So what would a Klingon do with a Green Lantern Corps power ring?  We’ll find out in July when IDW Publishing, CBS Consumer Products, and DC Comics team up to present the reboot Star Trek Enterprise crew and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps in Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War.

Set in the 23rd century of the “new” Star Trek universe, the Federation and the “entire” Green Lantern Corps will team-up to protect the universe when some power rings gets in the hands of some familiar Star Trek antagonists.  Boldly going where no one has gone before…in brightest day, in blackest night… IDW revealed this weekend at WonderCon in Anaheim that the six-part monthly mini-series will be written by veteran Star Trek comic writer Mike Johnson with interior art by Arrow artist Angel Hernandez.

Look for some great variant covers in the series by artists Francesco Francavilla, Gabriel Rodriquez, Else Charretier, Garry Brown, Declan Shalvey, and Marc Laming.

This isn’t the first Star Trek and DC Comics crossover.  In 2011 Chris Roberson and Jeffrey Moy teamed-up to create Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes, still available here from Amazon.com.

Look for Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War at comic book stores everywhere this July.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

When it rains, it pours.

It’s was a heckuva weekend for movie fans.  First a new trailer dropped for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (we revealed it at borg.com here).  Then three more:  A second Fantastic Four trailer, the first full-length Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer, and today, yet another Jurassic World trailer.

But see if you agree:  Not one of these three new previews really compares to the excitement of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, or the time-bending fun of Arnold returning in Terminator: Genisys (shown here).

Zack Snyder, who we’d had hopes for after his unusual but interesting interpretation of the Watchmen graphic novel for the big screen, is just auguring in the DC Comics cinematic universe after the dismal Men of Steel and now this preview for an equally grim Batman and Superman.  Thankfully the best superheroes can be found not on the big screen but every single week with DC Entertainment’s superb TV productions: Arrow, The Flash, and Gotham.  

Try on for size this first full-length trailer for Batman v Superman and see if you wouldn’t rather watch Brandon Routh as The Atom fighting some bad guys in Central City with Grant Gustin’s The Flash:

That’s one bad Batman outfit.  Actually two.  Veins and wrinkles built into the batsuit?  Might as well add the George Clooney nipples from the ghosts of Batman past.

We might bite on the tired Jurassic franchise’s return in Jurassic World, but only as another vehicle for exploring what kind of crazy roles Chris Pratt can get himself into.  Pratt as the next Indiana Jones?  Only if it’s to be the 1960s Casino Royale of the Indy franchise.

More kids barely dodging a T-Rex?  Show us something new, like the kids getting chomped.  Here’s the next Jurassic World trailer:

Finally, you’re either going to flock to Fantastic Four or you aren’t.  Die-hard fans are still scratching their heads over the new changes.  Hey, director Josh Trank:  If you didn’t like Marvel Comics Fantastic Four, why make a movie of it?  But let’s not be old fogeys.  Sometimes stories can use a good revamp, and that seems to be what is at least being attempted here.

Decide for yourself.  Here’s the next trailer for Fantastic Four:

We still think two of the best live action adaptations of superheroes can be found in Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis’s Ben Grimm in DC’s first cinematic effort to show us the team.  Nothing’s grabbing us from this new version’s previews to get us to see it in the theater.

Jurassic World will be in theaters June 12, 2015, Fantastic Four hits theaters August 7, 2015, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled for release March 25, 2016.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

Oliver Queen was dead, to begin with.

The average superhero fan today probably wouldn’t know Oliver Queen today but for three events: (1) the modernization of the character by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams in the 1970s, (2) his update to urban longbow hunter by writer/artist Mike Grell in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and (3) the literal resurrection of Oliver Queen in the early 2000s by the partnership of writer Kevin Smith, penciller Phil Hester and inker Ande Parks.  No TV series would have arrived without the survival of the character thanks to these stories–reprinted and available in a deluxe hardcover for the O’Neil/Adams stories here, and in paperback reprinted only recently for Mike Grell’s stories here, here, and here.  In light of Green Arrow/Arrow’s popularity today being greater than ever before in his 73 year history, it’s only fitting that DC Comics is releasing the third great chapter in the character’s history with Absolute Green Arrow this month.

Absolute Green Arrow, available here from Amazon.com, reprints Issues #1-15 of Green Arrow, Volume 3, in a matte black with gloss hardcover with slipcase  in a sharp, over-sized, 9.6 inch X 15 inch format.  It includes all of Matt Wagner’s stylish painted covers, previously released introduction by Smith and afterword by Hester, and original artwork in an appendix by Hester.  If you ever wonder how much work the inker must conquer, just take a look at Hester’s pencil work and you’ll have a great appreciation for Parks’ inks.

Hester and Parks did shading and shadows like nobody else. Original art seen in full color as published in Absolute Green Arrow.

The first ten chapters form the “Quiver” story arc, and the last five the “Sounds of Violence” arc.  This is the entire run of Kevin Smith’s stories for Green Arrow.  Phil Hester took over writing and artistic duties for the next several issues with even better stories than found in these early chapters.  But these Smith stories present a Green Arrow in a way a bit like Frank Miller played with Batman’s mythology in The Dark Knight Returns.  Smith’s Green Arrow is not as innovative as the seminal Miller work, but it’s plenty fun, and each new chapter feels like Smith saw this opportunity to play with DC Universe characters like a kid in a toy store.  You’ll encounter the Justice League, memorable encounters with Aquaman and Hawkman, and even a quirky adventure featuring Stanley and his Monster.  Former sidekicks Roy Harper and Connor Hawke are here, too, but most importantly Oliver Queen rebuilds his relationship with long-time love interest Dinah Lance aka Black Canary.  Difficult to come back from after being presumed dead.

