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11/03/16 @ 9:33 pm EST
Fabrice Sapolsky talks to Byron Brewer about INTERTWINED #4, on sale in January from Dynamite. Cover by Gerald Parel.  BYRON BREWER: Juan Jin has become the Spirit of the Earth! … Yet here on the earthly plane, he is still wanted as a POI for a murder by the authorities and is being pursued by the Triads. What exactly does being the new “Spirit of the Earth” mean? To Juan Jin? To the rest of us?FABRICE SAPOLSKY: That’s a very good question! At first glance, getting these powers makes Juan’s life more complicated. But it’s a process. He has to go through hell to figure out himself what he wants to do with his life. Again, becoming a Spirit of WuXing isn’t something that happens to everyone. He was chosen. And through exceptional circumstances. For the world, Juan becomes this being who masters everything organic. Everything that comes from the land. He communicates with the Earth, he’s very powerful. BB: Fabrice, if you would, tell us a little more about the “Spirits,” whose pantheon (for lack of a better term) Juan Jin has just joined, and whom he mistrusts at this point.FS: In our story, the Spirits of WuXing have been around forever. First in Asia, then the world. They’re the ones who keep the universe balanced through its five elements (Metal, Water, Earth, Wood, Fire). For generations, one Spirit would die (in battle or of natural causes) and would be replaced by a younger one. Challenges have been many. But for the first time, in this generation, a Spirit is murdered by another Spirit (as chronicled in the very rare issue #0). And we’ll finally learn why. The reason will shock you! And it’ll also propel the series into a very different place. From an action/adventure series to a more social/diversity conscious one. BB: What is the Golden Dragon the Triads seek? Why is it of such import to them?FS: The Golden Dragon is one of the 5 artifacts the Spirits possess. It’s like a Green Lantern battery, to make it simple. Except you don’t recharge your power here. The essence of your power, your spirit is there. The Spirits can function without them. But if they’re all gathered in one hand, they can be used to control the universe. The Spirit of the Earth, who died prior to our story, gave the Golden Dragon to Lady Xia. Because he trusted her. He would always leave it to her when he was spending time in the United States. That explains why she has it in issue #1. And she gives it to Juan because she picked him up as the new Spirit of the Earth. Lady Xia is behind everything (or almost everything). I have to add that the Golden Dragon, or the Black Tortoise or Vermillion Bird didn’t come out of my imagination. I borrowed them to have them fit in our story. In Chinese tradition, the Golden Dragon or Yellow Dragon is tied to the Element of Earth. BB: The Spirits are certainly being overly helpful, or at least trying to be, to our hero. Is there some unknown motivation behind their offers of assistance of which readers are unaware?FS: The remaining Spirits, led by Lady Xia aka the Spirit of Water, have an agenda. I think it’s clear by issue #4 that their intention has always been to restore balance in WuXing since Nei Chang, the Spirit of Metal, has crushed it. One problem at a time. They first decided to pick themselves the new Spirit of the Earth, then to deal with the Spirit of Metal. But when you play with the elements, there’s always a price to pay… BB: Thus far, Intertwined has certainly been a character-driven book. When you plan issues, do you concentrate on character first and then where that takes the plot?FS: It really is a character-driven book. There’s a McGuffin in the story. A revelation that justifies the entire story to even exist. And this revelation (and its consequences) happen in issue #4 and #5! What came first was the reason why I made this book. And I’ll talk more about it next month when people have read issue #4 because it’ll become clear that there were some issues I wanted to talk about. Without giving too much away, let’s say that since I came to live in the United States, I discovered how much communities can live in the same streets, in the same buildings without knowing each other. That melting pot doesn’t really exist. That rejection is easy. And when you get here, you have to identify as something and try to hang with “your people”. That’s not how I was raised nor how I want to live. I strongly believe mixing people from everywhere enriches us. Intertwined is a kind of Trojan horse. A Kung Fu fiction that conveys a vision where lines are blurred and we only see people. I’ll take a moment to talk about Bruce Lee who has been an incredible inspiration for Fred and myself. His philosophy. The way he saw the world. Bruce was born in the U.S. but had hard time blending in in the 1950s and ‘60s in that America. He was also very much Chinese, as reported by the people who knew him and his family. But he saw people behind colors. He believed in humankind. I see so many people talking about ethnicities here. I’m not ignoring the challenges nor negating anything. And I strongly support those who fight for inclusion and equality in rights. Bruce Lee was ahead of his time. He understood that wherever you come from, whatever you looked like, you’re a human being first. A talent. A brother. A sister. A son. A daughter. A mother or a father. We set the action in 1971 because the world was very different obviously, but also more optimistic, despite so many terrible things happening. We’ve lost a lot of that optimism. But I don’t think we have to give up on