The New Gods #6 (2024): And Then There Is The Darkness

There may be some who dislike the change in art throughout THE NEW GODS #6, but I felt that the Racer's story in this issue was quite beautiful. 

Image: The New Gods #6, bottom panel of digital page 9. 

Text in the Racer's three word balloons: 

• The concerns of the living are for you no more. There are many perils between here and the end of our journey. 
• Unborn and unliving concepts roam the Waiturnum current. Ready to devour the real, the existing, to imbibe some of their essence -- to break through into the world outside. 
• And then there is the darkness.

This issue is, apparently, the first appearance of the Waiturnum, some kind of continuum or channel beyond the dimensions that living beings know.

Absolutely Martian

I don't know if it's my favorite (yet) of the Absolute universe, but the opening volley of Absolute Martian Manhunter definitely made a case for it. 

Strong concept.

Excellent script. 

Fantastic art. 

Oh, and this issue absolutely (heh) makes a case for owning and reading the comic in paper rather than digital format. I won't spoil why I say that.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 is currently on the stands. 

Creative team:

• Deniz Camp (writer)
• Javier Rodríguez (artist, colorist)
• Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (letterer)
• Katie Kubert (editor)

Description of images used in this post: 

1. Top of post: Absolute Martian Manhunter logo in gren.
2. Bottom of post: A page from Absolute Martian Manhunter #1. Agent Jones is experiencing strange, colorful smoke that no one else seems to notice.

Operation: Jail the Justice League!

The above image is a two-page spread of the Justice Leaguers triumphing over a bunch of crooks. It is from a story titled "Operation: Jail the Justice League!" 

I first read that story in the treasury-sized DC Limited Collectors's Edition presents SUPER FRIENDS # C- 41 (1976). In that book, the story is told as a flashback to Wendy and Marvin of the Super Friends TV series:

But it originally appeared in Justice League of America Vol 1 #61 (March 1968). As a kid in the mid-1970s, I did not know older stories were reprinted. I probably didn't even care. So, why am I writing about "Operation: Jail the Justice League!" today? Well, I now own a copy of that 1968 comic. Picked up issues #61 and #65 for my collection this week! 

Happy collecting! 

Super Finale

Tyler Hoechlin (L) as Superman and Elizabeth Tulloch (R) as Lois Lane; they are standing in profile in front of a rubble-strewn street.
[From Superman & Lois]

Well, that happened. And by "that" I mean the series finale of Superman & Lois (2021-2024). By now, there have been numerous posts and reviews, many of which addressing this series' position as the final comic book inspired show on CW, musing on the quality of the show, sharing glimpses of the work behind the scenes, and probably spoiling key moments for folks who have not yet viewed the episode. 

I'm not doing any of that. 

Well, I'm probably offering a bit of a spoiler here. So, if you are among those who have not viewed the episode which aired two nights ago, stop reading. And definitely do not scroll down to the second image in this post. Go watch the show and then come back here.

Ready?

I love that the reveal of the Super Family – Superman flying with his costumed sons as well as Steel and his daughter (Starlight) – shows the creative team paid attention to the source material... the comics. First, Jordan and John are differentiated by one's emphasis on red and the other on blue. This echoes not only an imaginary tale from Superman in which Supes was split into Red and Blue counterparts (Superman Vol. 1 #162), but also when DC comics brought the split into modern canon by creating the electrified Superman Red and Superman Blue (circa 1998 in Superman Red/Superman Blue #1 and Superman Vol. 2 #132).

Second, because Jordan and Jonathan are Superboys – Superboy Red and Superboy Blue, if you will – their uniforms reflect two different iterations of the Superboy character in the comics. Just look closely at their respective uniforms. Jordan's outfit looks very much like the New 52 Superboy while Jonathan's very much aligns with that of the 1990s Superboy who launched during the Reign of the Supermen storyline and then got his own series. Also, please note my reason for saying that Jonathan's uniform aligns with the 1990 design: It is because he, wisely, does not use the leather jacket or sunglasses (though the alt-universe Jonathan did sport the jacket). The other difference between comics and this TV series was that both of the comic book Superboys were clones, while Jordan and Jonathan in the series are the actual sons of Clark and Lois. 

So, here is an image capture of that in-flight scene from the finale along with a few comic covers to show what I think were some inspirations for the show's creative team:

Super Family in flight and the covers of four comic books that might have influenced the scene. 

Anyway, I loved the TV series and I'm sad it had to end to make room for the upcoming cinematic rebirth of Superman. 

Plastastic!

 As a Plastic Man fan, I just cannot get over how PLASTASTIC this is!

