Monday, March 18, 2024 

A new Transformers cartoon movie coming later this year

Since I'd written again about Hasbro's most famous toy robot franchise a short while ago, I thought of noting that, after a number of live action movies in the past 17 years, there's going to be another animated take on the toys coming to theaters in September, titled Transformers One. Gamespot recently listed movies they're anticipating, and it's the 13th on the page:
Transformers One marks the beginning of a new animated trilogy set in the Transformers universe. The film is animated, but we think it's worth putting in here since it'll surely have explosions on par with the previous Transformers movies. The voice cast is star studded, too, including Chris Hemsworth as Optimus Prime, Bryan Tyree Henry as Megatron, as well as Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne.
Well this sure is quite surprising somebody thought of going back to an art form that could've served the robots and human characters just as good, if not better, than the overrated live action "blockbusters" Michael Bay first directed in the late 2000s, clogged to the brim as they were with special effects galore like countless other movies since the turn of the century. And it makes me wonder - why couldn't GI Joe also see this kind of approach taken? The only problem is that talented writing is vital, not to mention some respect for patriotic values, and the filmmakers can't be left-wing ideologues who refuse to develop metaphors for issues like Islamic terrorism that the Joes could combat, in addition to Cobra. This is at least partly why the previous live action movies were such failures. If the Transformers movies were originally handled with respect and care, why couldn't the GI Joe movies receive the same? Refusal to respect any kind of patriotism, not to mention civilized values, is why GI Joe will never succeed as a movie franchise, if any more film adaptations are made.

Since we're on the topic, the Oakland Press interviewed veteran Marvel writer/editor Bob Budiansky several weeks ago at the Great Lakes convention, where he told what he thought made the Transformers a success back in the day:
He shared his insight on what makes “Transformers” so popular.

“The germ of the idea was that you have these beautifully designed toys that turned from different vehicles into robotic lifeforms. A kid could change it from one thing to another, which had a lot of toy-etic value. It had that allure for someone who was the right age,” he explained. “Hasbro’s approach was to make it a comic and cartoon. More than just a toy, it filled in a lot of blanks by providing all these stories in animation and comics. That gave it a lot of life. People of a certain age fell in love with the ‘Transformers.’ It (allowed) Hasbro … to license the ‘Transformers’ for more stories and the opportunity to revive the brand and make it bigger than ever. Good, bad, or indifferent, ‘Transformers’ is being pumped out in different platforms. There’s a lot of content out there for people who like the ‘Transformers.’”

Budiansky appeared on the “Transformers” episode of Netflix’s “The Toys That Made Us” documentary series.

“It upped my profile. People come up to me at cons, ‘I didn’t know you were the guy behind all these characters. You did so much to build the brand.’ It’s nice to be known for my work and have more people want my autograph. It’s an ego boost in that sense. It’s a win-win for me. People are now more aware of my contributions to the world of the ‘Transformers,’” he said.
Certainly, I think it's great Budiansky succeeded in making the robots a big favorite in their time. But I do wonder how he feels about some of them being kicked to the curb in that aforementioned 1986 movie-length toy commercial? After all, Budiansky was the guy who developed Ironhide and Ratchet, and even if the damage to fictional characters can be reversed, I'd personally feel insulted if the company pulled that after all the hard work I'd done if I were in Budiansky's shoes. I do recall once finding info that Budiansky conceived at least 2 characters who were comic-only, specifically so that, if the robots were to be scrapped in-story, nobody would complain they'd bought a toy model for nothing. Well let's be clear about something. Even if the toys-as-comics-characters were knocked off, does that invalidate the toys' value, or vice versa? Decidedly, no. What matters is the merit in the finished product, certainly in comics.

All that aside, I do appreciate Budiansky's work as a comics writer/editor (and even artist, since he had practiced drawing at times). But I think it's a shame the toy documentary he'll appear in will be a Netflix broadcast, since, as I've noted before, I can't stand how PC they are, and there's only so many reasons why it's better not to subscribe to their services. As for the aforementioned brand new Transformers cartoon film, it'll remain to be seen how well it fares, artistically first and foremost, and if only GI Joe could see the same, but only if talented writers and other contributors were tasked with developing such a project, and only if it weren't "woke".

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Sunday, March 17, 2024 

Marjane Satrapi resumes drawing

The UK Guardian says the author of Persepolis, following recent disturbing news in Iran of new oppression against women, has taken to illustrating again:
When Marjane Satrapi began drawing again, depicting the violence recently enacted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, she was so disturbed that she felt physical pain. “I get finger cramps when I have to draw them,” she shudders.

