan, stepping into the present day, and glimmering with the foreboding rise of a dystopian tomorrow. 

'Declared dead in prison records, Yan Tieh-Hua mysteriously returns to Taipei, reigniting the investigation into a decades-old massacre—her own family’s. As she carves a bloody path toward vengeance, Detective Lei is drawn into a chilling spiral of cold cases, supernatural events, and impossible truths. Alongside Yan is Higa Mirai, a young Go prodigy with the uncanny gift of precognition, adding eerie weight to every move made. With sharp moral tension, brutal action, and a uniquely Taiwanese swagger, Yan is more than a mere quest for revenge—it’s a vision of justice that questions what lies beneath our choices, and what might come after humanity loses control.'

The very first thing that anyone is going to notice about Yan is that it's not your average manga book. I was surprised when I was sent my copy that the package it arrived in was so big, until I opened it and saw why. Yan is twice the size of a regular manga release, with physical dimensions more in line with western graphic novels. Picking up a manga that was this size felt almost jarring, it made the book feel like it was something a little bit special; which along with the brightly coloured yet elegantly presented cover, made the book feel different before I'd even opened it. Upon opening it, however, I became even more impressed, as the size of the book makes the artwork inside Yan hit different. This is not a small story, it has huge scope and big ideas, and the presentation makes the artwork inside feel bigger than life, and almost cinematic.

Yan opens with a bold introduction, one that's so surreal and disorienting that it can't help but to draw you in. A woman wearing Peking Opera clothing and make-up is performing a live stream in a run down building, acting out a scene from a play. However, it soon becomes apparent that there's more to this than some simple viral internet stunt, as we see that she has a man tied to a chair. When the scene is over, the woman pulls out a gun, and executes the man live on the internet. She then identifies herself as Yan Tieh-Hua, before the scene cuts to a close. The opening is so strange, and so shocking that you have to know more, that you need to know who this woman is any why she just murdered a man. Unfortunately, these answers are far from simple.

From here the book jumps backwards in time 30 years, where we see a teenage Yan Tieh-Hua performing the same scene in her family's opera company, acting alongside her mother this time. Unfortunately, the play goes a little off the rails, Yan and her mother fight (physically), and the entire set falls down. It's a disaster, and it results in Yan being grounded and unable to spend time with her friends outside of school. On her way home one day soon after, Yan gets a strange feeling that something isn't right, and races home to find her entire family has been brutally murdered. Stranger still, we then see through news reports, that Yan admitted to the killings, and is sent to a secure facility; one that in the present is a pile of rubble.

The facility, and everyone inside, were destroyed, yet Yan Tieh-Hua is walking the streets, alive and well, and younger than she should be. Thus begins a mystery that will see a retired cop coming back onto the force to try and find answers, a mysterious girl who can see into the future, an ancestral spirit who can possess origami, a secret military conspiracy, time travel, and Yan on a super powered mission for revenge. Yan is a book that's many things at the same time, it's a science fiction story, a mystery, an action revenge narrative, and a story about trauma all rolled into one. And Cheng Sheng manages to make it all work brilliantly.

One of the books main strengths is that Sheng draws you into the expansive narrative very slowly, giving you the extra pieces of the puzzle at an almost leisurely pace. At first it feels like a standard revenge story, where we're following Yan as she tries to find out who killed her family. Then we see that she's talking to a possessed piece of folded paper. It's a little surprising, but you just go with it. Then she's jumping from building to building and fighting soldiers like she's in The Matrix and you just accept it because it's cool. But then you realise that now there's someone who can see the future, there are giant mecha robots, and some mysterious person/robot who seems to be travelling through time. By the time you realise just how fantastical the book has gotten you're already committed to the story and those who have come to the series expecting a realistic revenge story will be on board for all of the wonderful madness Sheng has given us.

The art also helps with this. I mentioned before how the book feels almost cinematic, and there are multiple pages without dialogue, where we get given huge half page panels showing the city at night, or of soldiers charging out of a troop transport, or even at times artwork that stretches across both pages. You can't help but stop reading and just stare at these pages, almost in awe that Sheng is presenting such a detailed, gorgeous story that feels like it needs the larger page size to really show off just how good it is. I don't think every manga would benefit from being this size, but Yan definitely does. It makes it feel grand in a way that suits the story that's being told. 