Hester and Parks at Planet Comicon

These stories also define the unique Phil Hester artwork style that you can spot a mile away today in his current work on The Flash comic book TV tie-in series.  It’s in the “Quiver” story arc that we’re first introduced to Mia Dearden, another incarnation of the sidekick Speedy, a modern young woman with much to offer readers and whose character is expanded further in Hester’s later stories.

The best of the chapters is a confrontation between Oliver and Hawkman and a hilarious series of panels of Dinah by Hester as she enters to break-up their antics.  Oliver’s first encounter with the Justice League is also a great scene, especially when Superman arrives.

New comments by Smith and Hester would have been a nice addition.  Smith’s dated comment from 2002 that begins this volume includes a final point praising the cover art for the series, stating that Matt Wagner’s original painted covers were all hanging in his comic book store, and that “I’ll keep them forever… Or at least until I run out of cash.”  Only a few years later Smith must have run out of cash, as they were all broken up and sold at auction along with many of Hester and Parks’ original art pages and Wagner’s cover roughs.  Then again, it sort of fits Smith’s persona.

How was Oliver resurrected after being shot down in an airplane toward the end of the earlier series begun by Mike Grell?  You’ll have to read it to find out, but if you’ve been watching The Returned on A&E recently you’ll have an idea.

Absolute Green Arrow is a must for any Green Arrow fan, and a good read for anyone who loves superhero comics who is looking for a good romp.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.  Comic book readers all remember first reading Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.  Most of the world would acknowledge it is one of the top 20 most influential graphic novels of all time and belongs on many a top 10 list for any kind of novel.  We all look ahead each week to the next good read, and can’t wait to read the next DKR.

We just don’t mean that literally.  We once thought that is exactly what we wanted, once upon a time.  Then Frank Miller delivered what we thought we wanted with his sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, or DK2.  It was pretty much unreadable, made worse because it was released on Miller’s trademark staggered “I’ll release it when I feel like it” schedule (remember All-Star Batman and Robin?).

So DC Entertainment just issued a press release late Friday announcing The Dark Knight III:  The Master Race.  Really?  The Master Race?  From the guy that wrote the offensive, bigotted Holy Terror?  What is DC Comics thinking?

The Dark Knight Strikes Again, DK2. Be careful what you wish for.

Can a bad sequel take something away from an original?  I’ve had that discussion with many a Star Trek fan since 2009’s reboot.  Many think you can taint an original with a bad copy.  I don’t agree with that view, but I understand it.  Are Miller’s DKR political statements even relevant today?  The Dark Knight Returns had its impact on the world in part because of time and place.  America needed that book in the 1980s and Miller delivered the goods.  And he deserves credit for it.

OK, let’s skip the politics.  It must be about the money, right?  Why would Miller walk away from a million dollar (plus) opportunity?  The press release, which you can read for yourself here, states that Miller is co-writing the sequel with well-known DCU writer Brain Azzarello as an “eight-issue comic book periodical to be published twice a month under the DC Comics imprint”.  Couple that with the fact that Miller and Azzarello have already spent six months writing the book and no artists (that’s plural) have yet been selected and suddenly this feels a whole like another Before Watchmen event series.  And those eight issues instead of the original story’s four issues will mean that much more revenue for DC.

The real thing. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

Before Watchmen had a few high points, but ultimately wasn’t memorable and was a mere shadow of the original.  It was an opportunity for current artists (and writers) to play in Alan Moore’s Watchmen sandbox, which must be fun for them.  No doubt Jim Lee and some other lucky artists will be excited to play in Miller’s DKR sandbox.  Will it still be DKR without Miller’s chunky and chiseled Batman?  Or will it be, as with DK2, just another shadow of the original?

We’ll know in “late” Fall 2015, per DC Entertainment when Issue #1 hits local comic book stores.  Are we excited about its release?  Sure.  Will we read it?  Of course, because we’re suckers for nostalgia.  At least that’s what DC is counting on.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

Next month Dark Horse Comics releases a must-read for fans of He-Man, She-Ra “Princess of Power,” and the Masters of the Universe world of toys, animated series, magazines, chapter books, posters, comic strips, and comic books.  The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Limited Edition Hardcover includes more than 300 pages full-color art, a portfolio featuring an exclusive print by Gerald Parel, a foil-embossed cover, and a die-cut two-piece Castle Greyskull slipcase.  A standard edition of the book will also be available.  Many well-known creators worked with these characters since its inception in the early 1980s, including Ralph McQuarrie, Drew Struzan, Dick Giordano, J. Michael Straczynski, George Tuska, Klaus Janson, Boris Vallejo, Tony Moore, Darwyn Cooke, Geoff Johns, and Tommy Lee Edwards.

Designers from every stage of the creation of He-Man, She-Ra, Skeletor, and the large cast of sword and sorcery heroes and villains, offer insight into character development, decision-making, and the impact on 1980s kids.  The best feature is the inclusion of hundred of pieces of full-color art, concept artwork, page layouts, sketches, storyboards, packaging art, prototypes, never before seen and unused imagery, advertising art, original comic art, and final comic book pages, covers, and animation cels.  It features restored art from master illustrator Earl Norem, as well as interviews with Dolph Lundgren, who played He-Man in the 1987 movie, director Gary Goddard, well-known TV producer/comic book writer Paul Dini, and voice actress Erika Scheimer, among many others.  Captions for photos were written by comic book creators Tim Seeley and Steve Seeley.