It is 24 years since Satrapi’s bestselling comic-book masterpiece, Persepolis, transformed western readers’ image of Iran. Her graphic memoir was told through the eyes of a cheeky, outspoken young girl growing up during and after the 1979 Islamic revolution, buying Kim Wilde cassettes on the black market, and trying to make sense of arrests, torture, the “morality police” and the carnage of the Iran-Iraq war, before being brutally uprooted to Europe, alone, aged 14, because her parents felt she would be safer there. [...]

Now, Satrapi has – exceptionally – returned to her drawing board to tell a story she feels is so important that only the comic-book narrative will work. Woman, Life, Freedom, coordinated by Satrapi, is a collective book by 17 Iranian and international comic-book artists, working with Iranian academics and researchers. They have come together to tell the story of how the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman detained for allegedly not properly wearing the Islamic headscarf in 2022, has led to the largest wave of popular unrest in recent years in Iran. The Iranian authorities’ insistence that Amini died from natural causes, amid her family’s allegations that she was beaten, sparked protests against the clerical establishment that have grown into a broad movement to challenge the theocracy that has ruled Iran since 1979.

From images of crowds chanting the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, to women removing their mandatory headscarves, and of the regime’s brutal crackdown and the young Iranian men who have been executed after taking part in the protests, the book honours the dead and depicts a young generation’s protest, its deep-rooted desire for freedom and equality.

“I call it a revolution,” Satrapi says. “It’s not a revolt, it’s not a movement, it’s a proper revolution. I’ve said it many times and nobody says the contrary: I think it’s the first really feminist revolution … and it is supported by men.”
Satrapi's doing the right thing. Iran's Islamic regime has surpassed Saudi Arabia's today in terms of an oppressive dictatorship against women, and in terrorist financing. She has an interesting point: in a way, it's a feminist revolution, but of the kind left-wing feminists in the west will not give their backing to, based on how they sold out to the Religion of Peace long before, and still are. Exactly why, tragically enough, no chance they'll support her new GN project, and for all we know, they likely didn't support Persepolis back in the day either.

So let's wish Satrapi good luck with her new comic project. She'll need lots of it.

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Actor Nicholas Cage dislikes talking about comics movies

Uproxx says the veteran actor Nicholas Cage isn't fond of comics movies or the overall subject, even though he'd appeared in 2 or 3 adaptations himself:
Nicolas Cage did not seem to enjoy a question about his comic book collection. While promoting his new movie Arcadian at SXSW, Cage participated in a Q&A where he got a little testy when asked if he’d ever return to the realm of comic book films after previously starring in Ghost Rider and Kick-Ass.

“Would I return to the comic book genre? I guess never say never, right?” Cage said before venting his frustration with the topic. “But, you know, much has been made about that. My comic book collection just goes viral so quickly and exponentially and I feel like it’s in some ways eclipsed by what I’m really reading. You know, like The Overcoat or Herman Hesse. It’s like I’m still stuck in 12 years old with the NyQuil and the lemon cookies reading The Incredible Hulk #72. I mean, c’mon, I’ve grown up.”
Funny thing about these arguments, however, is that the Hollywooders who make them never seem to raise a meaty discussion about any of the challenging issues past storytelling was able to tell, like the time Stan Lee tackled the subject of drug addiction in Spider-Man back in 1971, or even topics like racism and sexism. So what's the use of saying you've "grown up" if and when comicdom's doing the same over past decades is not acknowledged?
More recently, the actor had a very brief cameo in The Flash where his version of Superman was finally brought to life, but he has openly spoken out about the overly-CGI’d final product.

“When I went to the picture, it was me fighting a giant spider. I did not do that. That was not what I did,” Cage told Yahoo! back in November. “I literally went to shoot a scene for maybe an hour in the suit, looking at the destruction of a universe and trying to convey the feelings of loss and sadness and terror in my eyes. That’s all I did.”
He may be dismayed with the end result, but why did he even bother to associate with that now notorious insult in the first place, despite all the trouble its star, Ezra Miller, caused? Not only was the story based foremost on one of Geoff Johns' worst PC retcons, it also built on what's become a sad staple of modern entertainment - darkness.