it. On the contrary, we have to work harder to give a much more open minded world to our kids. Writers… creators… we are dreamers. But we’re also deeply rooted in reality. Fiction proved centuries ago that it could plant seeds of ambition in people’s minds. We went to the moon. We did great things. Humbly, Intertwined brings a little something to the table. Something of our own experiences in life. BB: With issue #4, on sale in January, we are approaching the penultimate issue of this series. Looking back, has the story unfolded pretty much as you intended. (All writers know how characters and stories sometimes take over, lol.)FS: I’ve been pretty much following my initial plan here. There have been some differences, some scenes originally taking place in an issue and moved to other ones. But it’s pretty much the same structure from day one. BB: How awesome has Fred Pham Chuong been with the art on this book? Do you guys work closely together?FS: You said it: awesome. Fred is just an incredible storyteller. We speak nearly every day. We sometimes change the script together. He makes me a stronger creator. We lift each other up. And I want to also mention our color artist, Veronica Lopez. She’s been with us from the beginning and we feel blessed she lends her talent to the series. BB: Fabrice, can you tell us a little of what readers can expect in Intertwinedgoing forward?FS: Revelations! More Kung Fu! And the dramatic return of Juan’s Haitian friends.And GREAT covers by incredible French artists! Gerald Parel drew the cover to issue #4, Roland Boschi is doing #5 and the mighty Olivier Coipel is closing the first story arc’s cover with #6. To my knowledge, it’s the first non-DC, non-Marvel cover Olivier has done in a very, very long time. Not to be missed!
04/30/24 @ 12:09 pm EST
The wait is over! Fans will be able to get caught up on the juggernaut new ThunderCats comic this July and add the initial instant classic story arc to their shelf, as Dynamite and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products announce the first collected edition of the hit series. The first issue of the new ThunderCats title shattered records for Dynamite and dominated the comics industry and community upon its release. With a second printing and third printing selling out, new waves of readers continue to discover the title through great reviews, and especially word of mouth on this viral story. This summer it's all ramping up even more.
ThunderCats #5 is set to feature a special spotlight story on Cheetara with guest artist Stephen Mooney (Half Past Danger, The Rocketeer) joining writer Declan Shalvey. Then the next month Cheetara pounces into her own essential companion series with the release of ThunderCats Cheetara #1 by creator Soo Lee (Disney Villains: Maleficent). That same month, ThunderCats #6 reunites ongoing artist Drew Moss on the book and kicks off a new story arc in the flagship series.
With this exciting whirlwind of developments in the comic series, Dynamite wants fans to be able to jump right in even if they've missed the earlier launch and releases. The ultimate cherry on top and gateway to the mythos releases July 17 as a special trade paperback edition of ThunderCats: Omens will be available exclusively in comic book stores. This Direct Market Special Edition reprints issues #1-5 of the hit series and will be limited to a single printing. Later editions planned as both paperback and hardcover available both in comics stores and other retailers will feature different covers.
Critics have lauded the series to date, as each issue builds on the last.
"Nostalgic and daring, ThunderCats is a thrilling remix of a beloved '80s classic." - AIPT
"Has set the foundation for a promising adventure, and it should only get better from here." - ComicBook.com
"I continue to enjoy the world being created in this series and how it delivers on everything that I loved about the original series and the lore behind it." - The Super Powered Fancast
"A gripping narrative with layers of drama, character conflicts, and mysterious connections. The introduction of Calica [issue #3] injects freshness into the storyline, keeping readers on their toes." - Comical Opinions
THUNDERCATS VOL 1: OMENS DIRECT MARKET SPECIAL EDITION TPB will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ May 2024 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in July 2024. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the book with their local comic book retailers. ... 04/30/24 @ 12:15 pm EST
Netflix has dropped the official trailer for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, the animated follow-up sequel series to Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, and there’s one name that is conspicuously missing. Jenna Ortega, who voiced Brooklynn in Camp Creatceous, is not listed in the voice cast for Chaos Theory, or seen in the trailer. Deadline reports it has confirmed she will not be returning for the new series. Chaos Theory picks up with Brooklynn seemingly killed by a dinosaur attack. According to Ben (Sean Giambrone), she was targeted, and the other members of the Nublar Six are now in danger. Jurassic World: Chaos Theory is slated to debut on Netflix May 24. Trailer: https://youtu.be/bLgUKAAKyQw 04/29/24 @ 9:34 pm EST