Particularly of interest to toy collectors are the original notes from the development stage of the toy line at Mattel.  Mattel, which had passed on the ground-breaking Star Wars action figure line, developed He-Man as a direct competitor to that toy line.  Mattel drove the look of the characters–this was first and foremost a toy line, inspired in part by the fantasy art of Frank Frazetta.  But it grew beyond that.  Artists and writers and other creators remark with pride about the focus on the stories that went beyond the toy line.

The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe includes chapters on the mini-comics, which introduced kids to new characters, the Filmation animated adventures and later animated series, and the 1987 film.  One section includes reprints of art cards included with a DVD release, with great work by Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Dustin Nguyen, Gene Ha, and Bill Sienkiewicz, among others.  Mattel partnered with both DC Comics and Marvel Comics to tell these adventure and fantasy stories over the course of the brand’s three decades.

Fun for both fans of the franchise and those wanting to learn more about the step-by-step process of developing a story from idea through animated series production, The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe can be pre-ordered at a discount off the list price from Amazon.com.  Check out the deluxe limited edition–limited to 4,000 copies only–here, and the standard release here.

The comic book world’s take on The Dirty Dozen is coming to life next year with a big screen version of Suicide Squad, the DC Comics group of criminals who take on missions in exchange for lighter prison sentences.

From left to right, that’s Adam Beach (Everwood, Hawaii Five-0), as Slipknot, Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher, Terminator: Genisys) as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie (Pan Am, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Will Smith (Men in Black, I, Robot) as Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Thor: The Dark World) as Killer Croc,  and Jay Hernandez as El Diablo.

Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller, head of the agency A.R.G.U.S., and Jared Leto will play The Joker.

Jared Leto as the newest take on The Joker.

All of this will look a bit familiar to fans of the television version of the DC Universe.  CW’s Arrow has had its own Suicide Squad, with none of the actors overlapping roles for the film.  The group itself stems from a 1987 retooling by John Ostrander of a team from the 1950s era of the series The Brave and the Bold, in the pages of its own DC Comics monthly series.

Issue #1 of the modern Suicide Squad from 1987. Cover by borg.com favorite artist Howard Chaykin.

The movie will have its challenges.  First, any cast of leads this big will not be able to support much of a story, especially if rumors pan out that Ben Affleck’s Batman, Henry Cavill’s Superman, and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor have a role in the film.  Films with casts like this, think Armaggeddon for one, give you little opportunity to know much about the characters except for a few, save a bunch of one-liners.  Second, accessibility to mainstream audiences will be a challenge.  Guardians of the Galaxy was another set of C-level comic book characters, which has had success that seems to be an exception, maybe because it was funny, lighthearted, and full of heart.  The Suicide Squad is a necessarily bleak crew.  As with The Dirty Dozen, it will also need to have plenty of humor if it expects to grab audiences.

Suicide Squad has only just begun filming in Toronto.  It has a scheduled release date of August 5, 2016.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

… or is it The Devil Wears Prada, the Superhero Edition?

In The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway played a smart but awkward gopher/assistant for a wealthy and mean editor-in-chief boss played by Meryl Streep.  In CBS’s new series Supergirl, Melissa Benoist appears to be playing a smart but awkward gopher/assistant for a wealthy and mean boss in some media industry gig played by Calista Flockhart.

Actually the entire preview comes off as–awkward.  Flockhart, in the “devil” role, seems like some kind of emotionless, one-note, robot.  Is she going to end up being some kind of android, an actual series supervillain?  And the feel is exactly that of CW’s The Flash–the most lighthearted of the superhero TV series flooding our airwaves.  We love a good superhero series, especially a new superheroine, so bring it on, but is this really just going to be a female version Grant Gustin’s naïve and good-hearted hero on a rival network?

This Supergirl also has little tying her to the comic book incarnation of the character, at least as far as we can tell from this first preview.  She does have the look of the popular Felicity Smoak from CW’s Arrow.  She is certainly adorable, but why does the superheroine have to be this junior superhero character?  When will we get a superheroine on film on equal footing with the male superheroes?  Check out this nearly seven minute preview of Supergirl for yourself:

Is this what the pilot for the cancelled-before-release Wonder Woman series looked like?  In fact, her story in the preview seems far closer to Gail Simone and Ardian Syaf’s plucky superheroine-in-training Batgirl from DC Comics’ New 52 monthly Batgirl series.  Here’s the blurb from CBS’s promotional folks:

SUPERGIRL is an action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El (Melissa Benoist), Superman’s (Kal-El) cousin who, after 12 years of keeping her powers a secret on Earth, decides to finally embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be.  Twelve-year-old Kara escaped the doomed planet Krypton with her parents’ help at the same time as the infant Kal-El.  Protected and raised on Earth by her foster family, the Danvers, Kara grew up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex (Chyler Leigh), and learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin in order to keep her identity a secret.  Years later at 24, Kara lives in National City assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart), who just hired the Daily Planet’s former photographer, James Olsen (Mehcad Brooks), as her new art director.  However, Kara’s days of keeping her talents a secret are over when Hank Henshaw (David Harewood), head of a super-secret agency where her sister also works, enlists her to help them protect the citizens of National City from sinister threats.  Though Kara will need to find a way to manage her newfound empowerment with her very human relationships, her heart soars as she takes to the skies as Supergirl to fight crime.

The actual scenes in the supersuit all look pretty good–the actress looks like she is having fun, much like Grant Gustin looks when playing The Flash.  We’ll give this one a try, because at least it doesn’t have the dark, bleak vibe that lost us as viewers on the short-lived NBC DC Comics series Constantine.  Supergirl is expected to air this Fall, on CBS.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Artist Ant Lucia’s stunning cover work for DC Comics featuring his DC Comics 1940s era Bombshells was selected as the borg.com comic book event of 2014 here.  If you missed the gallery of art for that cover run check out a few of them here.  Now DC Comics is going to do it again, but even better, the publisher has announced it is launching a new series featuring Lucia’s characters.  Like Superman and Captain America conquered Hitler in the comic books pages in the real 1940s, this new series has alternate world versions of Batwoman, Wonder Woman and Supergirl, plus many other DC characters, in a World War II-era story.