If Cage wants to move on from comics-based movies, however, that's okay, because they have been run into the ground of late, and Hollywood put way too much effort into science-fiction than into more down-to-earth dramas. Even live action movies based on cartoons and video games have made the industry a joke. It'd be a whole lot better if we could see more movies not based on those anymore, because it's gotten very absurd, and made Hollywood look more silly than need be.

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Saturday, March 16, 2024 

Mouldy old comic found in UK attic worth "hundreds"

The UK Sun says an old comic was found in an attic that could be worth hundreds of pounds:
A SCRAPPY old comic book found in an attic is now worth hundreds due to four numbers on the back.

The weathered comic book is part of a collection of vintage items found tucked away in a creepy house in Toddington, Bedfordshire.

The valuable comic could now fetch hundreds of pounds due to four mysterious numbers inscribed on its back cover. [...]

The item was found among a set of vintage Disney books printed over five decades ago - featuring beloved characters and stories.

Pictures show a brightly coloured comic page titled 'The Toppex and Buzz' dating back to September 6, 1975 amid decaying furniture.

He also found Disneyland comic books from the 1970s from popular fairytales - including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, The Sleeping Beauty, Handel and Gretel, Puss in Boots and The Frog Prince.

The children's book series are believed to have been published from 1970 to 1975. [...]

They become extremely popular among nostalgic collectors as the are extremely rare to find.

The Disneyland memorabilia could sell for as much as £250 on Ebay.
That's all? Well, they did say at least one was in shabby condition, unfortunately, otherwise, even in UK currency, it'd surely be worth at least a million pounds or so. But seriously, I wish the folks who discovered these items would donate them to a museum instead, because stuff like this deserves to be seen by everybody, and not just locked away in vaults. And if the comic is only worth something simply because of numbers printed on it, that's got to be pretty odd.

And no doubt, those Disney comics could represent great eras long gone, when storytelling for children was a lot more honest and tasteful than the sad quagmire it's become since the company went woke in the past few years. So if they're going to be sold to speculators, on eBay or otherwise, that's also a shame, because again, they'll only end up in a storage where nobody'll see them. Which would actually enforce a perception that nobody cares about the entertainment value, even for children.

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Indie computer game being adapted to comics

Yahoo/Parade presents another example of a video game being adapted to comics, this being "Cult of the Lamb":
2022’s Cult of the Lamb, developed by Australian indie studio Massive Monster, was one of the best games released that year. It was an absolute riot, and fans absolutely loved it. Now, it’s getting a comic book adaptation.

Massive Monster launched a Kickstarter campaign for Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse, a graphic novel adaptation of its hit game. The graphic novel is to be published by Oni Press, and will be written by Red Goblin writer Alex Paknadel with art from Troy Little.

The Kickstarter was aiming to bring in $10,000 USD, but it absolutely smashed that goal, and at the time of writing has brought in over $300,000. That’s an incredible overshoot, and shows that fans are definitely interested in the project. [...]
PC Gamer says it was funded only so much in 6 minutes flat. But this is still something that's decidedly nothing to write home about:
Just when I thought I couldn't get more invested in the adorably bloody roguelike world of Cult of the Lamb, developer Devolver Digital teamed up with comic book publisher Oni Press to launch a new comic series, Cult of the Lamb: The First Verse, written by Alex Paknadel and drawn by Troy Little.
What's so "adorable" about bloodshed? Nothing at all, and it's regrettable more news commentators have gushed over a game - and now surely a comic book - that puts an emphasis on atrocious displays of bloodletting. One must wonder, of course, what kind of fans this computer game happens to have who'd go out of their way to crowdfund something where violence is played for cheap sensationalism? This is decidedly another sad example of how violent entertainment is still very prevalent in showbiz, and nobody's willing to put enough emphasis on anything the opposite. I'm not buying this comic, which is notably being published by a company that shunned another just for supporting traditional marriage. Which surely makes this whole affair quite telling.

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Friday, March 15, 2024 

Recent Batman issue accused of using AI for illustrations

Indy100 reports that DC's been accused of employing AI technology for artwork in Batman's series:
DC Comics have confirmed they are investigating claims on social media that an artist use AI to generate Batman imagery in a new comic.

The claims originate from a thread from Twitter/X user James Leech, who took to the platform to argue that AI-generated artwork may have been utilised in the new publication which is part of the Joker: Year One story arc.