Deadline reports that Studiocanal and Editions Albert René have signed an exclusive development agreement for the fifth live action movie inspired by the adventures of French comic strip hero Asterix.The deal comes as French publishing house Éditions Albert René marks the 65th anniversary of the creation of the plucky Gaul warrior Asterix and his sidekick Obelix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959.Since then, 400 million Asterix books in 130 languages and dialects have sold worldwide, with 40 albums of Asterix adventures published since 1961. The Asterix & Obelix comic books are embedded in French culture and have inspired five live-action films to date. No details on the storyline, schedule, cast or director were available as yet. 04/29/24 @ 9:29 pm EST
BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at MAN’S BEST #3, the next issue of an action-packed sci-fi romp full of heart by Pornsak Pichetshote, writer of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning The Good Asian, Eisner Award-nominated rising star artist Jesse Lonergan (Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea), and letterer Jeff Powell (Infidel). Homeward Bound on an alien world, MAN’S BEST follows three emotional support pets living on the Starship Horizon—a spacecraft searching for a new home to house a humanity compromised by bad decisions and corporate greed, coming to comic shops this May. In the middle chapter of the epic space adventure featuring 3 animal best friends on a quest to save the earth, the splendor of the planet does little to comfort Athos as they feel at fault for the recent tragedy in the midst of searching for their missing comrade. And as they enter a new psychic realm and literally form a much deeper connection than before, what challenges and new discoveries lie ahead as they continue their desperate mission? MAN’S BEST #3 features a main cover by series artist Jesse Lonergan, and variant covers by fan-favorite artists JJ Harrison (New Masters), Paulina Ganucheau (Heartbeat), and Junggeun Yoon (The Expanse: Dragon Tooth). MAN’S BEST is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; Damn Them All by Simon Spurrier and Charlie Adlard; Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Leila del Duca, and Nick Dragotta; Know Your Station by Sarah Gailey and Liana Kangas; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; The Neighbors by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Letizia Cadonici; Ghostlore by Cullen Bunn and Leomacs; Sirens of the City by Joanne Starer and Khary Randolph; Coda by Simon Spurrier and Matías Bergara; Rare Flavours by Ram V and Filipe Andrade; Underheist by David and Maria Lapham; and Animal Pound by Tom King and Peter Gross. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Harkonnen from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers by Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle and Rubine. MAN’S BEST #3 will be available in comic shops May 22, 2024. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play. Man's Best #3 A Main: MAR240088 Man's Best #3 B Variant: MAR240089 Man's Best #3 C 1:25 INCV: MAR240090 Man's Best #3 D FOC Reveal Var: MAR240091 Man's Best #3 E Unlockable Var: MAR240092 Check out DYNAMIC FORCE'S interview with MAN'S BEST writer PORNSAK PICHETSHOTE by Byron Brewer. https://www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/interviews.html?showinterview=IN02222412024        
... 04/29/24 @ 9:19 pm EST
Greg Berlanti and Netflix are going for a ride in the Mystery Machine.The streaming giant is near a deal for a live-action TV series based on the beloved Hanna-Barbera animated cartoon Scooby-Doo. The project has a script-to-series commitment at Netflix, meaning if the script is well received, it would trigger a straight-to-series order for what is considered a live-action update of the classic cartoon.Reps for Netflix, producers Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions declined to comment, as a deal has not yet formally closed.Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg — who previously adapted Cowboy Bebop for Netflix and High Fidelity for Hulu — are attached to pen the script and exec produce via their Midnight Radio banner’s André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner. Berlanti and his Berlanti Productions partner Sarah Schechter will exec produce alongside the company’s Leigh London Redman. Berlanti Productions’ Jonathan Gabay and Midnight Radio’s Adrienne Erickson will be credited as co-exec producers. Warner Bros. Television, where Berlanti has been based for years, is the studio as the company owns animation studio Hanna-Barbera. (via The Hollywood Reporter) 04/29/24 @ 9:27 pm EST
Image Comics is pleased to reveal a sneak peek at the highly anticipated Blood Squad Seven by Joe Casey (MCMLXXV, Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker) and Paul Fry (Spider-Man 2099, Star Wars) set to hit shelves this May from Image Comics. Spinning out of the recent Dutch miniseries, this upcoming launch will explore ’90s superteam dynamics through a contemporary lens and feature surprise cameo appearances from some recognizable fan-favorite Image characters.
Thirty years ago, Blood Squad Seven was America’s most popular superhero team. Its members were seen on television, on magazine covers, scoring million-dollar endorsement deals…. They were celebrities and they were everywhere.
But that was then... this is now. And so, a new generation of modern-day heroes takes up the mantle—or perhaps, the poisoned chalice—fulfilling a promise made decades ago: to be the heroes that a fractured America needs.
While deconstructions of superhero nostalgia typically center around the classic characters of the Silver Age, Blood Squad Seven will delve deep into ’90s comic book themes with this reimagining of what would happen if heroes from that decade returned to action after a 30-year absence.