A new month of variant covers will also take over this August, including at least 21 new covers, many by Ant Lucia, the creator of the DC Comics Bombshells.  New statues are on their way, too, plus some other tie-in products.

Digital chapters of the DC Comics Bombshells Issue #1 will be available starting in July with the first print collection available August 12, 2015.  Written by Marguerite Bennett and art by Marguerite Sauvage, the full line of Bombshells characters will be introduced as the story unfolds in the months ahead.

“DC Comics Bombshells is one of the wildest things I’ve ever had the pleasure to create–a story of the DC heroines, all the DC heroines, in a crisis that defines themselves as well as their generation,” said series writer Marguerite Bennett. “The series will explore war stories, romances, mysteries, heists, action adventure, and horror in a way that only these characters could do.”

Artist Marguerite Sauvage will provide interior artwork for the monthly. “I spent a lot of time searching for references to be as accurate as possible to the story and habits of this time period, but keeping in mind it’s a parallel universe, so I can take some freedom on details,” she said in the press release announcing the series yesterday.

DC Collectibles is adding DC Comics’ Cheetah and Killer Frost characters to the Bombshells line.  Designed by Ant Lucia and sculpted by Sam Greenwell and Tim Miller respectively, these new statues will hit stores in Spring 2016.  Also look for apparel and accessories from Bioworld, collectible buttons from Diamond Comics, stylized posters from Quantum Mechanix, stickers from At-a-Boy, and PVC figures from Cryptozoic.  DC Universe Online can also expect to see playable Bombshells Legends characters, in addition to a unique new Episode.

We’ve collected a sneak peek at all 21 cover variants coming in August, shown above and below.  Look for them in Aquaman #43, Flash #43, Justice League of America #3, New Suicide Squad #11, Batman/Superman #23, Grayson #11, Secret Six #5, Superman #43, Green Lantern #43, and Harley Quinn #19. 

Also Wonder Woman #43 , Deathstroke #9, Green Arrow #43, Justice League #43, Teen Titans #11, Sinestro #14, Action Comics #43, Batman #43, Catwoman #43, Detective Comics #43 and Superman / Wonder Woman #20.

Finally, make sure you meet Ant Lucia at Wizard World Des Moines in June 2015, previewed at borg.com earlier here.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Who doesn’t like a good crossover series? 

This month IDW Publishing, the licensee holder for Star Trek comics, and DC Comics teamed up to release the first issue of Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War.  The burden of any crossover is successfully combining two well-known worlds in a way that is true to them both, while forging ahead on a combined path that makes them better together.  It’s a tall order with Star Trek and Green Lantern.  Yet, writer Mike Johnson and artists Angel Hernandez get this new series not only off on a good start, they created a fun read true to their source material that will keep readers around for Issue #2.

First, they made an interesting choice of players.  They combined the new, Star Trek reboot crew with the classic, original lantern, Hal Jordan.  We don’t get a big dose of Hal in issue #1, but the mannerisms of the crew from the 2009 movie and Star Trek Into Darkness are spot on.  With Hernandez’s renderings of the actors behind each character the result is a seamless believable blend of worlds.  Even better, they select one of the top five all-time best Star Trek villains for their first bad encounter.

The story begins with a Watcher from the DC Universe and a quick fantasy set-up as true to the classic Hal stories as you’d find anywhere.  Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk and Karl Urban’s Doctor McCoy couldn’t be better–both as their new incarnations and in their play on the original 1960s versions of themselves.  That sounds strange, but read it, it really works and it’s really well done.  A villainous vessel, and a handful of power rings, and BAM!  We have the set up for a solid series here.

We also get to see more of Scotty and his accusatory red shirt sidekick.  We can also expect to see at least one classic villain from Hal’s world, and an infamous orange lantern, previewed on the cover of a coming issue.

Whenever you combine not only properties but publishers as with The Spectrum War, you know you’re going to get some buzz, and the publishers didn’t miss a beat by coming up with about two dozen variant covers for the first issue.  Comic book monthlies have been inundated with variant covers this year.  In this case, the first issue catches up to the hype, and the variants also mean it will be easy for you to grab a copy of Issue #1 before Issue #2 arrives in August.

Add this series to your pull list now!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

CW’s The Flash TV series is what superhero shows should all strive to be.  Mainly, it’s about fun, with a young actor (Grant Gustin) playing a fresh version of a classic character trying to get his footing with his strange, new powers.  Like the original 1980s version of the series, this series is about Barry Allen working with a small group of friends to do good in his smaller world of Central City.  Unlike the edgier, groundbreaking Arrow TV series, The Flash doesn’t take itself too seriously.

As with Arrow, DC Comics and the CW partnered, as it should, to bridge the TV series with the comic books that the series was derived from.  It’s here, in the print and digital pages of The Flash: Season Zero, available this week in a trade edition, that we are introduced to one of the most vibrant and fun versions of The Flash to be published by DC Comics in years.  Again, not taking the stories and characters too seriously, the writers of the TV series have written the further adventures of Barry Allen that both amplify the humor and camaraderie found in the TV show, but this incarnation also informs the TV superhero–filling in gaps that don’t make it to the TV scripts.