The comments were made specifically about DC Comics' Batman #143 edition. The comic was written by Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino and Giuseppe Camuncoli

[...] He also wrote: "Another thing that stands out is how low resolution the 'painted' panels are compared to the rest of the art. Look at the pixelation and jpeg artefacts compared to the smooth speech balloons and non-painted art."
Fascinating. Not only are we long at a point where Batman's been reduced to a relic of a bygone era with no real substance, now AI technology is being used to "illustrate" stories that won't rate high in historical records in the future. As though it weren't ludicrous enough how Zdarksy took a path vaguely similar to J. Michael Straczynski's on Spider-Man, and jerry-built retcons that don't age well.

The discovery will likely render this Year One tale even more dated and irrelevant. Which is just as well. Today's artists, much like the writers themselves, are so cheap in what assignments they take.

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Thursday, March 14, 2024 

New Red Sonja movie will predictably be woke-infested

Collider announced that a new live action movie based on Red Sonja will unshockingly go the PC route, and be less about a male-gaze viewpoint:
It was a great experience. The prep and stunt rehearsals and horseback riding, [were all] things that I hadn't done before, so the whole process of prepping was amazing. Working with MJ as a director was incredible. And what I think is different from what we know of Red Sonja is that it was very, and the comics as well, was very male gaze-oriented and this is a completely different story. It's a very empowered woman, and that's what I loved about the story. I don't know yet when it's coming out, but I'm very excited to see it. I haven't seen anything yet.
Well I'm just simply not interested in a movie that, despite what's told, will still be "darker" in its tone. So I'm not sure what they're driving at here, since the original comics had a dark enough tone as it is. The original premise in the Bronze Age was that Sonja was a victim of a gang rape, and the goddess Scatach granted her considerable fighting skills, and asked her only to sleep with men who'd defeated her in fair combat. The filmmakers are unshockingly slapping Roy Thomnas, Barry Windsor-Smith, Doug Moench and Howard Chaykin in the face after all the effort they made in their time to set up the original tales. Why does the actress have an issue with the male gaze, but not with any direction that could be considered dark? That's decidedly the most muddled part of these woke ideologues' arguments.

The new movie project had been through delays over the past several years, and as far as I'm concerned, it did not need to be greenlighted at all. If anything, it could do better in animation, but Hollywood's long proven hilariously incompetent with that kind of approach to marketing and art. And all the talk of "empowerment" is old news that fails to take merit into consideration.

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Bollywood actor gifts fan with comic based on film

India Today tells of a Bollywood performer who was seen giving a comic to a young fan, that appears to be based on one of his movies:
Sidharth Malhotra is not just a Bollywood heartthrob, but is also known for his kind nature. Recently, after a promotional event for his upcoming film 'Yodha', the actor was seen handing a special gift to a little fan. He was clicked at the Mumbai airport gifting a child a 'Yodha' comic book.

In a video shared by a paparazzo account, Sidharth Malhotra is seen walking out of the airport. A crowd of fans gathers in large numbers to catch a glimpse of the 'Yodha' actor. Meanwhile, a child approaches him for a selfie. Sidharth graciously obliges, then takes a copy of the 'Yodha' comic book and passes it on to the boy.
Well that's definitely nice of him. And interesting how, even in India's film industry, they appear to have some adaptations from movie to comic book. Now if only Hollywooders in the USA could learn some etiquette of this sort, and not be as divisively political as they are, then maybe the USA film industry - and comics industry - would see some improvement. Alas, that doesn't look to happen for a long time.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024 

The kind of people who're invited to events at Kansas City specialty stores and conventions

NPR's KCUR did a report on comics stores in the Kansas City area, along with local conventions, and some of the guests invited to their local events include:
Held March 8-10 at the Kansas City Convention Center, this year marks Planet Comicon's silver anniversary. Meet Jason Aaron who has worked on Wolverine, PunisherMax, Thor, and The Avengers. Get an autograph from the Vision, Paul Bettany or Hellboy Ron Pearlman.
What is so special about one of the wokest writers of the past decade like Aaron that they have to invite him? Even Perlman, from what I recall, is quite a leftist himself, and hardly the greatest choice for inviting to entertainment conventions any more than a lot of other Hollywooders. The reporters didn't see fit to bring up any of Aaron's wokest writing either. Although they do bring up the history of story censorship:
Step back in time to the Golden Age and browse some of those masterpieces that have been collected and republished in book form for today’s audience. “Shock SuspensStories” was published by Entertaining Comics in 1952. That was before the Comics Code of Conduct in 1954, which limited the content that comics could publish — including banning “smut” and vulgarity, forbidding the words “horror” or “terror” in titles, and stopping the use of vampires, zombies, and many other creatures. Steven Spielberg, who grew up as a “nerdy kid who loved the escapism,” wrote the forward for this republished collection.