By the time I reached the end of the first volume I literally swore out loud because it was ending. Not only does the book end in such a place that it makes you really want to keep reading, but I was sad that the experience itself was over. I wanted to keep looking at Sheng's artwork, I wanted to gaze at each page and lose myself in it. 

I've gone through Yan multiple times, most of them not even engaging with the story, but just staring at the art and soaking up the vibes that Sheng was creating. I think that Yan is going to be one of those series that as soon as I see the next volume is out I'm going to be grabbing it without even needing to consider it. Yan is a unique, beautiful, and awe inspiring book that more people need to discover.

Yan: Vol 1 is on sale now from Titan Comics.

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The Nice Guys - 4K UHD and Blu-ray Review

 

It's been almost a decade since The Nice Guys first hit screens, teaming up the unlikely duo of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as mismatched private investigators on a deadly case in 1970's LA. I'm not sure why, but the release of this new 4K UHD release was the first time that I'd heard of the film, it having managed to slip under my radar since it's release. Despite this, the trailer looked great, it had people OI enjoy watching in the lead roles, and it was from a director whose work I've liked, so I decided to give it a chance; and boy was I glad I did. And if you're like me, and have never seen The Nice Guys this release gives you the perfect excuse to do so.

The Nice Guys follows shady private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling), a recently widowed single father who takes crappy cases from retired clients that doesn't require much effort on his part. When he's hired by a woman who claims to have seen her dead niece, the porn actress Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio) alive days after her death it puts in on the trail of a young woman named Amelia (Margaret Qualley). At the same time, thug for hire Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), gets hired by Amelia to get 'some creep' off her tail; a job that leads to Healy beating up March. 

Thinking that the job's done, Healy is surprised when armed criminals come after him wanting to know where Amelia is. Realising that there's more going on than there first appears, and knowing he doesn't have the skills to track Amelia down on his own, Healy hires March to help him get to the bottom of things. Now the two mismatched investigators are plunged into a world of pornography, corruption, and murder as they try to find Amelia before she becomes the latest victim in a mounting conspiracy.

The Nice Guys sets out its tone pretty early on, with an opening scene that draws you in but leaves you feeling baffled as a kid steals his fathers porno mag to ogle at photos of Misty Mountains, moments before her car ploughs through their house and she's left dying on the ground, naked, and posed the exact way she was in the magazine with cryptic dying words of 'how do you like my car, big boy?'. The film instantly mixes together bizarre comedy and dark mystery; something the film will manage to balance throughout its runtime as you find yourself trying to figure out answers one moment, and laughing out loud the next.

The casting of the lead actors goes a long way to making this tone work well. Crowe is the straight man of the two, with a role that's much more serious than Gosling; though that doesn't mean Crowe doesn't get to crack out some of the best comedy of the film. He brings a grittiness to the film that stems from his world weary air and sense of a man ground down to almost nothing. Gosling's March is similar in a lot of regards, he's a man recently widowed, trying to figure out a way to balance the need to raise his daughter with his desire to drown his sorrows. However, compared to Healy he comes across a lighter, more playful, largely thanks to his daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) and the dysfunctional by delightful relationship they have.

Angourie Rice is perhaps the most surprising member of the main cast, and in one of the best decisions of the filmmakers, the most competent detective of the three of them. Barely in her teens, March tries desperately to keep Holly away from the world in which he works, but thanks to her refusal to be shut out, she becomes embroiled in the case. Which is kind of a good thing as she manages to find leads, make connections, and even saves the day more than once. The injection of the kid sidekick into the buddy cop formula could have been a disastrous decision, but luckily Shane Black is a deft hand at it (he did give us Riggs and Murtaugh after all), that it instead becomes the missing piece to the dynamic that makes The Nice Guys a stand out of the genre.

The film's supporting cast all do a wonderful job at keeping the film feeling fresh an interesting, whether it's the terrifying villain John Boy (Matt Bomer), Amelia, her mother, the criminal after them (one of which is played by the always perfect Keith David), or the kid on his bike that's one of the best random sources of information I think I've seen in a film with a brilliantly delivered performance that makes his minute of screentime one I'll remember for years. 

The Nice Guys is both a wonderful deconstruction of the detective buddy cop story and a love letter to it. The choice to set the film in the 1970's, a decision that came after a number of attempts to make the story work in the modern day, feels like the perfect choice, making the movie into a timeless piece of throwback fiction that can send up the era it's set in in such a way that the movie feels like it'll never become dated. 