In the pages of The Flash: Season Zero we see what would be more difficult to translate to the moving image, like King Shark, that villainous land shark.  This is done beautifully and in his unique superhero world style by artist Phil Hester, who returns to the realm he illustrated for several years in the pages of Green Arrow (and even returns to his roots by including a cameo of Oliver Queen in one story).  Hester’s pencils and Eric Gapstur’s inks along with some great color work by Kelsey and Nick Filardi provide a visually interesting read for audiences of all ages.

It also helps for continuity sake that this trade edition, a giant 260 pages including a full cover gallery, was written by show writers (and comic book veterans) Andrew Kreisberg, Marc Guggenheim, Ben Sokolowski, Brooke Eikmeier, Katherine Walczak, and Lauren Certo, as well as Sterling Gates, Phil Hester, and Kai Wu (Burn Notice).

The book features seven complete stories, the best of which are the origin story “Freak Show” and the introduction of the Suicide Squad in “King Shark.”  Fans of Arrow will find Felicity Smoak and Ray Palmer featured in one of the stories.

Pick up The Flash: Season Zero at comic book stores everywhere and here at Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Time flies when you’re having fun.  Seems like yesterday we were up all night on the street in San Diego waiting to see the world premiere of the pilot for CW’s Arrow.  It’s hard to believe Season 4 begins tonight.  Arrow has done something pretty amazing–taking a 70-year-old character and upending his backstory and surrounding characters in a way that stays true to the spirit of the original.  This season the story of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is getting even closer to his roots.

Tonight Oliver’s sister, Thea (Willa Holland), will take over the Speedy mantle, donning the above slick new supersuit.  Some credit is due to my pal and fellow Iowa boy Phil Hester and Kevin Smith, co-creators as writer and artist, respectively of Mia Dearden, the first woman Speedy in the pages of DC Comics’ second long-running Green Arrow monthly.  This new look borrows much from their original.  It’s not the first time CW’s Arrow has dipped back into the archives to bring out good ideas from the past, and that is what helps make the series so well-received by fans of the superhero genre.

What can we expect from Season 4?

For one, Starling City will be renamed Star City, one of the comic book homes of Oliver Queen throughout the years.

John Barrowman will return but now as the new Ra’s Al Ghul.  The power will undoubtedly go to his head, but how far, and will he take Thea down into the darkness with him?

Not only does Thea get a new supersuit, so does Ollie.

Many new villains are slated for the season:  Neal McDonough as Damien Darhk, Alexander Calvert as Anarky, Jimmy Akingbola as Baron Blitzkrieg, J.R. Bourne as Double Down, and Echo Kellum as Mr. Terrific.  Oh, and a certain Jeri Ryan will make her DC Universe debut as Jessica Danforth.  Matt Ryan will appear in his John Constantine role and Caity Lotz will make an appearance–back from the dead via the Lazarus Pit that saved Thea–as Sarah/Black Canary.

Felicity Smoak runs the former Queen Industries now that Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) is thought to be dead.

Will Oliver embrace the new “Green” label?

Here are three previews for the season:

Look for Arrow tonight, with the season premiere titled “Green Arrow,” Wednesday, October 7, 2015, on the CW at 7 p.m. Central.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Developed by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, and Sam Catlin for AMC, Preacher is an adaptation of the comic book series created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, and published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint.  The full trailer premiered Sunday during The Walking Dead and we have it below in case you missed it. 

Preacher is a series of 81 comic books that wrapped in 2000, available since then in nine trade editions available at your local comic book stores or here from Amazon.com.  It’s a Western for the most part, and there’s plenty of John Ford influence in the comic book.  The books and TV series follows Jesse Custer, a conflicted preacher in a small Texas town who combines with a powerful supernatural creature that has escaped from heaven.  Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (played by Ruth Negga), and an Irish vampire named Cassidy (played by Joe Gilgun), the three embark on a journey to find God.

Here’s the first trailer released for AMC’s Preacher:

The best part is the lead role of Custer is played by Dominic Cooper, who portrays Howard Stark in the Marvel Universe movies, and Henry Sturges in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  The new series’ theme song, aptly enough, is said to be Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.”

Look for Preacher on AMC in 2016.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

One of our favorite members of the Justice League will appear on Supergirl later this month.  We discussed the pantheon of DC Comics’ classic superhero team earlier this week here at borg.com, noting Red Tornado was yet to make an appearance.  Ask and ye shall receive, as they say.

Red Tornado is an android with enormous power.  In the comic books, Red Tornado was originally a villain, who turned hero and ended up for several years with the Justice League.  As with the comics, it appears that Supergirl’s version of Red Tornado will start as a key villain, but may yet turn from bad to good.  CBS refers to Red Tornado as “a military cyborg commissioned by Lucy Lane’s father, General Sam Lane”.

Iddo Goldberg will don the Red Tornado costume in the series.  Here are some artist’s versions of the red superhero:

Get your first look at Red Tornado in action Monday, November 30, 2015, at 7 p.m. Central on Supergirl.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

It’s hard to beat a great crossover and we’ve seen many come and go this year.  Take two superhero titles from the shadows of the big city and put them together and you have a pairing that will only have you ask why it hasn’t been done before.

The best Batman book you’ve likely read in years is waiting for you at your local comic book shop right now.  Issue #1 of the new Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is now on the shelves and it’s simply the best series opener to a Batman story I’ve read since Issue #1 of Jim Lee’s Hush mini-series.  You can evaluate the first issue as either a strong Batman title or a loyal-to-its-roots TMNT book, and either way writer James T. Tynion IV, artist Freddie Williams II, and colorist Jeremy Colwell have a winner on their hands here.

You won’t need to worry about thumbing slowly through an issue featuring one part of the title’s crossover only to wait next month for the next, as Tynion has weaved together both Batman, the Turtles, as well as Killer Croc, the Foot Clan, Splinter, and Strider, all into one exciting introduction issue.

