Yeah yeah yeah; everyone’s all about San Diego Comic-Con right now, and probably will be ’til it wraps on July 24th. But what about folks who actually want to, oh y’know, discuss COMIC BOOKS? So many comic-cons get wrapped up with the Hollywood flash, and spend very little time or effort on the creators that got us jazzed for these ‘cons in the first place. (Or the ‘cons are so freakin’ huge it’s rough getting from one creator panel to the next…)
But not Small Press Expo. In Bethesda, MD, this September you’ll get to chat with artists, writers and more who keep things indie. Way cool, man. No, seriously; this year SPX is celebrating Fantagraphics, and all their awesomeness. Y’know, the folks who brought you Ghost World, Hip Hop Family Tree, Usagi Yojimbo, and the chronological re-issue of Peanuts. FREAKIN’ PEANUTS, PEOPLE.
With the Fantagraphics love comes creators like Trina Robbins (Vampirella, and all-around indie comix legend), Joe Sacco (whose work blends comics and journalism), and more. Why such a short paragraph? I’m lazy, and the PR distro does such a wonderful job of fleshing out these creators that I’ll let ’em take it away. Read on for the full details!
SPX 2016 is this September 17th and 18th. Get your indie on!
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It’s that time of year; the Harvey Awards has released its list of nominees! 
I love short story compilations. I’ve reviewed several of ’em here at GMR, so when Inferno dropped into our in-box, I held out an eager hand. I didn’t care about what was in it, not really. Quite honestly, to paraphrase the horribly overused line from Jerry Maguire, they had me at terror. It wasn’t until I took a good look at the book itself that I realized that the editor of this collection, 
Wreck-It Ralph was one of those films I didn’t think I’d like so I skipped it at the multiplex. Then I caught it on cable and loved it. LOVED it. So when I got the 411 that there’s a sequel in the works, with John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman coming back to voice Ralph and Vanellope, I got stoked.
It’s been said that Guy Fawkes was the only person who ever entered the Houses of Parliament with honest intentions. He honestly meant to blow the place to smithereens, and though he was foiled in his attempt, at least his motives were easy to understand. He and his co-conspirators were striking out against the Protestant monarchy of James I, in the hopes of replacing him with an individual more sympathetic to Roman Catholics. The titular hero of V for Vendetta has a similar plan, but his intentions are darkened by involved self-interest.
Nutshell: While Anarchy upped the Purge stakes with it’s clear-eyed and horrifying look at class warfare run amok, Election Year pulls back on the message, and is a weaker film for it. Writer/director James DeMonaco flounders in his third act, delivering a heavy-handed horror film that’s fun for the genre, but could have been so much more. Grade: B
Gamers! This one’s for you; Nerve, a thriller about what can happen if things get out of hand with your online addiction. Synopsis!
Atomic Fangirl 