Shane Black has had a lot of hits in his career, but I've also found some of his newer work to have been a little disappointing. Having not enjoyed Iron Man 3 as much as most people did, and having loathed The Predator (the film had nightmare studio interference to be fair), I had begun to think that perhaps Black had lost his touch a little. However, The Nice Guys, which came out between the other two, reminds me why I love some of his other work, and why if given the right material certain directors can deliver magic.

The Second Sight release comes packed with extras that makes this edition stand out. Alongside brand new artwork the limited edition comes with some other extra physical pieces, including some gorgeous character art cards, and a book filled with essays on the film. On the disc there's the expected audio commentary, with Shane Black and co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi. Unlike most commentary tracks, however, this one includes moderator and The Nice Guys fan Priscilla Page. This is the first time that I'd heard a commentary structured this way, and it was a great choice. You get the usual effect of the crew reminiscing about the film and enjoying watching it again, but there's also someone there with a lot of knowledge and researched points to keep things flowing and to keep the conversation fresh. I honestly hope to see more like this in the future.

Alongside this, there's also new interviews with Shane Black, Producer Ethan Erwin, and Director of Photography Philippe Rousselot. There are also archival interviews with cast and crew, a new video essay on the film and Shane Black by Leigh Singer, a making of feature, and trailers. As susual, Second Sight seem to have gone out of their way to include as many older pieces as possible, but have also tried to give long time fans some new extra features to make this release worth taking a look at.

Having missed The Nice Guys when it was first released I am so glad that I was able to discover it now; though I am annoyed that I missed out on having this film in my life for a long time already. Perhaps it's been too long for a sequel to this, but if the film continues to find new fans and its audience grows maybe we'll get lucky enough that this can be the start of something that will be as fondly remembered as other iconic buddy cop movies. Even if that doesn't happen, The Nice Guys, remains a brilliant piece of movie history.

The Nice Guys 4K UHD Limited Edition and Blu-ray Standard Edition is released on 16th June 2025 courtesy of Second Sight 

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Missing Trans Woman Jax Gratton Found Dead

 

34-year-old transgender woman Jax Gratton, who has been missing for the last two months, was found dead in Denver, Colorado on 6th June.

Jax, who was a hairdresser was last seen alive leaving her apartment on the night of the 15th April, according to a social media post from her mother, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis. Despite a search for her, and urges from the public for help, Jax wasn't found until last Friday. Lakewood police announced that a body was discovered in an alley in the 9600 block of West Colfax Avenue around 5pm. They officially confirmed that it was Jax the following day, after an investigation by the coroner. Jax's cause of death has yet to be announced, though it was revealed that she was in 'advance stages of decomposition'.

Jax's mother, Cherilynne, posted on Saturday that Jax had been found, and had died. 'With a broken heart, I share the news that our beloved Jax Gratton has been found — and she is no longer with us. There are no words strong enough for the grief we are feeling. The light she carried, the love she gave so freely, and the joy she brought into our lives have been taken from this world far too soon,” she wrote above a picture of a mural of Jax.

'I want to thank everyone — near and far — who has shown up for us. Everyone who shared her story. Everyone who shared her face. Everyone who sent out a prayer, a hope, a kind thought. Everyone who hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped. This has opened my eyes in ways I can’t ignore. It’s not just about Jax — it’s about all of you in the LGBTQIA+ community who face the world every day with courage, just wanting to live, love, and exist safely and equally. That should never be a fight. And yet it is.

'Jax Gratton was a light — I know that. She lit up so many lives just by being herself. Unapologetically. Fiercely. Fully. I see her in every act of love and strength you’ve shown, and I wish peace, love, and protection for all of you.'

On Monday afternoon a gathering of friends, family, and the LGBTQIA+ community gathered outside the City and County of Denver Building to remember Jax and celebrate her life. Having been an active member in the local community, many friends and colleagues of Jax were in attendance, including community group leaders and fellow hairdressers from her workplace. 

People who knew Jax personally spoke about her life and the impact that she had upon theirs, as well as making calls to take further action against the rising transphobic sentiment and to fight for the transgender community. Z. Williams, who knew Jax through their activism, said 'That's the power of a personality like that, bringing people in to finding their voice.'

Jax's father, Mike Mastro, was in attendance and spoke to the gathered friends and supporters through a proxy speaker. He shared memories and stories of his daughter, including the time he got her to admit that she skipped out on school to go to Six Flags amusement park. 'I couldn’t even be mad at her for it. That’s who Jax was. She would rather tell the truth and get in trouble than to lie about it. A parent should never have to lose a child.'