Maybe most notably, Mangiaracina founded the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund all the way back in 1986, to defend the First Amendment rights of “comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers.” Neil Gaiman, known for his comic "The Sandman" (which was recently adapted by Netflix) and book “American Gods” (now on Amazon Prime), is on their advisory board.
Say, would that be the same CBLDF that vehemently refused to take up the case of Mike Baron against the Daily KOS, and even goes out of their way to defend LGBTQ propaganda? Gee, I wonder what the point is here? Gaiman's a pretty bad leftist lot himself too, and if he - and even Frank Miller - refused to give Baron any backing, that sure speaks volumes. Interesting though, that veteran filmmaker Spielberg, who's another ultra-leftist, penned the forward for the EC collection. As I recall, he recently stated he regretted producing a censored edition of E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, because he did exactly what's become a sad staple of modern entertainment in the USA. But who knows if he's really being altruistic in his venture here? That is to say, is he willing to defend conservative writers against censorship? Alas, based on this news, there's no telling if that's the case. Now, here's some news about a specialty store:
On the walls of their Overland Park shop is much of their personal collection, and you can almost track their friendship through the titles. Currently, one of their rare comics is the "Amazing Spider-Man" featuring the villain Kraven the Hunter.

Published in 1966, that issue at Nerdstalgia is rated a 9.2. That number may mean nothing to non-collectors, but it reflects how the comic is scored based on page condition and color. You’ll find expensive items like this inside a plastic case called a slab – like the “Mona Lisa” being kept behind a plate of glass so it doesn’t get damaged.

Nerdstalgia also carries a rack of pulp fiction books, a throwback to the days of novels that were mass-produced and meant to be read quickly. Easy on plot but high on action, it’s a trip down memory lane.

But some of their real treasures of Nerdstalgia are back in the boxes of back issues. Carefully placed inside plastic bags with a cardboard backing, many comics have notations on top — showing you, for example, the first appearance of Gamora of the Guardians of the Galaxy, or the first appearance of The Living Tribunal that appeared in “Strange Tales Doctor Strange.”
Reading this, I began to wonder why we hear about back issues all the time in these news reports, but not the reprint archives carrying the same in paperback/hardcover formats. Also note the emphasis on "slabbing", which prevents the issue from being read, unless the buyers want to pull apart the casing to open it up. And many surely know speculators aren't interested in doing that. Why do they keep talking all the time about these individual back issues but not the archives where they can be read instead, along with plenty of other stuff? As a result, it's unclear they're really dedicated to the medium's better interests. And here's one more topic from a specialty store:
Over the years, comic book shops have evolved into a place where people combine passions. Collectibles and action figures dot many of the walls, shelves are filled with card games like Magic the Gathering and role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer 40K. (Check out our Adventure! guide to playing D&D and other RPGs around Kansas City.)
It should be noted that franchises like MTG and D&D have fallen victim over the past decade to wokeness/political correctness, and for an article discussing issues of censorship, they sure don't see fit to raise the issue of how that's the same thing that occurred in the 1950s. Once again, they hollow out their own perspectives.

And if conservatives like the aforementioned Baron aren't invited to these kind of conventions and stores, that just goes to show how farcical these conventions for pop culture really are.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2024 

Marvel studios fires woke writer from X-Men 97

The Hollywood Reporter informed that Beau deMayo, the woke writer who changed Morph to "non-binary" in X-Men 97, has been booted off the production and out of Marvel studios:
DeMayo, a Marvel regular who previously wrote on live-action series Moon Knight as well as early drafts of company’s delayed-but-still-upcoming vampire thriller Blade, had completed writing duties on season two of X-Men ’97, was lining up press, and making plans to attend the show’s Hollywood premiere on March 13. He was even discussing loose ideas for a third season with members of his team.

But early last week, Marvel and DeMayo suddenly parted ways. His company email was deactivated and cast and crew were informed he was no longer on the project. DeMayo’s Instagram account, once a source for X-Men updates, was deleted. No reason for the firing was given.

[...] Marvel announced DeMayo’s hiring in November 2021. The move was met with some level of excitement, as the scribe brought his identity as a gay Black man to the project, and made it a point in talking to the press about how growing up as the adopted son to white parents with a Korean sister in the South made the X-Men characters — and their struggles for acceptance by society — feel personal to him.