Image: Screenshot of a post I saw on the bird app. The post showcases a comic shop's new ramp, which is painted to look like Plastic Man, a shapeshifting character from DC Comics, has formed himself into a ramp. 

Dead Boy Detectives - Netflix

I’m going to start with the paw rating for this one

4 paws and a tail for one cat and

4 paws and a tail for another cat

One for each dead boy detective

This show is spectacular. 

I was sad when we found out that the actors from Doom Patrol were not cast in this Netflix show but, no offense to those actors at all, but … this crew is phenomenal. I am 100% in love with all of them. They are a wonderful family of misfits and I want to be adopted by them so much!

I absolutely adore the relationship between Charles and Edwin and then how Crystal and Niko fit in along with Jenny. Simply superb relationships and the most intense love between people. 

The show is quite violent and even gory at times but it can’t distract me from the incredible personal stories and the incredible relationships between the main group of characters. 

Here’s hoping for a season two. 

Green Lantern: War Journal

Wow. The latest John Stewart GL series, Green Lantern: War Journal, just continues to impress. It has horror, cosmic threats, political intrigue, and heartbreaking family illness. Phillip Kennedy Johnson (script) is really dialed into John Stewart as a character, while Montos (pencils), Adriano Lucas (colors), and Dave Sharpe (lettering) are delivering epic visuals. 

The first arc just ended, but the storyline carries over into the start of a new arc with issue #7. Jump in!

Image: part of a splash page from Green Lantern: War Journal #7. This shows John Stewart in seriously uncharted cosmic territory. 

The Marvels - Disney +

 

Three incredible actresses portraying three incredible characters. I absolutely loved all the scenes between the three leads. I hope they had as much fun together as it looked like in the film.

I loved how the movie fit into the timeline and it was good to see enough exposition to know what was going on for each character. 

I definitely loved the fangirling Ms. Marvel did over Captain Marvel. It was so real and true to her character and also felt like she was us in the movie. What a joy Iman Vellani is in the movie and from her own series. 

I was also thrilled to see Goose again  I loved how integral the cat was to this story 😉 Quite the clever storyline and use of the adorable cat.

There was really only one major part of the movie I didn’t like and it definitely didn’t seem to fit but overall I enjoyed the story. I’d love to see more of The Marvels working together in future movies. The three women were just amazing together. 

3 paws

Locke and Key - Netflix

 

I have had this on our list probably since the first season (2020). I only know the title and that it was a popular comic book series. We finally started it the other week and we flew threw the 3 seasons as fast as we could. What an incredibly unique story and show.

I adored Jackson Robert Scott as Bode, he was perfection and we already came in to the show with a love for Connor Jessup (Tyler) from seeing him in Falling Skies and even getting to meet him at SDCC during a signing. But the definite showstopper was Emilia Jones as Kinsey. Holy Moly did that girl have a lot to do and she was spectacular. I LOVED how the 3 siblings stuck together and the love between them was easily felt. 

Darby Stanchfield as the mom Nina was incredible. She had quite the roller coaster of story line and she played it beautifully and realistically. 

We were also pleased to see Aaron Ashmore as Duncan. The Ashmore brothers are two of our favorite actors and I would say we have always loved the shows we have seen them in throughout the years. This was no exception and it may even be one of our most favorite roles yet.

Petrice Jones as Scot was a joy. His voice and accent were just wonderful and he was an excellent anchor for many parts of the story. Coby Bird as Rufus was also just a lovely character and portrayed so well by Coby. 

As I scroll through IMDB to get the correct actor names, I realize I could write something great about each actor/character. This was a well rounded show for acting and story telling. I had a friend say they just couldn't get into the 2nd season but I can't see how. We LOVED the second season. We just rolled through it all in one day.

I definitely don't see any loss of interest or story by having not read the source material... and neither has Brainwise (shocking that we have a second show that Brainwise didn't know). Of course that almost makes it more fun to watch because he has to guess too as we go along.

I will state that season 3 is not 100% the same as the first two seasons and now after reading the differences between the show and the comics, we know why. It doesn't mean it is bad by any means, it is just different and there is a reason. I don't like to give anything away if possible, so I will not say any more :)

I just love how unique this show is and how great the actors portray their characters. I would actually watch this whole series again and as you know this is usually my meter on how good something is. 

4 paws

Old Guard - Netflix

 

I had no idea what this movie was about, of course it’s been about 3 years since this was released. I didn’t even remember it was based on a comic book until Brainwise started saying how different scenes looked like the book. 

The number one thing I will say about this movie is that it is ULTRA violent. I mean ULTRA violent. There was quite a lot that I didn’t watch because it was just too much. 