And the design layout and look of this view of Gotham is unique and intriguing.  It’s about time that Freddie Williams II had his own Bat-book.  He’s been drawing Batman for years and some of the best Batman renderings I have seen from any Batman artist can be found in his sketchbooks and other drawings.  Always strong in his characterizations and environments, and with his signature ink wash style, each page could stand alone as a poster print, especially the giant splash pages of Batman.

Unlike many Batman artists, Williams is not afraid to make Batman look heroic in every panel.  Williams makes every panel count.  I have to think that being able to clearly convey four separate personalities in the form of four cocky, determined, and fun-loving turtles can’t be as easy as he makes it look.  I remember the original Eastman and Laird TMNT series (my first issue was a surprise freebie that Mile High Comics included in my mail order back in the 1980s), and Issue #1 of Batman/TMNT could just as easily be Issue #202 of an ongoing TMNT monthly.

These guys know their source material and are obviously writing and drawing a story they want to see as fans of these worlds.  I only hope six issues is enough to show us all we want to see of Batman and the Turtles sparring or working together.  You’d think something as big as the merger of these two titles–and done well–would warrant DC Comics and IDW Publishing thinking about an ongoing monthly.

Fans of the TMNT books, the TV show, and the movies will all find something familiar to love here.  It’s the confidence and perceived ease that Tynion and Williams make this issue seem so familiar to both Batman and TMNT fans that will sell you on the series and add it straight away to your comic shop pull list.  Keep an eye out for plenty of great variant covers, including the regular edition poster-worthy cover by Williams.

Well it’s been one long year, with plenty to do and see, plenty of good and not-so-good to read and watch, and as with last year we’re certain we reviewed more content this year than ever before.  This year was a big year for borgs in TV and film, so we had some difficult decisions to make.  All year long we sifted through all that Hollywood had to offer and honed in on the genre TV, films, comics, and other books we thought were worth examining.  We went back and looked at it all and pulled together our picks for our annual Best of the Best list.

Today we reveal the entire list–the best genre content of 2015–with our top categories Best Sci-Fi Fix, Best Fantasy Fix, Best Superhero Fix, Best Animated Fix,  and Best Borg selected regardless of medium.  A dozen properties garnered multiple mentions.

We hope you agree with many of these great creations of the entertainment industries, and wish everyone a great 2016!

Best Sci-Fi Fix – Killjoys (Syfy).  Surprised?  Killjoys pulled together great worldbuilding, characters and actors in a year of a dozen new sci-fi shows to provide us the closest thing to the next Firefly we’ve seen in a long time.

Best Fantasy Fix – Galavant (ABC); Runner-up The Librarians (TNT).  It aired early in 2015 but nothing surpassed Galavant’s medieval high adventure and all-out Princess Bride-style fun.

Best Superhero Fix – The Flash (CW).  Of all the Marvel movies and TV series from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Agent Carter and from Arrow to Supergirl, nothing had us coming back for more each week like the superhero world in The Flash.

Best Animated Fix – Star Wars Rebels (DisneyXD).  Compare it to Star Wars: The Force Awakens and see if you think this animated Star Wars galaxy had an even better story and characterization, along with the return of its own group of original trilogy actors, compelling visuals and rousing music.

Best Borg – Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Terminator Genisys (Paramount).  Schwarzenegger created yet another borg that could stand up against his prior successful characters from the series.  A cool, moving character in a big year for borgs on screen!

Best Borg Movie –  Ex Machina (DNA Films).  Incredible storytelling and a small cast of talented actors provided a classic science fiction story and Oscar-worthy film about our favorite subject.

Best Borg TV Series – Humans (AMC).  On television the most in-depth look at life as a borg and among borgs has never been portrayed more dramatically than on this year’s surprise sci-fi hit series from AMC.

Best Kickass Genre Movie Heroine – Rey (Daisy Ridley), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney); Honorable Mentions: Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Terminator Genisys (Paramount); Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), Mad Max: Fury Road (Village Roadshow)

Best Kickass Genre TV Heroine – Liv Moore (Rose McIver), iZombie (CW); Honorable Mentions: Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Killjoys (Syfy); Helena (Tatiana Maslany), Orphan Black (BBC)

Want to know who we picked for best villain and best comic books of the year?  Take a look after the cut…

Best Movie Villain – Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.); Runner-up T-1000 (Byung-hun Lee), Terminator Genisys (Paramount)

Best Imaginary Friend – Pupok the Scorpion, Orphan Black (BBC); Runner-up Mr. Robot, Mr. Robot (USA)

Best Sci-Fi Movie –  Ex Machina (DNA Films)

Best Fantasy Movie – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney)

Best Action Movie, Best Retro Fix, Best Reboot, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Movie Trailer – Man from U.N.C.L.E.(Warner Bros.).  The best film of the year even up against the other brilliant spy movie of the year, SPECTRE.  Forget that it’s a reboot–it’s simply a perfect action/spy movie.

Best Superhero Movie – Ant-Man (Marvel Studios)

Best Movie Sequel, Best Action Sequence – SPECTRE (Columbia).  Not only is the opening scene in the Day of the Dead parade through the hand-to-hand combat in a helicopter battle over the bustling Mexico City city plaza the best and most-exciting action sequence of the year, it may be the best action sequence in any film of the James Bond franchise.  A true triumph.

Best Special Effects/CGI – Michael Douglas is transformed into his younger self in Ant-Man (Marvel Studios).  Want to see the future of filmmaking?  It’s all in this single scene of backstory at the beginning of the film.