His silence on social media has been acute as he was a prolific poster, sharing X-Men tidbits as well as shirtless pictures of himself at the gym. For a time he also ran a non-explicit Only Fans account, all of which inspired the LGBTQ publication Out to declare him “the Sexy, Gay Marvel Writer & Showrunner to Know.”

But at times social media had proven a challenge while making the series. In May 2023, DeMayo announced he would be deleting his Twitter account, after he was attacked by users accusing X-Men ’97 of whitewashing the character Sunspot with the casting of Brazilian actor Gui Agustini in the role.
Let me guess. Being Latin American isn't enough for these SJWs, right? If the actor is question is entirely white and no Indian ancestry, he's illegitimate, no matter his birthplace. In any case, this deMayo was clearly a boilerplate leftist who exploited these programs for shoving his agenda onto established productions instead of creating his own. I have no idea what led to this dismissal, and but he's no loss to the industry with that kind of isolationist viewpoint, and he should be ashamed of himself for forcing his woke ideologies upon the character of Morph, regardless of whether the character's a goodie or baddie. Variety followed up on the news, and says:
DeMayo had completed work on Seasons 1 and 2 of “X-Men ’97” ahead of his exit. He will not attend the March 13 Hollywood premiere for the show. His Instagram account, on which he had been previewing artwork and answering fan questions about “X-Men ’97,” has also been deleted.

He wrote and produced “X-Men ’97,” which is a continuation of the popular “X-Men: The Animated Series” that aired on Fox Kids in the ’90s. It is unclear why DeMayo was fired from “X-Men ’97” so close to the premiere, but he will no longer promote the show or be involved with future seasons.

DeMayo also wrote on the fellow Marvel and Disney+ series “Moon Knight,” starring Oscar Isaac, and the upcoming feature film “Blade,” starring Mahershala Ali. His other credits include “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Netflix’s live-action “The Witcher” starring Henry Cavill, the animated film “The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf” and two animated “League of Legends” shorts, “Absolution” and “Before Dawn.”
Cavill was said to have quit the Witcher series because the producers didn't seem to care about the source material, and the Moon Knight show was pretentious too. And it wouldn't be surprising if deMayo put his woke ideologies into more places than one. So if he quits Hollywood, it won't be a shame at all, though Tinseltown itself still clearly remains a most unpleasant place to be with all the nasty leftism going around there.

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Arizona writer celebrates figures who helped shape state's history

KGUN-9 has a report on a comics writer from Arizona who's worked on stories highlighting leaders who shaped the state, and history. And a most interesting part of how he gained interest in the medium:
For comic book author Henry Barajas, it's a homecoming of sorts. His journey has taken him from Tucson to Los Angeles and several big-name comic studios.

This Sunday, Barajas will share his family's history in Tucson and Southern Arizona. That history, he said, shaped the heroes and social issues he highlights in his works.

Before he sits down for that panel discussion, Barajas wanted to visit one of his favorite places growing up: Fantasy Comics on First Avenue, north of Grant. Back in the 1990s, Barajas said his parents bought comic books thinking they'd be worth a lot of money to sell in the future.

They didn't expect him to read the boxes of issues cover-to-cover. The experience sparked his love for the art form, and at an early age, Barajas said he also learned about civil rights leaders like his great-grandfather Ramón Jaurigue
.

In his research as an adult, Barajas said he took a deep historical dive into how Jaurigue helped found the group La Voz de M.A.Y.O. (Mexican-American, Yaqui & Others) and, in turn, helped the Pascua Yaqui tribe and community gain official recognition from the United States government.

Barajas said he's grateful this passion project turned into a book that Joe Schmidt, an educator and contact in New York City, felt was so important it had to be shared in schools thousands of miles away.

"He incorporated 'La Voz de M.A.Y.O.' into the New York public education curriculum, which is the largest in the nation," Barajas said. "Millions of children are going to read (it) in New York and learn about Tucson and my great-grandfather."

This partnership gave Barajas the idea to write his newest comic book — another project into a historical figure who also shaped history.
I find it flattering and impressive he read the comics his parents bought for monetary reasons. Unfortunately, this guy appears to be one of the same people whose comics were promoted in NYC schools based on woke ideologies a month ago. And when I realized that, I found this news more discouraging than inspiring. A real shame it looks like a potential leftist ideologue is being sugarcoated here, but that's the mainstream press for you.

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About me

  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
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