Charlize Theron looked incredible and was superb in this role. The story was very interesting and we found out that a second movie may be coming. I look forward to the story but maybe not the violence. 

Again it was good to see a female main character and a bad a$$ one at that. Kiki Layne was awesome and also very bad a$$ too. I also adored the scene between two of the male characters expressing their love for each other while in quite a bind with the bad guys. 

Such a very different story and incredibly interesting.

3 paws

Paper Girls - Amazon Prime

 

I know this is based on an excellent comic book but I have not read it nor do I know anything about it. But the main characters are girls and I know it is a popular story so I added it to our watch list last year. 

I am so glad I did. What an excellent series!! The girls were fantastic and the story was extra wild but really good. I didn’t have any issue trying to follow along with the story and while I may have missed some tie ins from the comic book series I don’t think it was anything critical. 

It’s good that I felt satisfaction with the ending since it will not have a second season. Not that I wouldn’t watch more if they had gone on but I felt closure with the story as told. 

The casting was incredible. I easily believed the versions we were shown and I wonder how the actors felt looking at versions of themselves. 

The music in this series was awesome too! Lots of "oldies but goodies" :) 

4 paws

American Born Chinese

 

Disney Plus

What a purely amazing and excellent series. I wanted to watch this from the moment I knew it existed. I did not know there was source material but once I knew that, I was even more intrigued.

I loved it! Each character and actor was perfect, I want to be their friends. 

I loved the family, the comics, the friends, the story, the filming, simply everything. I recommend this 1000000%. I believe there will be a second season, I will be there to watch it first thing. 

I absolutely loved the 2 main male characters. They played their roles to perfection. I was blown away by how much they portrayed real teenagers and all that it entails but also while portraying other roles that make up the story. I would love to go to their school.

4 paws

DC League of Super-Pets

 

You can find this on HBO Max....errrr Max... hmmmm sounds like a dog's name... that's appropriate :)

Anyway, we dove into this animated movie recently. I was excited for it and while it was good, I wasn't as blown away as I hoped to be. I did love that Krypto was voiced by Dwayne Johnson "The Rock" and Ace was voiced by Kevin Hart. This match up was perfect for their characters and they both were perfect in the roles.

I loved the created family aspect of this movie of course and the fact that it was animals becoming the family made me even happier. Overall though it was lacking something or maybe it had too much of nothing. 

I am interested to know if kids liked this one. I wonder if they got some of the actual comic book references or if it was all over their heads. I am not sure if this movie is for kids or adults or just comic book readers or maybe that's the problem, they didn't know who to make the movie for in the end. Well that makes it sound terrible and it wasn't that but simply put I doubt I would watch it again.

2 paws

Good Omens - Season One

Amazon prime is where you can find this Neil Gaiman goodie. 

Although I wasn’t as enthralled as I expected through the first two episodes, it did find its footing with me as it went along. I felt like I was watching Monty Python and while I like some of their shows, there are some parts I don't like and I worried about this when it first started. But I hung in there and as I said, it did get better for me and I ended up enjoying it.

The kids were incredible and I feel like they had to really push themselves in their roles as they had very difficult tasks and stories to move through. I adored the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley and I am sure this is why so many of my friends love this series ;)

I would definitely caution anyone who is easily offended religiously and possibly even generally. This is quite a heavy story and covers many controversial topics. It think overall though it can lead to many good conversations about religion, good and evil and what it means to be a human being.

I have never read the story that any of this is based on but I know Neil Gaiman is a brilliant storyteller so I know we will be watching season 2.

3 paws

And don't forget to check out The Hillywood Show's pardoy of Good Omens on YouTube after you watch the first season!!

Tales of the Jedi

 

Animated shorts on Disney +

I am sure for deep dive Star Wars fans these would be met with joy. I however would say I made it through them. I didn't hate them, I didn't love them. 

One of my main issues was the animation itself. It was odd to my eyes and brain. I wouldn't say it was bad animation just odd.

I also had a hard time placing the people in the shorts. Meaning I didn't know who they were without looking up the cast and even if the short told me the people, I didn't know the timeline for where it all fit. So as I said earlier deep dive fans probably got a lot out of these, I had a harder time with them.

2 paws for me but 4 paws for fans

Andor (Star Wars)

 

I had heard great things about this show and although I worried I wouldn't be able to follow along, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Espionage filled, thrilling, excellent writing, amazing cinematography, great story and no need to worry about knowing Star Wars or not for the most part. Just sit back especially after the first 2 episodes that were a little slower than the others and let the story take you on a ride.