Variant covers for each issue of Blood Squad Seven will be provided by an army of celebrated artists, including: Chris Weston (Ministry of Space), Nick Pitarra (The Manhattan Projects), Jim Rugg (Street Angel), Chris Cross (Captain Marvel), Elizabeth Torque (Captain America: Secret Empire), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Cory Walker (Invincible), Ryan Quackenbush (Junior Baker the Righteous Faker), Mirko Colak (Punisher MAX), Chris Sprouse (Tom Strong), Dustin Nguyen (Little Monsters), and many more.
Blood Squad Seven #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, May 22:
Cover A by Paul Fry - Lunar Code 0324IM161 Cover B by Chris Weston - Lunar Code 0324IM162 Cover C (1:10) by Nick Pitarrra - Lunar Code 0324IM163 Cover D (1:20) by Jim Rugg - Lunar Code 0324IM164 Cover E (1:50) by Fry - Lunar Code 0324IM165 Blood Squad Seven will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play. Check out DYNAMIC FORCE'S interview with BLOOD SQUAD SEVEN writer JOE CASEY by Byron Brewer. https://www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/interviews.html?showinterview=IN04112484115         
... 04/29/24 @ 3:09 pm EST
Disney has dropped a teaser for Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel for the studio’s 2019 photorealistic version of the animated 1994 classic The Lion King.Directed by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), the film sees the baboon Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to his granddaughter Kiara. According to the trailer description, the story will be told in flashbacks and follows Mufasa (meaning ‘king’ in Swahili) as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The film is being released December 20, 2024. (via Deadline) Trailer: https://youtu.be/MjQG-a7d41Q 04/28/24 @ 3:00 pm EST
Is the future of physical media coming to an end? It used to be that DVD and Blu-Ray sales were the saving grace for some movies and you could walk into various stores and browse by genre in the same way you could for music. But like the music stores of the past, the days of swinging by your local shop and picking up the latest release are fading fast. Last year Netflix announced they were no longer doing the movie-by-mail program, so they wouldn’t be buying any more DVDs and Best Buy announced they were removing their Music/Movie sections as well. Now Target has come out and said they would be doing the same this year. A lot of studios have moved away from creating physical media, the exception being Disney who just made a deal with a third party to create their media and it has led to releases of WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight, and the Mandalorian with SteeleBook editions. And when you purchase a movie or album digitally, there is always the chance that the hosting service you bought it on goes out of business, you will lose your purchases. While I don’t think there are any clear-cut answers here yet, I think the discussion definitely needs to be had. Physical media may seem antiquated to some, but when you computer crashes, your internet goes out or a company files bankruptcy… physical media may start looking a whole lot better.  04/28/24 @ 2:37 pm EST
The ouroboros created by the success of Marvel Studios is continuing with the latest round of speculation driven by nothing. With Marvel and other superhero films becoming so popular that it led to websites and YouTube channels focused on them and now those places need to keep feeding content to their viewers. So, when Michael B. Jordan reposts the trailer for the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, we get stories of how this means he is going to return as Johnny Storm from the 2015 Fantastic Four film. Jordan did play a version of the Human Torch, but he’s also played Kilmonger in Black Panther so he could return as either character… or he could just be promoting the next movie from Marvel because he feels connected to the studio? This is the same type of thing as James Gunn posting the original Superman logo to social media last week and everyone running around trying to figure out what it means. It could just mean that Gunn had some free time and wanted to post something Superman related. This week he posted the bloodied fist of a Green Lantern as drawn by Dave Johnson. There are now articles trying to figure out what this means. He also posted a picture of his cat and then his two dogs… I’m sure this is supposed to mean we’re getting a Krypto & Streaky movie soon…  04/28/24 @ 2:13 pm EST
In an interview the other day, Nathan Fillion told the story of how he found out that he was going to be playing Guy Garner / Green Lantern in the upcoming Superman movie. The problem is that he made a slight error in his story, and it has led to a lot of online controversy. In the interview he said he ran into James Gunn at the premiere of Suicide Squad and was told there. Gunn took to social media to correct the statement, saying that it took place at the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 premiere instead. This made Zak Snyder fans come out and claim that Fillion’s story proves that Gunn had been lying about Henry Cavill and that now he was just trying to cover it up with his post. Supposedly the lie came about when Gunn said that he had no interest in taking over the DCU until Peter Safran came on board to do the “exec stuff” and could leave Gunn to do the creative stuff. Gunn stated he was confused and not sure who is supposed to have lied, he also made it clear that his Superman pitch was always geared for a new Superman from the beginning so it doesn’t really matter at which event Fillion found out, Gunn was never lined up to make a Cavill lead film.  |