Best Movie Actress – Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina (DNA Films) and Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.); Runner-up Jessica Chastain, Crimson Peak (Legendary Pictures)

Best Movie Actor – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator Genisys (Paramount) and Maggie (Lionsgate); Runner-up: Armie Hammer, Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.)

Best TV Series – iZombie (CW); Runner-up Mr. Robot (USA).  Are you looking for the next Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer?  It’s right here on iZombie, with great writing each week and all the fun of those classic series.

Best TV Episode – “Under the Lake/Before the Flood,” Doctor Who (BBC) two-parter.  Without a doubt this was the best science fiction story arc of the year.  It’s Doctor Who at its finest.

Best TV Survivor – Grimm (NBC), Season Five.  Just when you think the producers of Grimm have done all they can with these characters they come back even better, destined for a season seven.

Best TV Actress – Rose McIver as Liv Moore, iZombie (CW); Runner-up Hannah John-Kamen as Dutch, Killjoys (Syfy)

Best TV Actor – Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, Mr. Robot (USA); Runner-up Robert Buckley as Major Lilywhite, iZombie (CW)

Best TV Writing, Best TV Comedy – The Muppets (ABC).  Nothing was written for the screen in any genre this year that made us laugh like this new series.  Truly the best comedy on TV today.

Best TV Villain – Blaine (David Anders), iZombie (CW); Honorable Mentions: Kilgrave (David Tennant), Jessica Jones (Netflix); Khlyen, Killjoys (Rob Stewart) (Syfy)

Best Homage – Star Wars Rebels (DisneyXD) episode “Lost Commanders.”  Look for a great homage to the main shark hunt sequence from Jaws in this episode, including musical cues similar to John Williams’ rousing score.

Best Crossover or Mash-Up – Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War comic book series (IDW Publishing/DC Comics)

Best Comic Book Series – DC Comics Bombshells (DC Comics)

Best Comic Book Limited Series – Swords of Sorrow (Dynamite)

Best Comic Book Writing – Nathan Edmondson, Black Widow (Marvel)

Best Comic Book Interior Art – Phil Noto, Star Wars: Chewbacca (Marvel)

Best Comic Book Cover Art – Ant Lucia, DC Comics Bombshells (Marvel)

Best Comic Book Single Issue – Batman/TMNT Issue #1 (DC Comics/IDW Publishing)

Best Reprint Edition – (Tie) Re-Colored Star Wars Trilogy Movie Adaptations (Marvel), and over-sized Star Wars Artifact Edition (IDW)

Best Retro Read – Thieves Fall Out, Gore Vidal (Titan Hard Case Crime)

Best Novel – Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell, Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham (Vintage)

Best Book About Comics – The Art of Mouse Guard 2005-2015, David Petersen (Archaia)

Best Star Trek Non-fiction – Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier, Paula M. Block, Terry J. Erdmann (Insight Editions)

Best Star Wars Non-fiction – Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Cards Series, Volume One (Abrams Books)

Biggest Genre Event of 2015 – Year-long lead-in to premiere and marketing push for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Real Science – NASA New Horizons spacecraft completes historic flyby of Pluto

Best Nerd/FanboyTech – 3D Printing of Cosplayers as Action Figures at Comic Cons (3D Photobooth)

Best Toy – Remote-controlled BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Sphero)

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Every year something exciting makes its way to public auction.  Back in 2011 we discussed some great art from The Dark Knight Returns here at borg.com and again in 2013 here we discussed more cover art from The Dark Knight Returns hitting the market as well as some Dave Gibbons Watchmen cover art.  In December 2015, one of the most iconic covers of the Silver Age hit the auction block courtesy of Heritage Auctions.  That cover was Neal Adams’ original cover art to Green Lantern Issue #76 (learn more about it here), the book that launched the Bronze Age of comics in the minds of many historians, and the beginning of the “Hard-Traveling Heroes” story arc that forever re-defined Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen’s Green Arrow, and Dinah Lance’s Black Canary.

So what was the total paid, the auction hammer price including fees, for the cover art?

A whopping $442,150.  The twist on this auction is that in the 1970s, most original comic art was not returned to the artists, as has generally been done since then.  So many artists, including Neal Adams, have renounced the possession and sale of such pieces as “stolen”.  But this seller made a deal with Adams to share in the proceeds (with a cut for the charity The Hero Initiative), and so Adams agreed to endorse the sale with this comment:

For everyone who wasn’t that winning bidder, on shelves now at your local comic book store and via Amazon.com here is a deluxe hardcover edition of the entire Green Lantern/Green Arrow story by Dennis O’Neill and Neal Adams.  It’s a great full-color reading copy and reference.

After the cut, check out a high definition copy of the original cover art for Green Lantern Issue #76 that sold this past year.

The art without logos:

The reverse of the artwork:

The artwork with overlay logos and word balloons:

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

After some ho-hum teasers for the 2016 movie release Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment released a new full-length trailer for the DC Universe movie (set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”) Tuesday during the DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League special on The CW Network.  This time we get a good look at each of the Worst Heroes Ever.

And for a motley group of villains, they’re looking pretty good.

Adam Beach (Everwood, Hawaii Five-0), is Slipknot, Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher, Terminator: Genisys) is Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne is Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara is Katana, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop) is Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie (Pan Am, The Wolf of Wall Street) is Harley Quinn, Will Smith (Men in Black, I, Robot) is Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Thor: The Dark World) is Killer Croc,  and they star along with Jared Leto as The Joker in the comic book take on The Dirty Dozen, as a group of super villains are released from prison to complete a hero’s mission.  And look for Jay Hernandez as Chato Santana aka El Diablo, a character created by our pals Jai Nitz, Phil Hester, and Ande Parks in 2008’s excellent six-issue series El Diablo: The Haunted Horseman (be sure to check it out at Amazon.com here if you haven’t read it yet).