Every one was excellent in their roles. I love how everything comes together as you watch, even things you think don't mean anything, suddenly come to light an episode or 2 later. I feel like I have said that many times about Star Wars shows but I guess if it works, why change it :)

I'm sure if you are a Star Wars fan and know lots of the history, etc, this show might even be better for you but I liked that I was able to enjoy it and not miss out on things because I might not remember the history or some of the people.

There is going to be a second season and I am very curious what that will bring about for the show.

4 paws

Antman and Wasp: Quantumania

 

Second of three movies of our Memorial Day Weekend.

Much better than Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Paul Rudd is one of my favorites and he continues this love here. 

I love that his daughter is older now and a main character in the movie. She is funny and and excellent addition to the cast and story. 

Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas were excellent and I loved their story. It was great to see them in action, literally. It was good to get some background on Janet Van Dyne's time in the Quantum Realm. 

It was also great to see Katy O'Brian, who we love on many other shows, get a large and critical role in the movie as Jentorra. 

If you want a high action, fast paced movie, this is for you. And if you are a completist of Marvel movies, this is a must watch. 

3 paws

 

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

 

First of three movies of our Memorial Day Weekend.

Wow this was not as fun as I wanted it to be. I loved the first movie but I just could not get into this one. I had a difficult time with the characters all being older but they kept acting like the were the youngsters from the first movie when they went into superhero mode. It was very odd.

I also wasn't sold on the story for some reason. Although it was nice to have three incredible women as the main "villans" of the story: Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu and Rachel Zegler. They all looked like the enjoyed being supervillans and having powers.

Overall though, Steve and the unicorns were the best part of this movie.

1 paw

The Umbrella Academy- Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Another series that I absolutely LOVE!! 

And again a comic book series I know nothing about at all and it didn't hinder me from loving this 1000%!

I adored the cast, the story, the MUSIC, the special effects, the everything!  

Brainwise filled me with the limited information he had but many times if we had just waited a little longer, the story told me what I was wondering about. 

I am in awe of Aidan Gallagher who plays Five. His range was incredible. He had to do so much and it seemed to come so easily to him. I am very curious what he did to learn how to play old so well. Completely in awe of him.

Elliot Page as Vanya/Viktor was incredible. I love that his real life story was told through this series. So moving and an integral part of the story. The violin music used during the first season was so touching and moving. I saw that the episode titled The White Violin was up for quite a few awards and I can see (and hear) why.

Pogo! Oh my goodness Pogo. Whoever was responsible for his creation for the TV screen, they deserve all the awards and all the money. I wanted to hug Pogo so much. He was just incredible and at no time could I tell that he wasn't real. Simply incredible.

Justin H. Min as Ben broke my heart and Robert Sheehan as Klaus was perfection. Klaus was outrageous and I love him. David Castaneda as Diego and Ritu Arya as Lila were a lesson in love and conquering all things. Jordan Claire Robbins as Grace had an incredible arc and was integral to so many parts of the story. 

Tom Hopper as Luther and Emmy Raver-Lampman as Allison were the most "normal" of all the cast and I would love to be their friends. Lastly, Colm Feore as Reginald Hargreeves was certainly the man you loved to hate and hated to love. Colm portrayed Reginald to perfection and everytime I see Colm's real life photo I can not believe he was Reginald - incredible acting, makeup and getting lost in a role.

I could go on and on about all the characters and actors who portrayed them from the three season, so let's just say there were no weak links and I think everyone was perfectly cast and brought their A games to their characters and the story.

I loved how all the episodes weaved in and out of each other, with everything having meaning and purpose. The music was perfection! Even the choice of covers over originals at times made all the difference in how the song hit and/or fit in a scene. Brainwise already said he wants to create a CD of all the music in order from the three seasons.

I am happy there is a 4th season coming because I am not ready to say goodbye to my new friends but I am also extremely satisfied with how the story went, was told and "ended"(?).

4 paws and a tail of 7 cats ;)

The Mandalorian - Season 3

 

By far one of my favorite shows of all time. I adore everything about this show: the characters, the stories, the music, the visuals. I don’t even know what else I can say to state how much I love this show. 

I laugh, I cry, I yell, I scream and I just coo all over for Grogu. 

I love how even the smallest parts of the episode mean something and ties things together, even things that may not have been shown yet. When you think “why are we seeing this now?” You realize an episode or so later “ooohhh that’s why.” It’s the long game sometimes when watching and I’m here for it. 

Katee Sackhoff is perfect as Bo-Katan and as much as I love Giancarlo Esposito I am so over Moff Gideon. Lol 

4 paws