Paul Salas, a friend of Jax's, said 'She was so many things to so many of us — a daughter, sister, friend, stylist, teacher, activist, beloved community member and so much more. To say that she will be missed doesn’t even touch the surface of the feeling of loss we are all having.'

Jax's mother has said 'My fear is that somebody killer her', when talking to People and the family has set up a GoFundMe to try to raise funds to commission an autopsy report to find further answers as to why Jax has died, and if possible find anyone who may be responsible. 

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Nick Frost Tries to Justify Working with JK Rowling Despite her Anti-Trans Views

 

Actor Nick Frost, who first rose to fame whilst working alongside his long time friends and collaborators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright on the cult comedy series Spaced, has recently received criticism from members of the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies after it was announced that he would be playing the role of Rubeus Hagrid in the new HBO adaptation of the children's book series Harry Potter.

The source of this criticism came from the fact that the books author, JK Rowling, who sometimes works under the name Robert Galbraith (seemingly named after Robert Galbraith Hearth, a man who pioneered the torture practice of conversion therapy on queer people), seems to have dedicated herself to combating the rights and freedoms of the transgender community. 

Rowling's history of anti-trans views is a long one, mainly beginning with her 'accidentally' liking a transphobic tweet by a notable 'gender critical', and has culminated in her creating a fund to pay for court cases against trans people and their rights, her entire social media presence being dedicated towards attacking members of the trans community, and her celebrating the loss of trans rights on her super yacht like a terrible Bond villain. 

JK Rowling has become so notable as the 'face of transphobia' that anti-trans campaigners have waved banners with her name on it, worn masks of her face, and quoted her words when attacking the trans community. This has resulted in vocal opposition to her, with many former fans refusing to have anything to do with the Harry Potter fandom. As such, many people found Frost's willingness to work on this new project to be a misguided move at best, and an outright slap in the face of the queer community at worse.

Speaking to The Observer, Frost has tried to defend his decision to work on the show. Speaking about Rowling and her views on trans people he said 'She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine, they just don’t align in any way, shape or form'. Frost says this like Rowling's views happen in a vacuum, and that they can easily not align with his own with no real affect, reducing her disdain for trans people to being akin to disagreeing on a sports team or favourite film. 

JK Rowling celebrating the UK Supreme Court ruling on her super yacht

In reality, Rowling's huge wealth and fanbase has given her opinions huge weight, to the point where she has been quoted in anti-trans actions across the world. He also seems to be ignoring the fact that by working on this series, a series that will directly give money to Rowling thanks to her involvement, he is helping to fund her actions. Rowling's newly created 'Women's Fund' pledges to give money to court action against trans individuals, and broader trans rights; something she has already done when she donated £70,000 to the For Women Scotland case that resulted in a rollback in trans rights across the UK.

Frost seems to know that Rowling is something of a contentious subject though, as when he announced his role as Hagrid on his Instagram account he turned comments off, seemingly aware that his choice to be involved with Rowling would be divisive at best, if not outright damaging to his image. Speaking further on the matter he said 'But maybe it shouldn’t blow over? We shouldn’t just hope it will go away, because it makes it easier. Maybe we should educate ourselves'.

Perhaps I could suggest then, Nick, that you educate yourself on the mountain of things that Rowling has said against the transgender community. The times that she has shared lies and disinformation of trans rights, healthcare, and actions. The times she has misgendered or deadnamed individual trans people. The times she engaged in Holocaust denialism to try and score a point against the trans community. The times that she has celebrated the indignities, reduction in rights, and attacks on the trans community. Perhaps you could actually learn a little something about the woman you're agreeing to work with, the person who will profit off your work, and whose profit will go towards further attacks against a minority community. Perhaps don't be a coward, engage with people whose lives are being made worse by Rowling, and made a moral stance on the matter.

Any adult choosing to work on the new Harry Potter series has no excuse for doing to. It's not hard to learn about Rowling and her actions, to see the demonstrable damage she's causing to a minority group. Call these people out, try to educate them, try to convince them to think better of their decision; but leave the child cast alone. These children should be left in peace, but folks like Nick Frost, Katherine Parkinson, Bertie Carvel, John Lithgow, Paul Whitehouse, Paapa Essiedu, and Janet McTeer absolutely need to be called out.

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