Check out this entertaining trailer for DC’s Suicide Squad, and you couldn’t have a better tune to back it up:

Look for Suicide Squad late this year, in theaters August 5, 2016.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

The best part of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is its potential to bring in nearly all of the DC Universe into a single TV series.  While the movies try to figure out how to make a good Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman on-screen, everyone else is fair game back home on the TV set.

You have two reasons to come back for more of the third current CW Network series to dabble in the DC realm.  First, in the latest trailer for the show (previewed below), Firefly’s Jewel Staite will make an appearance in one time stream or the other.  Second, viewers will get re-introduced to the popular anti-hero from DC’s Old West past, Jonah Hex, this season.  Johnathan Schaech will portray the legendary, disfigured tough guy on the series.

And is that Felicity Smoak taking on the Oracle role in one of the team’s many trips to the past?  Check out this latest trailer, released at WonderCon this weekend:

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returns with the episode “Left Behind” this Thursday, March 31, 2016, at 7 p.m. Central on the CW Network.  Catch more DC superheroes on Arrow Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and The Flash Tuesdays at 7 p.m. also on the CW Network.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Following on its success with last year’s Back to the Future Day celebration and the annual Star Wars Day (May the Fourth), 20th Century Fox has created a new day to bring fans back to the Alien franchise.  Although we believe they should have gone with Mother’s Day, April 26, 2016, is being targeted for the first Alien Day in honor of the doomed world, LV-426, where Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley first encountered the vile xenomorphs in 1979’s Alien.  This means bringing the movie back for a limited theatrical release and plenty of product tie-ins.  It’s all in anticipation of Fox’s release of Ridley Scott’s next Alien franchise film next year, Alien: Covenant, starring Michael Fassbender.

For action figure fans, NECA is releasing Lieutenant Vasquez, Newt, and Kenner-style Ellen Ripley figures, and Funko is releasing a Kenner-style Queen, Power Loader and Ripley figure set and Super 7 will offer several figures.  Hot Toys will sell a 1:6 scale Ripley figure.  Look for Kotobukiya to release a 1:10 scale xenomorph.  Sideshow and Medicon Toy company will also release new Alien figures.

Titan Books is releasing a new Tim Lebbon tie-in novel, Alien: Invasion.  (Check out our review and interview with Lebbon here at borg.com of Lebbon’s first awesome Alien novel Alien: Out of the Shadows).  And Alien: Out of the Shadows will get its own audiobook featuring the voice of Rutger Hauer.  Insight Editions will release a new book, The Weyland-Yutani Report.

Dark Horse Comics is releasing a 30th anniversary hardcover edition of the 1986 Aliens comic books series, plus special variant covers for the monthly Aliens series.  And Dark Horse is partnering with DC Comics to re-release its Batman v. Aliens series.

Reebok will be bringing its Alien Stomper out of the mothballs.  Ripley’s high-top shoes and Bishop’s regular style shoes (shown above) will be available at Reebok.com and shoe stores worldwide.

Alamo Drafthouse theaters will host an Alien/Aliens double feature on Alien Day, complete with Mondo T-shirt for pre-ordered tickets, and exclusive apparel, accessories, posters and records will be available as part of the screenings.  Tickets are on sale now at this link.

And there’s plenty more.  Loot Crate will offer a special Alien crate.  Board games include YAHTZEE! Alien vs. Predator Edition and CLUE: Alien vs. Predator (I got it!  It’s Ripley in the Shuttle with the Flamethrower!).  Online digital pinball games… Upper Deck trading cards… soundtracks… horror apparel… or sign up for a 24-hour trivia challenge (learn more at this link).

It all begins April 26.  Don’t miss it!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

If you’re talking about animated adaptations of classic DC Comics Batman comic books, three book series and movies should come to mind.  First there was the well-made adaptation of Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One, which we reviewed here at borg.com back in 2012.  Then there was the faithful, two-part adaptation of Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, with Part 1 reviewed here in 2012 and Part 2 released in 2013 reviewed here.  The animated Batman adaptations will soon be complete with the third key classic Batman book of the modern era coming to animated video.

This year Warner Bros. is releasing an adaptation of the 1988 controversial story Batman: The Killing Joke.  Alan Moore, Brian Bolland, and John Higgins teamed up to create the definitive origin story of the sadistic villain The Joker in a shiny and colorful prestige format never before seen by comic readers.  The cover sold the book, but inside the darkest story of Gotham ever told was born in only a way Alan Moore could concoct.  As with his original story that became Watchmen, Moore took beloved characters, specifically Commissioner Gordon and daughter Barbara aka Batgirl, and made them victims.  The origin of Oracle was born here, and Moore for the following decades has defended his handling of the story and treatment of Barbara.

Most appropriately, the animated movie will receive an R rating–a must if the film is loyal at all to the original source material.  Then there’s the solid cast list.

Kevin Conroy, arguably the best Batman voice actor, returns after dozens of animated Batman roles as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) is back as The Joker after years of video game and other voice work as The Joker.  Fan favorite Ray Wise (Psych, Twin Peaks, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager, RoboCop) returns to perform the voice of Commissioner Gordon, and Tara Strong (Princess Mononoke, Ted), probably the most prolific woman voice actor in Hollywood, returns to voice Barbara Gordon.

Although we expect the sound to be spot-on, artistically speaking, the animation directed by Sam Liu, does not quite resemble the look and feel of Bolland’s original, as shown in the first full trailer for the film.  Here’s the trailer for this direct-to-video release:

You can pre-order Batman: The Killing Joke now here at Amazon.com, to be released later in 2016.  And check out the original story here.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com